The sky of Verlyn was fully dark when we stepped out of the Northern Archive. The roar of the night wind carried the scent of moisture and ash, but there was something more… heavy, like the pressure of time itself.
"Wait," Lyona stopped my step, her eyes staring far toward the city. "Hear that?"
I listened. A sound… a small explosion? Or shattering glass? Footsteps running? The city was in turmoil.
"We need to see," I said. "Around the plaza, maybe there's… chaos."
Lyona nodded. Without waiting any longer, she quickened her pace, her white cloak fluttering between the shadows of the old tower.
---
Chaos in the City
The main plaza was a mess. Merchant tables were destroyed, carts overturned, people running in every direction. From the night sky, a thick purple light swept like a wave, forcing the air to spin and shaking the rooftops.
"Is that… a dragon?" I was shocked, ducking to avoid falling debris.
Lyona had already jumped onto a pile of wood, pulling me along. "Yes. But… this isn't an ordinary dragon." Her eyes stared sharply at the sky. "The temporal pressure… this is… different."
The purple wave struck the plaza, spewing energy that made the glass vibrate. I felt a pulse in the bones of my hands—like a resonance from the temporal record in the Northern Archive earlier.
"This… isn't Makoto B!" Lyona shouted, her eyes widening. "This flux… too pure. This is… a time watcher!"
I stared at her, breath ragged. "A time watcher?"
"Yes!" she screamed over the sound of the wind. "An entity that guards temporal balance! Makoto B wouldn't attack directly like this!"
---
Action in the Middle of the Wave
I grabbed my sword and looked at the purple dragon in the sky—not an ordinary living creature, but an energy entity. It dived low, its wave crashing into the ground, sending dust flying and cracking the plaza stones.
"Makoto, jump!" Lyona pulled my arm, darting to the side of the ruins. I followed, our bodies hitting the last remaining merchant table, shards of glass slicing near our feet.
"Your protection is everywhere!" I shouted, trying to deflect debris with my thin Flux. A blue light circled around my hand, blocking part of the wave, but not fully.
Lyona leapt onto an overturned cart, pulling out her bag. "We need to find a high position! From there we can observe."
I followed her, my breath uneven. "What's the purpose…?"
Lyona looked at me, her eyes glinting. "A test! The time watcher… is testing us. He wants to know if we're stable in this temporal layer."
---
Foreshadow Arthial
The purple wave produced ripples of light in the air, like a tall and firm silhouette between the energy. I felt a gaze—not from Makoto B, but from something much older.
"Look at that," Lyona pointed at the faint shadow. "That… isn't human."
I swallowed. "The time watcher?"
The silhouette tilted its head as if assessing us, then disappeared along with the last wave that hit the ground.
The city trembled, some merchants fell, but there were no serious casualties—as if the wave wanted to "observe" more than kill.
---
Closing the Night
We climbed down from the high position, our breaths ragged. The plaza was devastated, the purple light fading, but the air still vibrated with lingering energy.
"We're… still alive," I said, trying to calm myself.
Lyona nodded, staring at the ruins with a serious face. "Tomorrow… we need to go back to the Northern Archive. Investigate deeper. I… need to know what happened to me and its connection to this interference."
I looked at her. "And… Makoto B?"
Lyona bit her lip, her expression tense. "He's watching. But tonight… it's not his time to act."
I nodded. We walked to the nearest inn, still holding our pounding hearts and tension. The city of Verlyn that night was no longer the same—the Dragon Wave had marked the beginning of something far greater.