It's Time!

Splash. Splash.

The water slid down Hazel’s face, warm and grounding, dripping from his chin in a slow rhythm that mimicked his breath. He stared into the cracked mirror above the washbasin, lips parted slightly as though he were about to speak.

Today mattered.

He gave a nervous smile, the kind that fought Its way through anxiety and excitement all at once. Then he whispered to his reflection:

“It’s time—today’s the day.”

Hazel wiped his face dry and shrugged on his father’s worn, military-style coat. It was the only piece of his family he had left—besides the silver bracelet he never took off. A smooth, intricate band that once belonged to his mother. It hummed faintly with dormant Spirit energy, but never activated. Much like Hazel himself.

Today was the Spirit Trial.

Seventeen years had passed since Spirit energy burst into the world like wild lightning. People called it different names—magic, evolution, divine punishment. But Hazel had been born into it. This world of monsters and gifts, of ruin and rebirth, was all he knew.

He’d dreamed of awakening with Ice affinity—a rare and beautiful gift that could control glaciers and weather itself. Not for vanity. For purpose.

Because ten years ago, his parents disappeared on an expedition to Mount Grivahn—a massive, snow-covered mountain steeped in Spirit energy. No one who went looking for them ever returned. Only rumors trickled down: of shifting weather, sudden storms, strange echoes in the air.

Hazel was sure Ice was the key. To climb Grivahn. To understand what happened. To bring them home.

“You’re walking like someone headed to their funeral.”

Hazel glanced sideways to see Nari, pacing up beside him. Short, sharp-tongued, and the only person he trusted more than himself. She was already in full Spirit uniform, the Trial emblem glowing faintly on her shoulder.

“Just trying not to pass out before we even get there,” Hazel replied.

She smirked. “I’d catch you. Probably laugh a little first.”

He shook his head with a grin.

The city of Lyndara loomed ahead, alive with energy. Today, the city’s center—the Spirit Hall—would decide the fates of dozens of hopefuls. The Spirit Pool, a basin of concentrated energy, had never failed to reveal an individual’s affinity. Fire, Stone, Light, Wind, Ice, or something stranger. Everyone had something. Eventually.

Inside the Hall, the line moved quickly. Candidates stepped forward, one by one, placed their hands into the Pool, and awakened.

Hazel watched, heart pounding. Flames erupted around one girl. A boy burst into laughter as his skin shimmered like steel. Another sprouted wings.

Then—

“Hazel.”

He stepped forward. The room felt colder than before, even though no ice had been summoned yet.

He knelt by the Pool and extended his hand, fingers trembling.

The moment his skin touched the surface, everything went quiet.

But nothing happened.

No flash. No transformation.

Just a low hum.

He waited.

A minute passed. Whispers crept in from the corners of the hall.

Then, finally, a subtle glow bloomed beneath the water. Symbols—not of fire or wind—but of gears, clocks, spirals. An affinity unseen in the past decade.

The Elders stiffened.

One of them whispered, “Chrono-thread…”

Hazel blinked, pulling his hand back. “Wait—what did I get?”

Nari stepped forward. “Chrono-what?”

The head Elder gave Hazel a measured look. “You’ve been marked by Time.”

Hazel blinked again, disoriented. “That’s not even an element.”

“It’s rare. Unpredictable. Most don’t survive long enough to master it. It’s… a quiet affinity. Subtle. No fireballs. No ice.”

Hazel’s heart sank. “So it’s useless.”

“It’s not useless,” Nari cut in. “It’s… mysterious.”

He sighed, stepping away. “Great. I got mysterious.”

That night, Hazel sat in his small rooftop space, staring at the stars. The bracelet on his wrist had started to glow faintly. That had never happened before.

Nari joined him, two cups of hot vine-root in hand.

“You gonna sulk until sunrise?”

“I just thought I’d get something strong. Something useful.”

“Time is literally how everything moves,” she said. “Sounds important to me.”

He smiled weakly. “Yeah, but I can’t do anything.”

She held out her hand. “Then try. Let’s see what happens.”

He looked at her palm, then at his bracelet. The silver band shimmered again, syncing with the sigil on his hand. He took a breath, focused.

Everything slowed.

Birds froze mid-flight. The wind stilled. Nari’s blink hung in the air like a photograph.

Hazel panicked.

And in that panic—his heart racing—he pushed.

The world inverted.

When he opened his eyes, they were no longer on the rooftop.

They were surrounded by snow.

Trees stretched high above them, and thick flakes fell from the sky. There was no city skyline. No lights. Just wilderness.

“Hazel?” Nari stood, brushing frost from her shoulders. “Where the hell are we?”

He stared at the distant mountain, its peak cutting through the clouds like a blade.

“That’s Mount Grivahn,” he said, voice hollow.

“No,” she whispered, turning slowly. “No, no—how did we get here?”

Hazel checked his sigil. The markings had changed. A different pattern—simpler, older.

“We went back.”

She frowned. “How far?”

Hazel looked at the snow patterns, the wild trees—not yet twisted by Spirit energy.

Then he looked at the calendar built into the bracelet’s edge.

“Ten years,” he breathed. “We’re ten years in the past.”

Nari froze. “That’s… when your parents—”

“Disappeared,” he finished.

They both turned to the mountain.

Hazel’s pulse raced. “They’re here. Somewhere.”

The wind carried a distant howl. Not from an animal—but something stranger.

“We can’t change the past,” Nari warned, already sensing the weight of it. “Not without consequences.”

“I don’t care,” Hazel said. “I didn’t ask to come here. But now that we are—maybe we can just… see. Watch. Understand what happened.”

She stared at him, expression unreadable. Then nodded.

“Okay. Then let’s find them.”

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***