A damaging time period with very little means of survival. As the ends of the galaxy has been conquered by a dark mist and ominous power, who knows how much time is left for those who remain.

  "I thought it would've been a fine night, tonight... I guess I was wrong. Fuck everything..."

  As she ran through the destroyed/abandoned city, she was attempting to hide from whatever was chasing her prior.

  "I have to find my way back... At this rate I'll be as good as dead if I get spotted again."

  She was clearly exhausted, her feet were tired, her breathing was ragged, and her vision was blurry. It didn't help that her mind was racing as well.

  Meanwhile, in the other side of the city, Kaioshun and his squadron would scour the area looking for a special asset.

  She tried to keep her composure, holding back a burst of tears was more of a challenge than anything for her. She peeked out in the open, trying to make sure the area was clear before vaulting over chunks of debris and kept running.

  She stopped.

  "Where is he... Oh no... Oh no no no... FUCK! I have a terrible feeling about this..." She looked around, already feeling a disturbing presence.

  A dark mist appeared before Kaioshun and his squadron. "What has taken you this long? I gave you an opportunity to wipe them out. Is it so hard to take care of Jumkou Katatoria and her ally?"

  The mist glared at him.

  "We've looked around this part of the city, we're just about to scavenge the rest."

  "He is coming... the last remaining Soul-Wielder of fundamental power. After you and your men deal with him, this galaxy is completed by our hands. But before you finish him... Confiscate his Soul. Because something urgent has to be taken care of afterwards."

  Kaioshun nodded.

  "Very well."

  Quickly, Kaioshun began to send his troops to the other side of town. They were advancing swiftly.

  This place was barren, and the streets were littered with nothing but broken buildings, glass and trash. This galaxy was truly beyond repair. What happened?

  Everyone has died, no light was shining, and the moon was eclipsed by the planet.

  "KAIOSHUN!!!"

  Someone shouted, standing on a destroyed building.

  "... You." Kaioshun muttered.

  The warrior dropped down, slamming the ground before him. "Don't think you forgot about me already, huh? I've dealt with your men and now I will deal with YOU!"

  The warrior was full of anger and had no intention of backing down. He charged towards him, aiming an iron fist.

  Meanwhile, Jumkou heard the shout across the city. "Shit!" She began running towards the direction where the shout came from.

  "Looking a little red there, hm?" Kaioshun said, clearly antagonizing the warrior.

  "I'm done with you terrorizing this whole plan- no... this WHOLE GALAXY! It's time you paid the price!" The warrior began charging up his Soul-Energy, before yelling.

  "SOUL-RELEASE!"

  Basically by uncapping his Soul-Energy, he was ready to fight at his fullest.

  "Didn't want to result to this..." Kaioshun tapped the ground with his feet, the area around him inverted all the colours present.

  "Hell with your tricks!" The warrior aimed his hand at him, releasing a power beam going his direction.

  However, as the inverted area absorbed the blast, the warrior could do nothing but look and haunt himself with his own disappointment.

  "You're pretty special... however, I'm not just going to let you thwart our entire plan. It's just you and that girl. It's over, give up."

  "Kaioshun..." The warrior hissed through his teeth as the entire area slowly returned to its colour. He then swarmed in on him, using melee attacks instead. Despite his anger, he is formidable in hand-to-hand combat.

  Kaioshun would land an elbow into the warrior, following up by kneeing him in the face and finally, he smacks the man into a nearby building with a wave of Soul-Energy.

  Even then, it was obvious he stood no chance against Kaioshun, but he still didn't give up. He climbed out of the building, yelling at him.

  "EVEN IF YOU DO SUCCEED! WHAT THEN!? THERE'S NOTHING LEFT HERE! IT'S TOO FAR DETERIORATED! YOU CAUSED THIS TO HAPPEN! YOU FUCKED EVERYTHING UP! SO WHAT IF YOU WIN? NO ONE WILL WITNESS IT!"

  Kaioshun shrugged. "I will just reform the world to my image. Peace will exist, just not in the way you're familiar with."

  "By... by destroying lives? You can kill this body, but you will never be able to defeat the spirit of will. I won't sit on one death... NOT ONE!"

  The anger increased his power tenfold; this time he was attacking a lot faster.

  Kaioshun, tired of fighting already, took one step forward and then teleported just inches before him, headbutting him and cracking his skull.

  The warrior was immobilized in just one single attack. His body met the ground, and he looked at the sky in defeat.

  "Dispose of him." Kaioshun ordered his subordinates, putting the warrior in cuffs.

  They followed his orders.

  "Alright, Kaioshun! That's enough!" She shot multiple Time-Locking Bombs at him, creating a cluster bomb of pure power.

