I Became the Timekeeper: Juno and the Minutes of her Shattered Deaths

"Destruction doesn't discriminate; it only demands a host willing to wield it as the past hunts you, the future demands you, and the present... breaks you."

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The place groaned like a dying beast. Its once-majestic stained glass windows, now dulled by grime and age, cracked under the tremors shaking the ancient stone. Juno's chest heaved as she stumbled forward, clutching her younger self tighter. The child's unconscious form felt unbearably heavy, her limbs limp, her weight shifting with every jagged step Juno took.

Somewhere behind her, chaos reigned.

Agredor's voice echoed through the crumbling chamber, deep and reverberating, like the void itself speaking. "Reflective anomalies cannot alter their cores. You remain a shadow of your timeline that you swore to uphold."

The Reflection of Juno, a future timeline of herself, didn't respond verbally. Instead, the air snapped with a sharp crack as she deflected a beam of pure void energy with her Chronosword, her movements fluid yet unnervingly precise. The blade shimmered, not with its usual golden glow, but with a volatile, fractured hue—a patchwork of time unraveled and reforged in her hands.

Juno's lungs burned. She glanced back, her gaze catching the surreal sight of her Reflection vaulting through a barrage of crystal shards, her silhouette cutting cleanly through Agredor's onslaught. The Void Lord, draped in a flowing cloak of shifting void tendrils, summoned another surge of power. His outstretched hand morphed into a jagged crystalline lance, glowing with streaks of violet light, and he hurled it with devastating force.

The Reflection sidestepped, her movements unnervingly calculated, her form a ghostly blur as time itself seemed to bend around her. The lance slammed into the floor, sending chunks of stone flying in every direction.

Juno winced as one of those chunks grazed her leg, the sharp sting reminding her of how fragile she was compared to the titans clashing behind her. Blood trickled down, warm and sticky, soaking into her already tattered pants. She hissed in pain, her free hand gripping her thigh instinctively.

"Keep moving," she whispered to herself, her voice shaky but firm. "You can cry about it later."

Ahead, she spotted a small alcove beneath a shattered altar. The ornate carvings on its side—depictions of celestial beings locked in eternal battle—mocked her predicament. She made her way there, limping, her breaths ragged. Every step sent a jolt of pain through her leg, but she gritted her teeth and pushed forward. The younger version of herself needed safety, even if it was temporary.

Behind her, the fight escalated.

"Surrender to me and be my perfect tool!" Agredor roared, his voice like a thunderclap. With a sweep of his arm, the corpses of the fallen cultists twitched violently before rising. Their eyes glowed with the same eerie purple light as Agredor's crystals, and their twisted forms lurched toward the Reflection.

"More toys?" the Reflection muttered, almost bored. She raised her free hand, fingers splayed wide, and the air around her shimmered. "I know you'll just use my abilities once we get out of here, the power of the Aspect of Time in my timeline will never be yours."

A ripple emanated from her, distorting the very fabric of reality. The resurrected cultists froze mid-lunge, their movements reversed in grotesque, unnatural jerks as they crumbled into dust. Even the void spawns—amorphous creatures slithering through the rubble—writhed helplessly as time unraveled their existence.

Agredor sneered, his expression twisting into something monstrous. "Do you think I fear time? The Void devours all—past, present, and future!"

Juno ducked beneath a falling beam, the sound of splintering wood and cracking stone deafening. She reached the alcove, her fingers trembling as she gently set her younger self down. The child's face was pale, her breaths shallow. Juno brushed a strand of hair from her face, her bloodied hand leaving a faint smear on the girl's cheek.

"Stay here," she whispered, as if the unconscious girl could hear her. "Just… stay."

A guttural roar drew her attention back to the battle. Agredor had summoned something else—a towering chimera of void and plague, its form shifting between monstrous configurations. One moment it had the head of a serpent, its eyes glowing with malevolent intelligence; the next, it sprouted wings made of jagged crystal, its body pulsating with void energy.

