Sarah read the runes slowly, a dreadful feeling filling her gut. Squabee noticed her lackluster expression and walked up to her.

"What’s wrong? Am I going to explode?"

"...that could be possible."

Sqaubee paled and started running around the store in a panic.

"How do I make it stop?! I don’t want to die!"

"Calm down. I’m slightly kidding around. It turns out that your luck is the only thing keeping you alive in this world right now. Without it, it is saying your demise is inevitable."

Squabee slouched.

"Does that mean I can’t bestow my luck to anyone after all?"

"Not necessarily. It is simply saying if you do, it comes with an enormous risk to yourself. I mean, think about it. You would be bestowing a god-like power to someone who may already have an extremely powerful Zalo. This drawback only seems fair, no?"

Squabee pouted more and crossed her arms.

"Well, when you put it that way..."

Sarah turned around and dropped a gold coin on Enki’s counter. Then she leaned down to help him stand back up on his feet.

"Thank you for the help today. We’ll come back to you with any more discoveries we find about this place."

Enki nodded lightly.

"Don’t get yourself killed. This is the first time I’ve ever had regular customers!"

Sarah tucked the monocle inside her armor and walked out of the store with Squabee.

"Angel Incarnate... I wonder how I transform into that thing. By the way, Sarah, can you carry me?"

"Carry you? Why?"

"I think I released my power too much. I’m so sleepy."

Sarah sighed and offered for Squabee to jump on her back. Squabee accepted the invitation and secured herself on her shoulders.

"Sorry. I’m going to rest now."

"Do what you must."

Before long, Squabee was asleep on Sarah’s back. Sarah decided to continue her walk through the kingdom in search of other people. After reaching the gates, she turned down the street right next to Enki’s.

’Enki said that he would always hear people in these streets. It must have at least a few people here.’

However, the longer Sarah walked down the street, the more uneasy she felt. It was as if she was entering a sacred resting place that shouldn’t be disturbed by sound.

"What the hell?! Is there seriously not even one person here?!"

Suddenly, Sarah finally heard a voice. It came from an empty, dirty bar. The doors of the entrance were cracked and leaning off their hinges.

"Hello?"

No response. Sarah got closer to the doors trying to peer through the small cracks. A small, muffled scream sounded from the back. Relying on pure instinct, Sarah burst through the doors with Squabee still resting peacefully on her back.

"Hello?! Are you okay?! Where are you?!"

The scream echoed out of a door that was cracked open to her left. It looked like it was a restroom. Sarah laid Squabee down on a chair and slowly approached the door.

’This is crazy, Sarah. You aren’t a fighter! What the hell are you going?!’

Another clear scream came from the bathroom.

’There’s no time to think like that! Somone needs my help!’

Sarah ran so fast towards the door, her momentum broke her armored body through it with ease. On the other side was a large area with three toilets, all separated by a small curtain. There was a massive, cracked mirror reflecting the dark area perfectly. A rancid smell started filling Sarah’s nostrils. She covered her nose using her gauntlet and gaged.

"Hello?! Where are you?!"

Nothing. The bathroom was completely empty. Sarah looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her blonde hair was much longer than she remembered. Behind her, in the reflection, was something she didn’t recognize. It looked like a dark pulsating ball of flesh. She turned around to see where it was behind her, but there was nothing.

"What?"

Sarah looked back in the reflection to make sure her eyes were not playing tricks on her. Once again, the ball of flesh was stashed in the right-most stall, slowly moving as if it was trying to breathe. However, once she turned around and looked in the same stall, there was nothing there.

Suddenly, a massive screech sounded through the room. It was coming right from the mirror. Now that Sarah finally was close enough, she realized that the scream was not coming from a human. Instead, it sounded like it was coming from something trying to imitate a human. Her heart started beating wildly.

Sarah used her fist and shattered the mirror in front of her out of instinct, causing the screaming to stop. She panted heavily as she anxiously waited, listening to the sounds around her. A loud crack rang through the room.

