Title: The Cycle Breaker and the Pirate Who Saw Through Time
They whispered his name across the shattered tides—Rion Vorcayne, the Pirate of Fractured Hours. He wasn't merely a thief; he was a renegade of fate, an outlaw who had torn through the delicate tapestry of time itself.
But his greatest prize wasn't gold or jewels—it was the Specter of Time. Not a thing, not a ship, but a force, a power. A trickster's dream, a curse wrapped in opportunity. And, naturally, Rion stole it with the same ease he swiped a tavern's last bottle of rum.
The Cycle Breaker—that defiant ship—had been abandoned, feared, left to drift as an anomaly the universe refused to acknowledge. Until Rion found it.
"Poor thing," he mused, stepping onto its deck, boots clicking against wood that had seen too many lifetimes. "Left to rot because some coward decided time was too big to play with. Fortunately, I have horrendous impulse control."
And just like that, he claimed the ship with the Specter of Time, becoming its master, its mischief-maker, its walking disaster.
For years, they sailed against the current of causality, rewriting futures with stolen minutes and dismantled choices. The heavens tried to contain them—storms born from forgotten regrets, waves sculpted from memories abandoned—but the Specter of Time never bent.
Rion wasn't merely its captain. He was its troublemaker, its glitch in the grand design, its cosmic headache.
Then, in the distant future, a lone figure discovers the records of Rion Vorcayne's tale—the next remnant of time, Elios.
Among the fragmented texts and half-buried accounts, Elios uncovers something lodged outside of time—a passage that shouldn't exist, a rift in recorded history. The ink is aged yet untouched by decay, as though time itself had refused to alter it.
"Elios, mate—if you're reading this, congratulations! You're either clever enough to find this or dumb enough to chase the same madness I did. Either way, I'm already proud and mildly concerned."
But more than the words, it's the feeling they carry.
The Specter of Time wasn't merely a force Rion wielded—it was the force that sowed seeds of chaos, a presence waiting for the right hands to touch it again.
And Elios had touched it.
---
This guy definitely had a couple of screws loose. But is that really a bad thing? It's like they say—the best people are always a little crazy.
Looking down at the book in his hands, Elios smiled. Reading it reminded him of his childhood, when he dreamed of having adventures with his friends.
I envy you. You never grew up, and you never let anyone tell you what to do or what to become. You were a free man, a child at heart, a soul untamed.
To think that you already knew I was going to read this—it practically confirms that the remnants of time can truly see into the future. Although, I'm obviously too weak for that.
Hopefully, that will change… hopefully.
No wonder I feel so at peace here. This ship is practically your resting place. I'll take good care of it, Rion.
Standing up, he closed the book and headed for the door, shutting it softly behind him as he left the captain's quarters.
He walked toward the wheel, serenity masking the excitement burning beneath. In reality, he was nothing but eager—to feel what Rion must have felt guiding this ship across the waters.
As for his veil of calmness, it was something he had practiced long ago. After all, he was the Grand Priest of a god; he had needed to learn composure.
He didn't know if what he was about to attempt would work, but something deep down told him it would—that it was the right thing to do. To trust the past, believe in the present, and let the future guide him.
This was what time whispered into his ears.
Reaching the steering wheel, he grasped it with both hands. He could feel the ship—not as some opposing force, nor as an unidentified entity.
It was welcoming him.
Gathering the remnant energy within the air, permeated by time, he focused it all on the ship—all that he could. Using himself as a conduit, he gave as much of himself as he could to it.
The winds of time made his hair sway, long enough to reach his shoulders, dancing with the current. His eyes began to turn a shade of green, his body outlined by the same ethereal hue.
The element of time coated his being, and he could feel the world around him begin to slow. The ship soon began to glow.
Although Elios didn't see it, had he been able to, he would have witnessed the beautiful blood-red hull shift into a slick teal green—like the ocean itself.
He could feel the ship as if it were awakening from a slumber.
"Come on… I know I'm not your companion, but just like him, I am also a remnant of time. I might not be as mischievous or as adventurous as he was…"
"But I know he would have wanted this for you. So come with me and become my partner across the endless ocean."
With these words, the ship itself glowed a brilliant green, illuminating the entire cave. And then, with a bright flash—
Elios felt it.
The ship had finally reached out.