The Reflection didn't hesitate. She launched herself forward, her Chronosword slicing through the air with a sharp whistle. The blade collided with the chimera's crystalline hide, sparks flying as time and void clashed violently. The creature retaliated, its claws swiping in rapid succession, but the Reflection moved like water, her form blurring as she dodged and countered with surgical precision.

Juno watched, her heart pounding. Every movement the Reflection made was calculated, efficient. It wasn't just skill—it was like watching someone who had lived this moment a thousand times before. The realization hit her like a punch to the gut.

"That's… me," she muttered, her voice barely audible over the chaos. "Or it could be."

She pressed her back against the cold stone of the alcove, her mind racing. That version of herself was ruthless, unyielding. Was that what she would become? Was that the price of survival? Her hands clenched into fists, her nails digging into her palms.

"No," she whispered. "I can't… I won't be like that."

Another explosion rocked the cathedral, shaking her from her thoughts. A massive chunk of the ceiling collapsed, crashing dangerously close to the alcove. Dust and debris filled the air, making it hard to breathe. Juno coughed, covering her mouth with her sleeve as she scrambled to shield her younger self from the falling rubble.

Through the haze, she saw Agredor and the Reflection locked in a brutal exchange. Agredor's void crystals shot out in rapid succession, each one aimed with deadly precision. The Reflection deflected them with her Chronosword, the blade leaving streaks of light in its wake. But it wasn't enough. One of the crystals struck her shoulder, shattering on impact and sending her sprawling.

Agredor laughed, the sound cold and merciless. "You're not invincible, Keeper. Not even in your prime."

The Reflection pushed herself up, her movements slower, more deliberate. Blood dripped from her wound, staining the already-ruined cathedral floor. She raised her sword, her expression unreadable.

"You talk too much," she said, her voice devoid of emotion. "When you let me enter this place of hers, I should've ended you and take control."

The air around her exploded with energy, a storm of light and shadow that seemed to consume everything in its path. Agredor roared in defiance, his form flickering as the temporal storm tore at his essence.

Juno didn't wait to see who would come out on top. She grabbed her younger self, ignoring the searing pain in her leg, and began to crawl deeper into the alcove. She had to find another way out. Another place to hide.

But the cathedral wasn't done with her yet. The ground beneath her trembled, and she heard the unmistakable sound of stone splitting.

She looked up just in time to see the Void Chimera, battered but still alive, staring directly at her.

Juno's breath hitched as the Void Chimera locked eyes—or whatever counted as eyes—on her. Its fractured form pulsated with chaotic energy, its jagged wings stretching wide, casting eerie shadows across the collapsing cathedral. Each movement of the monstrosity was a grotesque blend of fluidity and disjointed jerks, as if reality itself struggled to define its existence.

She didn't think. She ran.

Her leg screamed in protest, the injury making every step feel like dragging her own body through shattered glass. But survival had no patience for pain. Juno tightened her grip on the unconscious child in her arms, cradling the smaller version of herself like a lifeline. Her mind raced. Run. Hide. Protect her. Protect yourself. Do not die. 

The Chimera roared, a guttural, reverberating sound that shook the already unstable structure. The force of it sent another wave of rubble cascading from the ceiling. Juno barely managed to sidestep a falling slab of stone, the corner grazing her shoulder and sending a fresh jolt of agony shooting through her body.

The air grew heavier, charged with the oppressive presence of Agredor and the Reflection still locked in their violent dance. Juno didn't dare look back. She could feel their power tearing through the fabric of the world itself. A violet streak of void light shot past her, smashing into a nearby pillar and reducing it to a cloud of dust and crystalline shards.

The Chimera's claws scraped against the stone floor as it pursued her, the sound like nails on an infinite chalkboard.

"Come on, come on," Juno muttered under her breath, her voice trembling with desperation. She darted toward the far end of the cathedral, her eyes scanning for any semblance of cover. The once-majestic structure had devolved into a labyrinth of destruction—splintered pews, shattered altars, and jagged beams jutting out at impossible angles.

