The air in the Archive hung heavy, a suffocating blend of aged parchment and ozone, the electric hum a tangible presence, a premonition of the storm about to break. Kairus, his face etched with the wisdom – and weariness (perhaps waning due to over using his time) – of centuries, stood before the Tapestry of Moments. Its threads, woven from the very fabric of time, pulsed with an unsettling, unstable light; a chaotic symphony of shimmering colours that threatened to unravel before Kairus's ancient, gnarled fingers as he traced a particularly vibrant, almost incandescent strand.
Liam, a young man thrust into this ancient, arcane world, felt a tremor of fear crawl up his spine. The Archive, usually a place of serene, silent contemplation, felt charged, alive with a potent, almost malevolent energy.
"This is your first true test," Kairus's voice resonated, deep and low, like the slow turning of pages in a forgotten tome. The words hung in the air, weighty with implication. "Not to observe from afar, a passive spectator, but to walk among them… as one of them, yet stand afar and this time you will go as a special being magus, and you must pratice to become strong."
"ma....magus?"
Liam swallowed, the dryness in his throat a physical manifestation of his apprehension. He tried to speak, to ask clarifying questions, but the weight of the unspoken hung between them, a palpable pressure. The thought of stepping into another time, into the unknown, sent a chill down his spine that had nothing to do with the Archive's unnatural chill. "For how long?" he finally managed, his voice a mere breath.
Kairus didn't answer directly. The silence stretched, thick and suffocating, punctuated only by the faint crackle of the Tapestry. Then, with a slow, deliberate movement, he reached towards the walls of the library moving his hands in a rythmical order, shaking violentl the library vithdrawing a small, silver key. It was exquisitely crafted, its surface etched with symbols that seemed to writhe and shift, mocking Liam's attempts to decipher their meaning. They pulsed with a faint inner light, almost seeming to breathe.
"The Key to the Library," Kairus murmured, his voice barely audible above the rising hum. The words themselves seemed to carry a weight of history, of untold secrets and unimaginable power. He spoke with a hushed urgency, his gaze fixed on the key as if it held the fate of worlds within its delicate mechanism. "It must never fall into the hands of the Fang Reaper."
Liam's pulse quickened, his breath catching in his throat. Panic edged at the boundaries of his fear. "Who—?" he began, the question trembling on his lips when the information of the fang Reaper surface in his head.
"A hunter of worlds," Kairus interrupted, his voice hardening with a chilling finality. The name, "Fang Reaper," hung in the air, a whisper of dread, a promise of annihilation. "It seeks the Key to cross into other timelines. If it succeeds… all will unravel." The final words hung in the oppressive silence, a terrifying prophecy.
"you must leave now"
with that his body dissapated into dusts of lights
The weight of the task, the sheer immensity of the responsibility, settled over Liam like a shroud. It wasn't just a mission; it was the fate of existence itself resting on his young, inexperienced shoulders. The shimmering threads of the Tapestry seemed to dim, mirroring the sudden, chilling despair that threatened to engulf him. He clutched at the silver key, its cold metal a stark contrast to the burning fear that consumed him. This was no mere journey into the past; it was a plunge into a terrifying, unpredictable future, a battle against a force that threatened to tear the very fabric of reality apart. And Liam, armed only with a silver key and a desperate hope, was its only defense.