the Shattered Hourglass - Snippet #01

The Shattered Queen stumbled back, her trembling legs collapsing, sending her to the ground. The God of Time loomed over his fallen foe, his eyes glowing with an otherworldly intensity as tears stung at the corners. The air around them crackled with residual energy from their cataclysmic clash. The Queen’s armor lay in ruins, shattered fragments glinting in the fading light.

Her defeat fueled a primal rage within her, causing the Queen to scream out in a fierce fury; tears streamed down her soot-covered face. The God had to look away, feeling each of her anguished screams pierce his heart like sharp needles. When her enraged cries finally subsided into distant echoes, he turned to face her with an unflinching expression on his divine visage, masking the intense remorse that tore at his very being.

“It’s over, Athiiriya,” he declared. “Your reign of chaos ends here.”

Lifting her head, Athiiriya’s defiant gaze held his despite the disappointment etched on her features. “You may have bested me today, Rythmic,” she spat, her words laced with venom, “but you cannot keep me down forever. I will return and destroy your entire existence!”

A flicker of sadness crossed Rythmic’s ancient features. “I must maintain the balance, no matter the cost…”

With a wave of his hand, glowing chains materialized from the very fabric of existence, entwining themselves around Athiiriya’s battered form. She struggled against their unyielding grip; her screams of rage and despair resounded across the fractured landscape.

As the chains tightened around Athiiriya, preparing to dissolve her from the fabric of reality, Rythmic closed his eyes and let his mind drift back to long ago.

“Rythmic! Over here!’ a voice beckoned to him. Rythmic’s eyes fluttered open to find himself standing at the edge of a vast wheat field. He looked over at his younger sister, her dark hair pulled back with a delicate pastel pink ribbon, as she playfully poked at something by the crystal clear pond.

“What is it?” he asked, though he knew the answer. He walked toward the young girl with a saddened expression. Athiiriya then lifted her cupped hands to reveal the captured creature within.

“It’s a froggy!” she giggled before glancing at her brother’s guilt-ridden face. Her smile drifted into a frown. “What’s wrong, big brother?”

Rythmic’s heart ached. He gazed upon his sister’s innocent face, starkly contrasting to the vengeful goddess she would become. He struggled to find the words, knowing that this memory was a bittersweet remnant of a time long gone.

“Athiiriya,” he began, his voice barely above a whisper, “do you remember the promise we made to each other?”

The young girl tilted her head, her eyes wide with curiosity. “Of course I do, silly! We promised always to protect each other, no matter what.”

Rythmic nodded solemnly, a single tear escaping his eye and trailing down his cheek. “And I will keep that promise, even if it means protecting you from yourself…”

Before she could speak, the scene began to fade, with colors bleeding together until he once again stood before the fallen goddess, her eyes burning with hatred.

“Athiiriya,” he said again, tears falling freely down his cheeks now, “our promise…from all those years ago.”

Athiiriya’s eyes widened at the mention of their childhood promise, a flicker of recognition sparking within their depths. The veil of anger and chaos lifted for a fleeting moment, revealing the innocent sister Rythmic once knew.

“Rythmic?” she muttered quietly, just as the edges of her form started to dematerialize. “I…I don’t want to die.”

Rythmic’s heart clenched at his sister’s words, a wave of conflicting emotions crashing over him. He watched as Athiiriya’s form faded, the chains of existence slowly unraveling her essence. At that moment, he saw not the vengeful goddess who had wrought destruction upon the universe but the frightened little girl who had once looked up to him with adoration and trust.

“Sister…” his voice trembled. Just before her form could entirely disappear, he flicked his wrist, the chains around Athiiriya loosening. Gasping, she slumped forward, her body solidifying. Rythmic approached her slowly, kneeling beside her damaged appearance.

“I promised to protect you, no matter what,” he said softly, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “And I intend to keep that promise, even if it means finding another way.”

His hand hovered over his divine sister’s weakened form, his fingers trembling with the weight of the decision before him. Sealing her away was the only way to ensure the safety of the universe, but the thought of condemning his sister to an eternity of isolation tore at his very soul.

“Big brother,” Athiiriya whispered, her voice hoarse from her earlier screams, “please…don’t do this.”

Rythmic’s heart clenched at her plea, but he knew he had no choice. The universe's fate rested on his shoulders, but he could not destroy her, so this was the only way.

With a heavy sigh, Rythmic closed his eyes and began to chant in an ancient tongue, his words resonating with the fabric of existence. The ground beneath them began to tremble, cracks appearing across the fractured landscape.

Athiiriya’s eyes widened with fear as she realized what was happening. She struggled to rise, but her battered body refused to cooperate. “No, Rythmic! Please, don’t do this!” she cried, tears streaming down her face.

“I’m so sorry, sister,” he murmured before unleashing the full force of the ancient spell.

Rythmic’s outstretched hand shot forth a brilliant surge of energy, enveloping Athiiriya in a cocoon of shimmering light. The floor quaked beneath them, and her form glinted before being swallowed by the ground.

Rythmic sank to his knees, tears mingling with the dust of the shattered world around him. The weight of his decision bore down upon him like a mountain, but he knew deep in his heart that he had done what was necessary to protect the fragile balance of existence.

He touched the warm, crystalized ground beneath his feet with a trembling hand. It was as if he could still feel the faint pulse of life emanating from within. A final goodbye escaped his lips before he stood and began to walk away, leaving behind his sister’s resting place for the rest of eternity. The floor below him seemed to tremble with emotion, matching the turmoil in his heart, but he forced himself to keep walking, feeling a small piece of himself remain entombed with her forever.