  Kaioshun looked at the exact second she threw the bombs and attempted to escape but was too late. The entire area was engulfed in smoke, and funnily enough... Kaioshun was unharmed.

  "Let him go, right now."

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  "I would, but my subordinates need entertainment. Since you're here, why don't we negotiate? You stop your resistance, and the world gains it's peace it deserves faster."

  "Yeah? And take the entire galaxy under the tyranny of yours and everyone who agreed with this stupid thing you're doing? Go to Hell you fucking piece of trash."

  She used Time Barrage, landing multiple hits on Kaioshun from different angles instantly.

  The warrior would stomp the subordinate's foot and headbutted him from the back, breaking free.

  "Great, now it is time." Kaioshun would throw the special asset in between Jumkou and the warrior, and it would attract them near said asset.

  The warrior was incapable of resisting the pull, making him stuck to the ground like a magnet, immobilizing him.

  However, Jumkou was resistant to it. "What... is this?"

  "Your friend's next stop, and your doom." The asset would completely trap the warrior inside it, making him unable to move away, forever.

  The mist swarmed in, hitting Jumkou and trapping her on the same object that caught the warrior.

  "Ahh, the two troublemakers... Good work, Kaioshun. Good work... Now, whose Soul do we confiscate first?"

  The warrior panted, not capable of resisting anymore.

  Whereas Jumkou was trying to break free.

  "Let's start with the warrior." Kaioshun said. "It'll break Jumkou as she watches her friend die."

  Kaioshun would walk towards Jumkou, forcibly holding her jaw.

  "No... NO... STOP!" She wiggled uncontrollably in attempt to stop him but was futile.

  "You'll suffer more... and more... the price for rebellion."

  "NO.... NO DON'T DO IT, PLEASE!" She was shifting around, crying.

  The warrior looked at Jumkou, before looking down. He was truly lost in despair. "I'm... sorry..."

  Kaioshun moved Jumkou's head towards The Warrior. "Just watch her."

  "One last favour... You have to do it... Jumkou... It's the only way..." And like that, he accepted his fate. Jumkou was astonished, almost too traumatized to do what he asked.

  "See you around, Jumy..."

  Kaioshun walked towards the warrior and simply phased his arm through his chest, swiftly draining him of his Soul-Energy, and grabbing the Soul away from him, effectively confiscating it.

  Jumkou would burst into tears, looking away.

  The warrior lay there, dead on the spot. A lifeless body, every bit of Soul sucked out of him. A hollow corpse, nothing else.

  "In due time... you'll be the most powerful Soul-Wielder. In which you are capable of even surpassing The Seventh One." The mist moved excitedly.

  "Right... heh... right..." Kaioshun placed a hand on his head. "It's a beautiful feeling... This has to be a success." He savored every drop of the Soul he took, almost wanting to hold back, as he knew the fun part was over. But he had another one to feed on.

  "Now... Jumkou Katatoria." He walked towards her, ready to phase his arm through her chest.

  "Heh."

  Jumkou went silent for a moment, almost looking down on the galaxy like she has let everyone down. As Kaioshun did so, she thought. She felt anger, despair, hopelessness. She couldn't do anything; her ally died right in front of her eyes. Her friend is gone. Nothing mattered anymore, she knew she was doomed to the same fate as him. She felt powerless. She failed. Her promise. Everything she believed in, nothing else mattered anymore.

  "I'll make sure your death takes longer... I'll take my time confiscating your Soul."

  The area began shaking, second by second it grew vigorously. The air around the atmosphere shook, time had suddenly spiked upwards rapidly.

  And it stopped.

  "No..."

  "No."

  No.

  No.

  No.

  ...

  NO!

  "Hm?"

  "You know what..."

  "I think you've done ENOUGH!!"

  She broke free and trapped Kaioshun in a Time Bubble, immobilizing him.

  "Huh!?"

  Without a moment of hesitation, she jumped back and clenched her fist, releasing a 'Clock Bomb' and exploding the whole area. It was not enough to kill him, but it incapacitated him.

  "You stubborn fool." The mist spoke.

  "He asked for a favour... and I'm going to fulfill it."

  And then she used her strongest ability.

  "May Father Time freeze those unholy, and may it grant godspeed to the gracious and kind, and in the blink of an eye... I call onto you... where I can freely play my game..."

  "... In The Fabric Of Time."

  Time froze altogether, freezing Kaioshun where he stood. The subordinates were motionless, Kaioshun was motionless. Even the air was motionless. Gravity, everything.

  But, amidst all this time-freezing... The mist was not affected by it.

