We kept moving through the streets and avenues.
Minho couldn't keep up.
Each step cost him.
Each breath sounded older than the last.
So we slowed down.
Too much.
By the time we reached the school, it had already taken longer than it should have.
We slipped inside unnoticed.
No guards.
No questions.
Just silence.
We made our way straight to the classroom.
Closed the door.
And then—
—You took your time.
We turned instantly.
Professor Eclipse.
Leaning against her desk.
Smoking.
Eyes closed.
As if she had been waiting all along.
—What you did today is serious.
Her voice dropped—cold, heavy.
—Leaving school without permission deserves punishment.
Silence filled the room.
—However…
She tilted her head slightly, eyes still shut.
—You saved your friend from a rather… unpleasant fate.
A slow one.
Agonizing.
Her lips curved faintly.
—It seems you came to me for help, didn't you… dear Dark?
My throat tightened.
—Yes… Professor. I know you can help him.
My voice trembled.
She sighed.
Smiled.
—Yes. I can.
A pause.
—But not here.
She pushed herself off the desk and walked toward us—graceful, controlled, terrifyingly elegant.
—Follow me.
We obeyed.
No one questioned it.
We moved through the hallways, down the stairs, and out toward the back of the school.
She opened a door that led to a hidden section of the garden.
Isolated.
Quiet.
Wrong.
—Stay back.
We hesitated.
Then stepped away.
She pulled Minho forward and placed him at the center.
Then—
She began.
A black liquid.
Thick.
Viscous.
She traced a circle around him.
Then another.
Then a third.
Lines.
Diagonals.
A crescent.
A star.
Inside the circle, she drew another—dividing it into sixteen sections.
Each one marked.
Each one alive.
The runes formed in sequence:
"Zyn'darel ünvar… Zyn'darel ünvar…"
(Judgment without mercy… Judgment without mercy…)
The air grew heavier.
Denser.
I couldn't breathe properly.
She murmured softly before moving again—this time to Minho's body.
Her fingers painted across his skin.
More runes.
Deeper ones.
"Tempus fluit et vita finit. Hodiē hunc cyclum frangō."
(Time flows and life ends. Today, I break this cycle.)
She exhaled slowly.
Then glanced at us.
—What's about to happen… will disturb many things.
Her tone softened.
Almost reassuring.
—Don't be afraid. Just trust me.
A lie.
Or something worse than a lie.
She raised her arm.
A blade appeared—small, precise.
I hadn't seen where it came from.
She cut herself.
Clean.
Deliberate.
Blood fell like a lunar tear.
—Dark… when you found Minho… did he have anything with him? A watch, perhaps?
I froze for a moment.
Then remembered.
I reached into my pocket.
Pulled it out.
Still stuck.
Still unmoving.
3:15 AM
—He had this.
She smiled.
Genuinely.
—Perfect.
She took it.
Lifted the blood—
And drove it into the center of the watch.
A pulse.
Blue light erupted.
A vortex formed around her.
The runes ignited.
The entire circle came alive.
She raised the watch with both hands—
Looked at it—
And after a few seconds…
Black tears began to fall from her eyes.
They dripped into the circle.
The light intensified.
She closed her eyes.
And began to chant.
—Ritualis Stasis.
Domine Temporis… hodiē hanc animam ad id quod fuit revertō.
Maledictio frangi debet… et vita eius ad pristinum statum redire debet.
O Domine Temporis, Pater Horologiorum—
Siste horologium.
Verte in directionem oppositam.
Et hanc animam juvenem redde.
Hodiē lacrimās et sanguinem meum in sacrificium offerō—
Et gratias agō pro tempore.
Ut nox aeterna caelum tegat—
Et veniam tuam nobis concedat!
Before she could finish—
—That's witchcraft!
Kim's voice cut through everything.
Sharp.
Angry.
Instant regret.
Professor Eclipse turned.
Just her gaze—
And something snapped.
Kim aged.
Ten years.
In seconds.
Her body shifted.
Her face changed.
Then—
Back.
Like nothing had happened.
The professor turned away again.
As if it meant nothing.
The ground trembled.
The sky darkened.
Lightning tore across the horizon.
I looked around—
People.
Students.
Teachers.
Everyone nearby—
Their bodies began to wrinkle.
Hair turning gray.
Aging—
Then reversing.
Younger.
Younger.
Children.
Infants.
Time was breaking.
Reality was folding in on itself.
Professor Eclipse inhaled deeply.
And then—
—Zyn'darel ünvar!
The light exploded.
Blinding.
It swallowed Minho whole.
A shockwave of blue radiance spread across the entire city.
Then—
Silence.
The light faded.
Minho's body… reversed.
His age.
His form.
Restored.
He opened his eyes.
Spoke—
—The tree… has roots in time…
And collapsed.
Unconscious.
We stood there.
Frozen.
Confused.
All of us—
Except her.
Professor Eclipse was smiling.
She stood up.
Calm.
Untouched.
—Take him to the infirmary.
A pause.
Then—
Her gaze landed on me.
Sharp.
Heavy.
—Dark… I want to see you after that.
This time—
It wasn't a suggestion.
I swallowed.
—…Yes, Professor.
Won ho and I lifted Minho.
Carried him inside.
Through the halls.
Into the infirmary.
We laid him down carefully.
I looked at him for a moment.
—Get better soon… okay?
Then I turned.
Walked out.
And headed back to the classroom.
To face her.
Alone.