Damien couldn't help but feel like his very existence was hanging by a thread.
He had never imagined his life—if you could even call it that in his current form—would spiral into something like this. The power he had absorbed from the Spectral Guardian, the Temporal Rift that now twisted through him, the Fatekeeper's warning... it all felt like a storm brewing, ready to swallow him whole.
His body, still a jelly-like slime, shimmered under the moonlight. It was no longer just the sensation of hunger that gnawed at him. There was something deeper, an unrelenting pressure that made it difficult to focus.
"I need to think this through."
With his new Temporal Rift skill, he could feel the subtle shifts in time around him. But the more he used it, the more chaotic his perception became. Every movement, every breath, seemed to stretch, distorting into strange echoes of themselves.
At times, he thought he saw future versions of himself, shimmering and flickering just beyond his reach. Other times, the present bled into the past—his body reeling from visions of his previous life as Damien, as a human.
"Focus… just focus."
Damien knew he had no time to waste. The Fatekeeper's words echoed in his mind.
"You are a threat… to Fate itself."
That weight wasn't going to go away anytime soon.
The rift was growing stronger within him. More unstable. He needed to fix it before something—or someone—decided to come knocking.
---
Hours passed, then days.
Damien slithered through the dense forest, his once-clear path growing hazy with every passing moment. The more he tried to escape the consequences of his actions, the more the world around him twisted. Branches seemed to sway in ways that didn't make sense, and the trees themselves felt like they were watching him.
He stopped occasionally to feed, using his Devour skill to absorb small critters and plants. But the hunger was never fully satisfied. The more power he consumed, the emptier he felt. The Temporal Rift had become a gnawing void inside him, pulling at the very threads of reality, making him question whether he was even real anymore.
"Am I even… still me?"
As if in response to his internal struggle, his system chimed in, its cold, mechanical voice offering a stark reminder of what had happened.
> "Warning: Rift Energy Escalating."
"Warning: Reality Distortion Approaching."
"Warning: Unstable Anomaly Detected."<
Damien tensed. Something—someone—was coming.
His senses flared, the distortion growing more intense. He didn't know whether it was the Rift that had drawn attention, or the fate-altering consequences of the Guardian's defeat, but whatever it was, it was nearing.
"What now?"
Without thinking, Damien activated his Temporal Awareness skill. For a fleeting moment, the world slowed. He could see the faint flickers of time converging—threads being tugged in different directions. He caught glimpses of figures, entities, crossing the lines of space and time.
And then—he saw them.
---
A small group of figures emerged from the distorted air, their presence as unnatural as the rift itself. Their forms flickered, like shadows trying to hold onto their own existence. Their appearance wasn't quite humanoid—more like shades, cloaked in light and darkness.
> "Entities: Temporal Marauders – Level ???"
"Affiliation: Unknown"<
The Marauders didn't speak. Instead, they silently advanced, their movements synchronized as if they were guided by a single, shared purpose. One of them extended a hand toward Damien, a slow, deliberate gesture. The air around it warped, distorting as if time itself was bending under their control.
Damien recoiled instinctively, his slimy body shuddering as the cold fingers of temporal energy reached for him.
"These aren't normal creatures."
He had encountered rifts, anomalies, but this… this was different. These Marauders didn't seem to belong to the world at all. They were echoes—distorted remnants of time itself.
> "Warning: Temporal Marauders are trying to stabilize the Rift."<
"So, they're here to stop me."
Damien's first instinct was to flee, but he was far too slow. The Marauders' presence was overwhelming, warping the air around him. His Temporal Awareness allowed him to see their every move before they made it, but it didn't help him escape. They were already closing in, their very existence eating away at the fabric of reality.
"I need to act—now."
He activated his Ethereal Form, drawing on the essence of the Spectral Guardian, pulling its energy into himself. It wasn't perfect, but it was the only thing he could do to stand his ground.
> "Skill Activated: Ethereal Form."
"Effect: Become partially incorporeal, temporary defense against physical attacks."<
Damien's form flickered and rippled, his body becoming translucent, glowing faintly as he phased partially into the ethereal plane. The Marauders paused, seemingly taken aback by his sudden shift.
But their reaction didn't last long. One of the Marauders raised its hand, and a distortion in the air grew—a rift of swirling, fragmented light. The ground beneath Damien trembled, and with a flicker, the world around him stretched.
> "Warning: Temporal Distortion Overload."
"Warning: Rift Collapse Imminent."<
The Marauder attacked. Its ethereal hand reached out, and Damien's body was yanked toward the distortion, his essence pulling at the very seams of time.
"No! I can't go like this!"
But just as the Marauder's hand made contact, the world shattered—time itself fracturing.
---
When Damien opened his eyes again, he was somewhere else.
It was as if the world had taken a breath, and now the air felt… different. His senses were sharper. The temporal rift had weakened, but the ripples were still present. And he wasn't alone.
From the shadows, a figure approached—familiar yet entirely different.
It was the Fatekeeper.
"You have made things more complicated than I imagined, Entity."
Damien's heart—if he had one—raced. He had no idea what was going to happen now, but he knew one thing for sure.
The balance had shifted, and he was at the center of it all.
---