We were sprinting like our lives depended on it—because, well, they did—when sothing cold and glowing yanked the rug right out from under my survival plan.
The necklace around my neck—the token, supposedly Kaleon's essence—suddenly lit up like a dying star. It floated off my chest and began humming with an unnatural pull.
Then it dragged .
Not away from the danger.
Toward it.
"No—No, NO—ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?" I shouted, clawing at the chain like it was a cursed leash.
The stupid thing wouldn't budge. It pulsed with this weird force, yanking right toward the giant beast still roaring like an ancient volcano with abandonnt issues.
ROAARRRRRRR
This is it. This is how I die. I always figured it'd be dramatic, but not "sacrificed by accessory" dramatic.
A firm hand latched onto my arm—Agnos. His golden eyes were sharp, focused.
"Whatever you do—don't let go!" he barked.
Helpful advice if we weren't both being dragged uphill like goddamn parade balloons.
Heim's voice cracked through the air next. "AGNOS?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"Being an idiot!" I shouted.
Heim didn't waste ti. He sprinted in and grabbed Agnos by the waist like he was auditioning for a tragic romance role. "I GOT YOU, BRO!"
Spoiler: it did nothing. Now all three of us were being towed like bargain-bin groceries tied to the back of a runaway carriage.
"This is insane!" Jiuge cried out, panic flaring in her usually flirty voice. "I knew this mission was cursed!"
Desperate to help, she grabbed the first thing within reach—Heim's hair.
"OW—Jiuge, you sadistic maniac! NOT THE HAIR!"
"I'M TRYING TO SAVE YOU, YOU FLUFFY IMBECILE!"
In the middle of Heim screaming from hair trauma, one of Jiuge's twitching tails smacked him clean across the face.
"STOP ASSAULTING WITH YOUR TAIL!"
"I'M PANICKING, OKAY?!"
So there we were—one tired interim owner and three Unknown Gods of Mythica now part of an accidental conga line, slowly, painfully being reeled toward the beast in the sky like bait on a divine fishing line.
And the beast? Oh, it knew.
It hovered, wings spread wide and glowing like the night sky had caught fire. Its eyes locked onto mine—ancient, knowing, hungry.
Nope. Not good. Very not good.
I looked down at the gods tangled around . My shoulder scread from the strain. This couldn't go on.
Ti to do the stupid thing.
"Agnos!" I yelled over the roar of wind. "Let go!"
He stared at like I'd just suggested eating Jiuge's tail for breakfast. "What?! You'll be beast food!"
"I have a plan!" I lied. "Trust !"
He hesitated. Just for a mont. But that was enough. His grip faltered—he looked in the eyes, and I gave him my best I-swear-I'm-not-lying smile.
Then he let go.
The smile dropped from my face the second he did.
"Sorry," I mouthed just before the pull intensified, yanking skyward like a ragdoll in reverse.
"No! CARL!"
Agnos lunged after , summoning his power in a flash of light—but it hit a barrier, hard. A blinding pulse repelled him backward, as if so ancient protocol had activated, warding off even the divine.
Jiuge and Heim joined in, both shouting my na, their own powers flashing like wild cots—but the sa thing happened. Nothing reached . I was untouchable.
Untouchable, and rising.
Higher and higher. Closer to the waiting jaws of the unknown.
The roar ca again—deep, echoing through my chest. The beast unfolded like prophecy, its presence ripping the sky in half.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
"Goodbye… Mythica."
I braced for death. Not taphorically—I an real, dramatic, my-life-flashing-before-my-eyes kind of death. The kind with roaring beasts, gods screaming your na, and the existential clarity of knowing you'll never finish that snack you left in the fridge.
But then… nothing.
No searing pain. No thunderous roar. No Heim yelling profanities or Jiuge shrieking in panic.
Just—
Silence.
Unnatural. Heavy. Suspiciously clean silence.
The force that had been yanking skyward—gone.
I opened one eye.
Still here. Still midair. Not falling. Not rising. Just… hanging like a glitch in the world's most dramatic action sequence.
"What the...?"
Everything around had frozen.
Literally.
The sky was locked in place like soone had pressed pause on reality. The clouds? Stuck mid-swirl. The beast? Frozen in the air above , wings outstretched, eyes wide, fangs bared—but completely still.
Even Agnos, Jiuge, and Heim, far below, were caught in the mont—mouths open, hands reaching out, expressions twisted into a perfect triad of panic, disbelief, and chaos.
Ti itself had stopped.
And I was the only one still moving.
I slowly turned upward—and that's when I saw it.
A shard.
A fragnt.
Suspended above , glowing like a tiny star having an identity crisis. My token—the necklace—was still hovering too, its light streaming upward, siphoning so kind of essence into the fragnt.
Oh. That's... not terrifying at all.
I stared at it, heart thudding loud in my ears, the only sound left in the entire world.
Was that my fragnt? One of the pieces of Vorta's divinity I cramd into my backpack like spare socks?
I didn't know how or why—but I could feel it. This one pulsed with sothing ancient. Sothing beyond divine.
Ti.
It was controlling ti.
"Holy crap…" I whispered—then snorted, mostly out of pure, nervous absurdity.
And that's when the idea hit .
I looked down at the gods, still frozen mid-scream.
My panic cracked under the weight of pure, immature revenge.
I fumbled into my pocket, pulled out my phone, and grinned.
Click. Click. Click.
"Perfect," I muttered, angling for a close-up of Heim's dramatic "I'm about to save my brother" face. "Gonna fra this one." Googlᴇ search novel·fire
Jiuge looked like she was yelling about taxes. Agnos actually had tears at the corners of his eyes. A single blink frozen in emotional HD.
I caught every unflattering angle.
Click. Click.
Oh, but the beast. I angled the cara on my phone just enough to snap a side profile of the Emperor War Beast mid-roar.
"Yup. Mythigram is gonna eat this up," I said with a grin. "Hashtag: I paused ti and all I got were these epic selfies."
After I'd milked the situation for all the blackmail and bragging rights it was worth, I slipped the phone back into my pocket, still half-shaking.
Focus, Carl.
The fragnt above was still glowing, still humming with that quiet, terrifying power. The token on my chest continued to pour essence into it like a lifeline.
This was what saved . One of Vorta's fragnts—The Unknown God of Space and Ti himself. Of course his divine leftovers could hijack the universe's play button.
I floated there for a few seconds longer, letting the weight of the situation sink in.
This wasn't luck.
This was sothing else entirely.
Now the question was—how do I shut it off?
Because suspended in midair next to a ti-stopping relic while a giant murder-beast hovered six feet away was not exactly the safest place to stall.
Think, Carl. Think.
If this fragnt was feeding off the token, maybe—just maybe—I could reverse it. Reclaim the essence. Or... guide it. Give it direction.
Or accidentally destroy the universe trying.
That too.
I took a slow breath, steadying myself. I reached out toward the fragnt, not really sure what I expected to happen. But whatever was coming next?
I knew one thing for sure.
This wasn't just so fragnt anymore.
This was a key.
And I have a feeling soone—or sothing—wanted to use it.
Reviews
All reviews (0)