{System alert: Level up}
Rex ignored the level-up notifications as he walked towards Seraphina's limp body, his eyes twitching in regret and sorrow. He looked at the half-dead so-called bodyguard that they had sent to protect her. "Hmph! And he calls himself a tier-one intermediate ability user" Rex scoffed
He lifted Seraphina up, carrying her in his arms. He had just met her although unwillingly, he had discovered that she was a nice person. Not that he had any feelings for her yet, to him now, she was a friend who had died because of him.
"Cronus, is there anything I can do?" Rex asked, his eyes tearing up.
"You can bend time but even right now, with your control over Aether, the highest you can do is rewind time by 5 seconds.... She's been dead for over a minute now"
"Isn't there anything you can do?!" Rex growled in pain.
Cronus sighed "I'm afraid that there's nothing I can do.... but there's something you can do at your current level"
"Something I can do?" Rex blinked in confusion and then opened his status window
XP to next level: 0/20,000
Strength: 38 ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ ɴovᴇl(ꜰ)ir(e).nᴇt
Aether: (1000/1000) Temporary usage: (Available for just one day)
Available points to distribute: 10
god's eyes(Level Max) : Upgrading in process.....
A Titan's will( Level one) XP to the next level: 0/10xp
Time control (lv 2) Xp to next level: 10/100
Time rewind (lv 1) Xp to next level: 10/100
Rex was shocked "He couldn't believe his eyes "Is this your doing or it's part of me being a level 10 player" Rex asked, looking confused at how much his Aether had increased. From 25 to 100 and his god's eyes was upgrading?
"Consider this as me just being nice to you for once," Cronus said
Rex smiled in response, though his heart was still heavy with sorrow. He knew what he had to do.
"Alright, let's give this a shot."
Rex knelt down beside Seraphina's lifeless body, his hand trembling as he hovered it over her chest. He focused, summoning the power of the Time Rewind skill. The blue Aether around him flared as he initiated the ability.
[System Alert: Time Rewind activated.]
[Cost: 5 Aether. Remaining Aether: 995.]
As the Aether flowed through him, the world around Seraphina seemed to blur, and her wounds began to reverse, the blood seeping back into her body, the gaping hole in her chest slowly closing. Her skin regained its color, and her breathing returned, shallow but steady.
Rex clenched his teeth, sweat forming on his brow as the strain of rewinding time for her body alone became evident. Five seconds. Ten seconds. Twenty. Thirty... He focused harder, pushing the rewind further.
[System Alert: Time Rewind activated again. Cost: 5 Aether every 5 seconds. Remaining Aether: 900.]
The clock wound back to 100 seconds. The damage done by Ralph Zipper was erased as if it had never happened.
Finally, Seraphina's body was whole again, her eyes fluttering open. She looked dazed, weak, but alive. Rex let out a sigh of relief, his heart pounding as he gently cradled her head.
"Seraphina... you're okay now."
Seraphina tried to speak but could barely muster the energy. She was completely drained, her body too exhausted to even move. Rex looked around, spotting her bodyguard still lying on the ground, injured but alive.
"Time to fix you up too, buddy," Rex muttered as he placed his hand over the bodyguard's chest, activating his healing Aether. The bodyguard's wounds started to close, and his breathing stabilized. He stirred awake, his eyes blinking in confusion.
"W-what happened?" the bodyguard asked, slowly sitting up. His gaze darted around, finally landing on Rex and the unconscious Seraphina in his arms.
"You were out cold, and Seraphina... she was attacked by an assassin," Rex explained, his voice flat and devoid of emotion. "But the assassin's been taken care of. She's safe now."
The bodyguard looked at Rex, still dazed but understanding enough. "Thank you... I don't know how you—"
"Save it," Rex interrupted, gently handing Seraphina over to him. "Get her out of here. Take her home. She needs rest, and she's going to be exhausted for a while."
The bodyguard nodded, though still bewildered. He carefully took Seraphina from Rex's arms and stood, staggering a bit but determined to follow through.
As they began to leave, Rex finally allowed himself to relax for a moment, though the exhaustion was beginning to creep in.
Rex watched as the bodyguard carried Seraphina away into the night. He sighed deeply, his fists still clenched from the adrenaline coursing through his body. He had saved her, but the cost weighed heavily on him. His head started aching so much that he fell on the floor, squirming in pain. He had overdone it. This was the reason he mostly didn't use his time control during battles.
"Do not be afraid, Harbinger! These effects are all just because thou art still not used to seeing the hands of time move backward..... the real effects will only manifest when you've attained god-hood"
"Yeah....." Rex hesitated, clutching his head in pain...."You do have a funny way of consoling someone" Rex growled
"I hope that was the last time we face something ," Rex muttered under his breath.
Cronus chuckled, "Thou didst well, but fate doth have a way of bringing more challenges to those who seek change."
Rex's eyes narrowed. "Bring it on."
" Hmm..... I always knew there was something special about that kid" A cold voice sighed
Lucius Noctis stood hidden in the shadows, his crimson eyes glowing faintly as he observed everything that had just unfolded. His lips curled into a cold, calculating smirk as he watched Rex fall to the ground, overwhelmed by the aftereffects of using his Aether to rewind time.
"So... the boy can manipulate time itself," Lucius whispered to himself, his voice filled with a mix of intrigue and amusement. "Not bad. He'll be quite the tool in my hands."
Lucius had been watching Rex for some time now, keeping tabs on his every move. From the moment he witnessed Rex's growing powers, he knew that the boy held potential beyond what most could even dream of. But time control? That was beyond even his expectations. His smirk widened as he saw Rex writhe in pain, clearly not yet fully attuned to his newfound abilities.
"Perfect. Let him grow stronger. Let him believe he's becoming a hero. When the time is right, he'll realize he's been playing my game all along."
Lucius stepped back into the darkness, vanishing into the night without a trace. His plans were already in motion, and Rex was now a crucial part of them, even if the boy didn't know it yet.