Morning Departure
After the three of them stayed at Rudes's house for seven days, Han decided to look for temporary lodging in that village. He didn't want to keep bothering Rudes's family, though Rudes's mother sincerely welcomed their presence.
On that bright morning, Han prepared to go alone. On the house porch, Rina sat while enjoying the cool morning air.
"Brother, are you going out again?" Rina asked while looking at the small bag Han was carrying. "I want to come."
Han stroked his sister's hair gently. "No need, you stay here with the others. Soon Ensei and Alice might come here."
Rina pouted, her lips jutting out slightly. "Alright, but don't be too long!"
"Might be a while because I also want to find suitable lodging around here for us," Han explained while adjusting the bag beside him.
"Alright then," Rina nodded, though her face still showed reluctance. "Be careful, Brother!"
Han turned toward Tsubasa who was sitting quietly at the end of the porch. "And Tsubasa, don't push yourself to do heavy things yet. You haven't fully recovered."
"Alright," Tsubasa answered briefly with a nod.
---
Han walked to the village market to buy some daily necessities. The morning market atmosphere was quite crowded with residents shopping for fresh vegetables and fruits.
Suddenly, while choosing vegetables, Han felt something strange. A wind shadow seemed to whisper calling his name. The sound was faint, but felt familiar and urgent.
Without thinking long, Han followed that wind sound with calm steps. The sound guided him out of the market, through a footpath, until deep into a forest untouched by humans.
That forest was extraordinarily beautiful. Tall lush trees towered with leaves that sparkled when blown by wind. Most amazingly, every time the wind blew, the trees produced melodious tunes, as if nature was singing.
Han kept walking until he finally saw something illogical before him—a shimmering wall of light separating the world into two different parts.
Though feeling strange, Han didn't feel fear. Instead there was a strong urge in his heart to cross that light barrier.
---
Without hesitation, Han stepped into the wall of light.
What he felt next was truly strange—the atmosphere around him changed drastically. The air felt heavier, and there was an energy vibration he had never felt before.
Most shockingly, the vegetables and fruits he bought at the market suddenly wilted and rotted in seconds, as if time had accelerated their process.
Han threw away the spoiled groceries and turned back, but the wall of light from before was no longer there.
"I have to find a way to get out of here," Han muttered while observing the surroundings.
That place looked like a forest, but very different. There were trees growing, but no animals at all. Even stranger, some trees grew at an unnatural speed—from small sprouts to lush trees in minutes.
"Time doesn't run normally here," Han realized the strangeness of that dimension.
---
Moving deeper, before him stood a strange giant sundial. Though the sky above was empty without sun, a long shadow still appeared clearly on the ground.
Han approached the mysterious structure carefully. When he bent down and touched the shadow on the ground with his hand, instantly the shadow turned into moving black chains, trying to coil around his body.
Han moved quickly dodging every chain attack that shot toward him. He used high-pressure water power to cut those chains, but the cut chains immediately regrew quickly.
While continuing to dodge, Han observed the sundial structure carefully. In the center of the clock, there was a small sparkling point—like the center of the entire mechanism.
"That's the center!" Han took a dense piece of wood from the ground, then threw it with full force like a spear toward the sundial's center point.
CRASH!
The wood hit the target precisely. Instantly, the entire sundial structure shattered into beautiful light fragments, and the black chains disappeared.
Han stared straight ahead while muttering, "Shadows... are merely signs of time passing. When severed, their path will vanish."
---
Han stepped to the next area—a wide empty field. In its center stood a giant hourglass with astonishing strangeness. Its sand didn't fall downward as usual, but flowed upward toward the sky.
An echoing voice sounded from the air: "Don't try to reverse the past. Face the flow as it is."
Suddenly, a sandstorm descended from the sky, enveloping Han with terrifying intensity. Every grain of sand touching his skin made that part of his body begin to age rapidly—his hands wrinkled.
When Han retreated to dodge, his eyes caught something horrifying around him—human skeletons scattered on the ground, some still wearing remnants of worn-out clothes.
"If it continues like this, I'll be destroyed consumed by time!" Han jumped back to dodge. "I have to stop this flow!"
