The wind shifted.
A blue portal shimmered open between the trees, bending reality like ripples across a mirror. Time itself slowed as the air thickened. Ren Zian stepped forward cautiously, his new blade, Ashspire Edge, resting against his back, still warm from its earlier awakening.
Lyra followed, a soft layer of flame still trailing from her boots.
[Auction Entry: Realm of the Frozen Time Lotus – Domain of Chronos][Linked Soul Detected: Sealed Entity – Identity Concealed][Auction Commencing: 5 Minutes Remaining][Current Bidders: 3]
Ren's gaze sharpened.
"She's sealed like you were," he murmured to Lyra. "But the Domain of Chronos? That's not just rare… it's forbidden."
Lyra crossed her arms. "Time manipulation is considered divine-class. Only a few lineages ever wielded it. If the girl's from one of them…"
"She's dangerous," Ren finished. "And valuable."
[Target Information Unlocked via Chaos Access]Name: UnknownAlias: "Frozen Time Lotus"Status: Emotionally Sealed • Spirit Suppressed • Time-LockedOrigin: Chrono Domain (Disbanded)Auction Value Estimate: 6.9 Chaos CreditsSpecial Trait: Moment Fracture – User exists in multiple time-frames
Ren whistled. "Moment Fracture? That's not just rare—that's unstable."
Lyra raised an eyebrow. "And you still want her?"
"I don't want her. I want her freedom."
A pause.
"Also, maybe her time skills."
Lyra sighed. "Of course."
They stepped through the portal.
The glade vanished. The world twisted. And suddenly—
Everything froze.
Leaves hung mid-air. A rabbit remained suspended in a leap. Even the air was still. But Ren and Lyra could move, speak, breathe.
"Temporal stasis," Lyra whispered. "This entire subrealm is caught in her seal."
In the center of the frozen space stood a crystal lotus of ice, floating above a glass-like pond. At its heart sat a girl.
No… a woman.
Her silver-blue hair flowed like liquid moonlight, and her eyes—though closed—seemed to shimmer with fractured reflections of past and future. She wore a flowing robe of pale blue silk embroidered with hourglass runes, and around her body swirled invisible threads of time magic like a cocoon.
She was still. Untouchable. But beautiful in a way that felt haunting.
Ren's breath caught.
[Warning: Attempting to interact before auction resolution will trigger Chrono Pulse Backlash]
"She's not just sealed," Ren said softly. "She's… stuck in a broken moment."
"She's suffering," Lyra whispered. "Even if she doesn't know it."
The system chimed again:
[Current Bid: 3.8 Chaos Credits – Divine Executor of the Time Court][Next Bid: 4.0 Chaos Credits – Confirm?][Bidder 3: Unknown Shadow Bidder — Watching…]
Ren's fists clenched.
"She's being hunted by her own people," he muttered. "Or what's left of them."
Lyra gave him a side glance. "How many Chaos Credits do you have left?"
Ren didn't answer.
Because the truth was: none.
[Chaos Credit Balance: 0.0][Alternative: Offer Soul Collateral or Sacrifice Auction Rights]
Ren looked at the crystal lotus. At the silent girl suspended in time.
And then he did something insane.
"System," he said. "Offer my Auction Rights as collateral."
Lyra's flame pulsed beside him. "Ren—"
[Warning: Sacrificing Auction Rights will lock you out of bids for the next 72 hours.][Confirm?]
He didn't blink.
"Confirm."
[Chaos Override Activated][Auction Rights Locked][Bid Accepted – Total Value Matched: 5.2 Credits (Weighted Value)][Shadow Bidder Withdrew][Winner: Ren Zian][Sealing Protocol Initiated…]
Cracks began forming in the air itself.
Time warped. The pond cracked. The air trembled.
Then—the lotus shattered.
The woman's eyes snapped open, glowing silver with shattered light. Time screamed. A cyclone of energy surged outward, sending Ren stumbling back.
[Chrono Seal Reversal in Progress][Impact Imminent…]
Ren tried to stand—but his feet had no time to move.
His body slowed to a crawl, breath dragged out into eternity.
Lyra shouted something, but her voice came like a whisper across an ocean.
The girl floated downward, barefoot on the air, her eyes never leaving Ren.
And then… everything snapped back.
Time slammed into place.
Ren collapsed, gasping.
The girl landed gently in front of him.
"You… touched my timeline," she said. Her voice was ethereal. Beautiful. Cold.
"I won your freedom," Ren rasped. "You were being auctioned."
She tilted her head. "And what did you wager to do that?"
"…My rights. My power to bid. I can't help anyone else for 72 hours."
Silence.
"Foolish," she said softly.
Ren's lips curved upward. "I get that a lot."
She stepped forward. Her bare foot barely touched the ground. The air shimmered with slow-moving particles wherever she moved.
"I don't remember my name," she said. "I don't remember who sealed me, or why."
"But you remember the pain," Ren said.
She nodded.
"I feel it still. It echoes."
He held out his hand.
"Then let's rewrite your timeline. Starting now."
[Waifu Pact Link Detected][Chrono-Bloodline Resonance Achieved][Compatibility: 87%][Warning: Soul Instability May Affect Bond][Proceed?]
She stared at him. Then, slowly, she placed her hand in his.
[Waifu Pact Confirmed: Soul Sync Tier I][Skill Unlocked: Temporal Distortion (5-sec rewind)][Passive: Future Glimpse (1-second flash delay of nearby attack)][Cooldown: 6 hours]
The moment the pact activated, she collapsed forward.
Ren caught her instinctively.
"I don't know who I am," she whispered, voice cracking. "Will you still want me if I'm broken?"
He held her close.
"I don't want a perfect soul. I want the one who survived."
Behind them, the time-stilled forest resumed movement. Birds flew again. Water rippled. The world restarted—around her.
Later, Ren built a small fire at the edge of the pond while the girl slept in Lyra's conjured blanket.
"She's different," Lyra said softly. "There's… something fractured in her. But also something powerful."
"She's our second," Ren replied. "And I think she's just the beginning."
The system chimed softly.
[New Bid Opportunity Detected – Locked Due to 72h Cooldown][Target: Sealed Heiress of the Stormblood Line][Auction opens in: 8 hours]
Ren looked into the fire.
"Let them come."