Sarah darted towards the exit. It was as if the building itself had come alive and was trying to consume her. The walls around her twisted, the ceiling slowly closed, and the floors curved upward like a tongue. Sarah was hardly able to jump out of the bathroom before being crushed.

However, once she escaped the bathroom, the rest of the bar started coming to life. All the chairs, tables, and even counters were being splintered and reshaped into something else. Squabee was being lifted into the air by a strange wooden tentacle.

"Squabee!"

However, even as the building tried grabbing Squabee, it appeared to be struggling to keep her in one place. Either the materials holding her up would break or the different parts would bump into each other, causing her to slip from its grasp further. Sarah watched the scene unfold around her in horror.

"We have to get out of here."

The exit became unclear. The room had shifted so much, it felt as if everything was where it shouldn’t be. However, Sarah still had a vague idea of where the exit was, and as long as she kept that in her mind, there was hope.

The building started its assault. Multiple shards shot towards Sarah, aiming to impale her torso. However, they flew right through her as if she wasn’t there at all.

Instead of cowering, or trying to run, Sarah started fighting back. She threw an elbow down on the shards that tried to impale her, breaking them into small pieces.

The room shifted once more, trying to throw off her balance. Sarah continued jumping in between different pieces of furniture, activating her ability whenever the building would decide to throw an attack. In little to no time, Sarah was able to reach Squabee. Both of them were high in the air. Squabee was being held up by scraps that wrapped around her body whereas Sarah was sitting on a counter that had been turned sideways due to the room moving around.

A low grumble came from beneath them. Suddenly, the floor beneath them opened, revealing an empty expanse. The shards around the hold looked like the jaws of a beast. Sarah pushed down the fear grasping her heart and ran towards Squabee with all her might. Using her momentum, she tackled Squabee out of the buildings grasp and crashed through a wall.

Both Squabee and Sarah tumbled out into the street of kingdom. The building they had just left quickly collapsed under the arranged foundation, causing a dust cloud to shoot into the air. Sarah covered Squabee so she wouldn’t be hit by any debris.

When everything finally settled, Sarah looked back at the house in horror.

"This damn house tried to kill me! What the hell is wrong with this place?!"

Sarah picked up Sqaubee and started walking back towards Enki’s place.

"Some luck charm you are... it’s hardly been three minutes since we’ve left and we almost died. Hopefully Enki knows what to do about this information... and hopefully our swift return doesn’t startle him..."

As both Sarah and Squabee walked around the corner of the street, the house that had tried to attack them mysteriously started building itself again. All the walls, the floors, the ceiling, and the furniture were put back right where they were left. All the evidence of what had transpired had disappeared within mere moments.

Lidia and Slimo had almost reached the palace. Slimo was wearing his special glasses, his helmet laid off to his side, and he walked confidently. They held small conversation between each other as they walked.

"Are you not going to wear your helmet today?"

Slimo nodded.

"I think it’s time I figure out what the Queen’s Zalo is. Every other time I’ve tried to study it; something has gotten in my way. I need to know what we’re dealing with in case she tries to join her jester in slaughtering us one of these days."

"Fair point. I mean, I think you look good in glasses anyway."

Slimo smiled.

"I would wear these all the time if not for their drawback."

Slimo and Lidia did their usual weapon check with the guards. Slimo had to leave his new broadsword on the ground outside the palace. Both him and Lidia were let into the throne room cautiously. Slimo looked through his glasses at the Queen. Lidia noticed him shiver slightly as he read the text.

Name: Chronos Veria

Zalo: Time Loop

Zalo Type: Rend

Zalo Description: This user is capable of creating time loops. In order for a time loop to be made, the user must infuse an object with their power. The amount of power infused into the object will determine the length of the loop, its radius, and how long the loop will persist through normal flows of time.

Threat Level: Infant Spirit

Weakness: Break their loops by destroying the sanctioned objects or break their staff. Their power is not combat-oriented.

Release: The loop the user creates will persist infinitely until broken.

Transformation: None

[Soul-Bound Staff of Epoch]: This emerald staff is innately tied with the soul of its wielder. This staff can reverse time for any and all things. Breaking this staff kills its user.