A cold wind voice whispered in his ear: *"Whoever gets trapped here, once they die, they will be forgotten in the world of Echronia. As if they never existed."*
Those words made Han's blood freeze. He remembered his sister's face always smiling. "I can't end here... RINA!" Han shouted, and for the first time, pure fear burned his veins. This wasn't about death. This was about being forgotten by the only person who gave him a reason to fight.
Han raised his hand and concentrated. He created a water vortex from the moisture in the surrounding air. He dropped that water onto the flying sand, making the fine grains clump together heavily and their flow slowed.
"Water can hold, but not enough..." Han stretched both hands. Cold air spread from his palms, drastically changing the environmental temperature.
The wet sand clumps immediately froze, turning into hard chunks that fell to the ground like hail.
The storm stopped instantly. The giant hourglass trembled violently, then shattered into sparkling light fragments. Han's body returned to normal, his skin restored as before.
---
Han stepped further and found the strangest sight—a giant tree undergoing a life cycle at extraordinary speed. In minutes, a small sprout grew into a lush tree, then dried, died, crumbled, only to grow again from the beginning.
When the tree reached adult phase, its roots crawled wildly trying to coil around Han. Fallen leaves spun like sharp blades, moving fast in the air trying to attack.
Han dodged all those attacks agilely. Every time the tree entered the withering and crumbling phase, the attacks stopped briefly, but immediately resumed when new sprouts grew.
In that place, Han saw one different skeleton. It sat leaning against a rock, as if resting.
"He was the greatest," the voice trembled, almost like honoring. "Zed, the Water Hero. Fought for a whole week without rest. He almost won... before finally exhaustion from divine mark claimed him. Now, no one recognizes his name."
Han stared at that skeleton, then clenched his fist. "Water hero? No one has ever mentioned that. And this place... also doesn't exist in history."
"If the cycle keeps repeating... I have to stop the source," Han muttered while rolling to dodge a root attack.
Han froze the tree with his ice power, then destroyed it. But as expected, a new sprout immediately regrew from the ground.
Han closed his eyes briefly, letting his mind spin seeking a solution. "The soil... all growth comes from soil. But if this soil loses its life... then nothing more can grow."
This time, after freezing and destroying the tree, Han immediately released his fire power. Blazing fire burned the soil in that entire area, killing all fine roots, microbes, and life sources inside the soil.
"Dead and barren soil won't grow this lush tree again," Han said with satisfaction.
---
Han looked up at the empty sky. "Time dimension... who created all this? Who are you?!"
Then a gentle yet mysterious wind voice whispered in his ear: "Rineva... Time will never lie. You will always remember that."
In the blink of an eye, Han stood back at the edge of the familiar forest. The light of the other dimension around him vanished, and surprisingly—in his left hand there was a faint flickering light, as if new power was flowing into his body.
He saw his shopping bag lying beside him in fresh condition, as if never rotted at all.
Han stared at his glowing hand, feeling strange new energy. "Rineva..." he whispered, remembering the name mentioned by the mysterious voice earlier.
Without realizing it, the experience in that time dimension had changed him. The power of time now flowed in his blood, giving him abilities that tested his own humanity.
With mixed feelings between confusion and awe, Han took his groceries and walked back toward the village, not realizing that his life—and the fate of people around him—had changed forever.
---
Meanwhile, far in the kingdom, in the magnificent throne room, Parli sat with a calculating expression. Before him knelt a spy soldier who had just reported the latest developments about Rudes and his group.
After hearing all the reports, a cunning smile appeared on Parli's face. His eyes glinted with an evil plan just formed in his mind.
"Invite them to the palace," Parli ordered in a calm tone hiding a threat. "Use Elina's name as a pretext. Say there's important business requiring skilled healers' presence."
The spy nodded deeply. "They will surely agree if using Miss Elina's name, Sir."
"Good," Parli leaned back with satisfaction. "And make sure they all come. I want to see how excellent those healers are... and test how far they're willing to go to protect each other."
"Yes, Sir. When will this plan be executed?"
Parli looked at the large window displaying the kingdom's vast view. "Soon. The sooner, the better. And remember..." his eyes glinted dangerously. "Don't let anyone suspect."
The soldier rose and bowed respectfully. "Understood, Sir. I will execute it carefully."
After the soldier left, Parli sat alone in silence, an evil smile still carved on his face. The plan to trap Alice and Rina had begun.
---
TO BE CONTINUED...