The child in her arms stirred faintly, her face scrunching in pain but her eyes remaining shut. Juno's heart clenched. "You're okay," she whispered, her voice softer now, as if speaking to herself. "You're going to be okay."

Behind her, the Chimera unleashed a wave of void energy, the raw, unbridled force ripping through the air. Juno felt the heat of it singe the back of her jacket, the constellation-stitching catching a faint, fiery glow before fading. She threw herself forward, narrowly avoiding the blast as it obliterated a section of the wall ahead of her.

The explosion sent debris flying in every direction. One particularly jagged shard of stone clipped Juno's side, tearing through her jacket and leaving a shallow but stinging wound. She stumbled, nearly losing her grip on the child, but caught herself at the last second. Her breathing was ragged now, each inhale a fight against the crushing weight of exhaustion.

"Safe," she whispered, half-delirious. "Just find somewhere safe."

A hollowed-out alcove caught her eye—a half-collapsed confessional booth buried under splintered wood and stone. It wasn't much, but it would have to do. Juno staggered toward it, practically falling into the small space as she carefully set the child down. She tore a strip of fabric from her sleeve, using it to bandage the worst of her own injuries as quickly as her trembling hands would allow.

"I'm not sorry I couldn't do so much," she murmured to the child, brushing a hand over her forehead.

The Chimera roared again, closer this time. Its massive form blocked the only visible exit, its jagged wings spread wide, casting the alcove into shadow. Juno's pulse thundered in her ears. She pressed herself flat against the wall, her mind racing.

Meanwhile, the battle between Agredor and the Reflection reached a fever pitch.

"You grow reckless, Keeper!" Agredor bellowed, his crystalline arm splitting into tendrils of void energy that lashed out in every direction. The Reflection dodged with inhuman grace, her Chronosword deflecting the tendrils with sparks of temporal energy.

"Reckless?" the Reflection retorted, her voice cold and clipped. "Or perhaps you've forgotten how this ends."

Agredor sneered, raising his other hand. The air around him shimmered as dozens of crystalline spires erupted from the ground, each one glowing with pulsating void light. "Then let us test your foresight."

He slammed his hand down, and the spires exploded in a cacophony of light and sound. The force cracked the cathedral's walls, sending massive chunks of stone tumbling to the floor. One piece of debris struck the Reflection, forcing her to one knee.

She didn't stay down long. "Give up Agredor!" she shouted, slamming her blade into the ground. A shockwave of temporal energy surged outward, disintegrating the spires and forcing Agredor to retreat several steps.

In the chaos, neither noticed the Chimera veering away from the fight.

Juno's breath hitched as she saw the creature's head snap toward her hiding spot. Its serpentine body coiled and uncoiled with unnatural fluidity, its crystalline eyes glowing with malevolent intent.

"Not now," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Please, not now."

The Chimera lunged, its massive claws tearing through the alcove like paper. Juno rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the swipe. She grabbed a splintered beam of wood, swinging it with all her might. The makeshift weapon shattered on impact, barely scratching the creature's hide.

"Of course," she muttered bitterly, dodging another swipe. "Because that would've been too easy."

She darted out of the alcove, her injured leg nearly buckling beneath her. The Chimera was relentless, its claws tearing through everything in its path as it chased her. Juno's mind raced. Think. You've survived worse. Haven't you?

The answer didn't matter. Survival didn't wait for self-reflection.

As she turned a corner, the battle behind her came into sharp focus. Agredor and the Reflection both paused, their gazes snapping toward the Chimera. Their eyes narrowed as they noticed the direction of its pursuit.

Agredor was the first to speak, his voice dripping with malice. "Ah, so that's where you've been hiding."

The Reflection's expression darkened, her grip tightening on her Chronosword. "Juno," she murmured, her voice heavy with both recognition and regret.

Juno froze, her heart pounding as their eyes met. The child in her arms stirred faintly, her small hand clutching at Juno's jacket.

"I was right after all. Two birds in one time. What will you do this time?" her reflection asked her.

"I'll do everything to protect her. Especially now that I know everything. Everything all at once." Juno answered and a small smile is formed at her lips.