  "DO NOT DO IT! DO NOT THINK ABOUT DOING IT! YOU WILL AWAKEN ANNIHILATION! YOU WILL AWAKEN ARMAGEDDON!"

  "... Fuck you. Fuck all of you. You took everything away from me... so I will take everything from you. I decide how this ends now"

  A portal opened behind her as she turned around facing it.

  "I'll make sure you and Kaioshun never exist."

  "Hrr... JUMKOU KATATORIA!" The mist rushed towards her.

  But Jumkou Katatoria already stepped past the portal, as it closed and unfroze time.

  "NOOOOO!!!" The mist yelled, rushing towards the spot where the portal was at before. But it was futile, the portal closed and will never reopen again.

  "I knew... I knew this would happen... it seemed unavoidable... Kaioshun."

  Kaioshun was fazed, shaking off the whole event as the blast had knocked him around.

  "She has gone to the past."

  "... What?"

  "Where she has gone... is to the past."

  "... How is- ... How far are we speaking?"

  "If I can recall correctly... If she is to set off the Coming that will happen... she will travel to 2195, 25 years after the destruction of Kyvern. She will call about the Seventh One... and wreak havoc."

  The mist opened a dark portal before Kaioshun.

  "I will leave it to you; confiscate all Souls you need to put her down."

  Kaioshun reluctantly entered the portal.

  "Do not let Flynnigan Shotaro rise with power, understood? He is a threat. He is the THREAT." The mist vanished.

  As the portal shut, both Kaioshun and Jumkou knew there was no turning back now.

  -

  The snowy planet carried rather a vigorous storm in this part.

  A place called Snowfall Heights.

  Temperatures in this range were always below zero. Very. The maximum recorded temperature was -37 degrees Celsius. And the minimum was -69.

  This place was unsustainable for any kind of agriculture, infrastructure, so it was left as a wasteland. The heights reached a peak of about 3000 meters above sea level, with the entire area being about 2800 kilometers in diameter.

  However, this place was also used for the most criminal of criminals. Even though it was a barren snowy wasteland with no inhabitants, it was the perfect place for committing any kind of crime and getting away with it. The place resembled much like the Arctic Glacier of Earth.

  The snow depth is about 7 meters, so walking was out of the equation. And a large sheet of solid water in the form of Ice 7 was under the snow, which was the only element in this area that was above zero.

  There were people flying above the heights using propulsion pads or helicopters which assisted their force against air turbulence. It gave off a noise like a fighter jet breaking past Mach 1. This caused a lot of static electricity to form around the area.

  However, and impossibly... A lifeform emerged under the depths of the snow in the middle of nowhere.

  “...Egh...” A girl slowly stood up, covered in snow. She was shivering vigorously, looking around. There was no crash-landing site nearby, nor anything. Just herself.

  She brushed herself, shivering still. She looked around and much to her dismay, she saw nothing.

  “Is this...”

  She stood there amid nowhere, looking up at the sky and watching the snow fall. She was completely battered up from a fight and yet she found a sense of peace that she hadn’t felt in almost her whole life.

  “Is this... 25 years after... AGHH!”

  She held her ears from the sound of fighter jets passing.

  “Rgh... What is... that?”

  She limped around a bit, still holding her ears. “Gah! What is that noise?!” She commented on the noise the static electricity gave. It was jarring, gear grinding.

  “What planet is this? Where am I?”

  Around her right, there is a sign which signals her to the nearest outpost and the nearest pathway. She was distanced approximately 4 kilometers away from the pathway.

  “Hffff...” She let out a puff to warm herself before slowly walking towards where the sign signalled.

  As she closed in to the pathway, she could hear electric vibration getting louder gradually. It was a highway of flying cars and hyperloop trains. As barren as this wasteland was, there was one highway that went through the heights, connecting one place to another.

  Her vision was a bit fuzzy, looking around. It was amazing how she kept herself up with such an injured body. “I-Is there... someone? Anybody... around?” She spoke but her voice gradually grew quiet out of exhaustion.

  “I... I need... to find... him...”

  "I need to..."

  "find him..."

  "...Him... Flynnigan Shotaro..."

  ...

  ...

  ...

  Flynnigan Shotaro?

  ...

  ...

  ...

  ...

  I found him.

  He’s right there, trying to save someone.

  “THEN LET THEM TAKE ME!”

  My Soul told me not to intervene... I could’ve saved her too.

  “NOOO!”

  Bang.

  ...

  ...

  I’m sorry, Flynnigan Shotaro.

  But she was going to die one way or another.

  And you’ll soon come to realize that...

  I know how things turn out.

  One way or another.

  She was going to die.

  ...

  Even if you saved her or not.