Jorm luminous azure eyes traced the back and forth movements of the puppet. Then the large eyes narrowed. “ It’s coming, Jalen stay behind me.
As I watched the puppet staggering back and forth like a drunk finding his way from a bar. I noticed that it was smiling once again. It appeared right in front of the towering Jorm before the familiar sensation of time slowing, or I guess it was my perception of time that slowed.
[ System Resource Prompt]
[ Draw 1 card]
[Gain extra energy]
[Do nothing.]
Looking back at my hand it would be a waste to generate energy when I have-
[Name: Energy of the Spirits]
[Type: Energy]
[Summoning Cost: 1 Mana]
[Activation Cost: Free]
[Effect: Generate 2 Energy, and next turn, generate additional energy equal to the number of spirits you control.]
Doing nothing in most situations is probably worse so I’ll draw. If I draw something useful I can use the energy of the spirits to activate 2 cards this turn, or a higher cost stronger card.
My perception of time sped back up as another card shot from the deck. Catching the card with my right hand I kept my left eye on the confrontation as I tried to read the name of the new card.
Blessing of the Wind
[Name: Blessing of the Wind]
[Type: Spell]
[Summoning Cost: 1 Mana]
[Activation Cost: 1 Energy]
[Effect:] For 3 turns, shroud yourself in a Wind Spirit Cloak, enhancing agility, reflexes, and stealth.
- Wind Spirit Cloak:
- Speed Surge: Movement speed increases drastically, allowing for rapid repositioning and near-instantaneous bursts of motion.
- Reflex Amplification: Heightened reaction time, enabling sharper dodges and more precise counterattacks.
- Phantom Veil: Generates a subtle distortion in the air, making movements harder to track. The faster the user moves, the more difficult they are to perceive.
This will work Energy of the Spirits, a bright flash signalling the card’s activation. Energy of the Spirits activated, a bright flash signaling its awakening. A surge of warmth pulsed through Jalen’s fingertips, spreading like wildfire up his arms as the energy coalesced. The air around him crackled with an unseen force, a soft hum vibrating in his bones. Wisps of ethereal light—pale blue and tinged with flickering gold—spiraled around his hands before dispersing into the surroundings, drawn to the spirits lingering within the battlefield. Those wisps of energy passed through the spirits before flying back into Jalen’s chest.
Jalen exhaled sharply, adjusting to the sudden influx of power. It wasn’t just raw energy—it was alive, flowing like a current, eager to be shaped into something greater. Ember’s flames flickered in response, momentarily flaring higher, and even Jorm’s gleaming azure eyes reflected the shift in the atmosphere.
The system registered the change immediately. [Energy Stored: 2]
Jalen clenched his fists, the residual glow still dancing across his fingertips. He could feel the pulse of the energy thrumming in his veins, waiting—no, daring him to wield it. Now, with the extra energy at his disposal, he had options.
The energy coiled around Jalen, light as a whisper yet surging with undeniable force. A cool rush of wind wrapped around his form, slipping beneath his clothes and dancing over his skin like an unseen current. It wasn’t just speed—he could feel the shift in his body, like shackles that had been binding his movements were suddenly shattered. His limbs felt lighter, his breath sharper, his awareness expanding as the world itself seemed to slow just a fraction.
"I feel like a weight has been lifted off my whole body."
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Lifting his foot, he barely exerted force, yet the movement sent a faint gust swirling beneath him. The air parted effortlessly, as if welcoming him into its embrace, bending to his newfound control. This was more than just acceleration—it was refinement, precision, a perfect synchronization between his will and the world around him.
Then, the moment shattered.
A familiar, suffocating chill coiled around his chest. Shadows stretched unnaturally at the edges of his vision. Another death. Another end.
His heart—still beating—was torn from his chest, cradled in a pale, merciless hand. He gasped, but no air filled his lungs. His knees buckled under the weight of the phantom pain. Even though he knew it wasn’t real, the sensation of cold fingers curling around his heart, squeezing, testing its final beats, was too vivid, too visceral.
His gaze snapped upward, breath stolen by the detached, unfeeling stare of the Nyx Puppet.
It was already there.
Closer than before. A few feet away, reaching—not for him, but for the very heart it had just torn from his chest in his vision.
His mind reeled, trying to separate premonition from reality, but the gap was narrowing. Too fast. Too close.
A tidal wave of water surged forward, crashing toward the Nyx Puppet from behind—Jorm’s attack. At the same time, a thin beam of searing flame shot toward it—Ember’s counter. But neither would reach before it did.
Jalen felt it then. The air around the puppet’s limb—twisting, curving ever so slightly. Not enough to completely miss, but just enough to avoid his heart.
Jorm was right.
It wasn’t trying to kill him.
Just make it hurt. The puppet, as if reading his mind and knowing Jalen knew its intentions, smiled a cruel grin. Then it sped up its mangled limb.
Jalen grit his teeth. I don’t have an interest in getting stabbed, either.
They won’t make it in time but I don’t have to cover a large distance, I just have to dodge.
The wind gathered around him, responding to his instincts before his conscious mind had even finished the thought. A single step. That’s all it would take. His legs were light, his body unburdened, the Wind Spirit Cloak humming at his back like an unseen force.
Jalen exhaled sharply, And then he moved. He kept moving until there was a room worth of space between him and the puppet. The puppet continued forward before just stopping in mid air even with nothing to stop it’s motion.
Jalen exhaled sharply. And then he moved.
The wind carried him like a whisper, his body weightless, every step an effortless glide across the battlefield. He didn’t stop at a single step. He kept moving, riding the momentum of the Wind Spirit Cloak until there was at least a room’s worth of space between him and the puppet. His heart pounded, his breath steady but sharp, the thrill of near-death humming in his veins.
Then, something was wrong.
The Nyx Puppet continued forward—but then it just stopped.
Suspended in mid-air.
Not slowed. Not hindered. Simply frozen.
Jalen’s breath hitched. Nothing had physically stopped its motion. No barrier, no force. It hadn’t braced itself or landed—it had just ceased moving, its body hanging in the air like a puppet with its strings suddenly cut.
For a heartbeat, the battlefield fell silent.
Jalen’s eyes locked onto it, watching, waiting, every instinct screaming at him to not look away.
Then—the smile.
That same twisted, knowing grin stretched across its face, as if acknowledging that he had figured something out—something it wanted him to see.
What the hell is this thing…?
Jorm’s tidal wave finally crashed past where the puppet had been, smashing into the ground with a thunderous force. Ember’s fire beam scorched through the air, cutting a line where it should have stood.
And yet, the Nyx Puppet remained.
Still grinning.
And then—it began to move again.
Not forward. Backward.
Not retreating, not shifting—it was simply rewinding.
Every stagger, every lurch, every twitch it had made while approaching him—played in reverse.
Jalen’s stomach twisted. It wasn’t just fast. It wasn’t just strong.
It was breaking something far worse than the rules of movement.
It was playing with the very flow of reality.
And it was still smiling.
[ System Prompt ]
[40 seconds left until the system can remove abnormality good luck. ( You will need it. “_” )]
“What in the system is this? Good luck, you'll need it, help me You caused this so fix it what is this demon. Why is it not following the rules of everything? Where is Newton and his laws when you need him.”
“ Who’s Newton?" asked the curiosity spilling from his tone.”
“I don’t know why you’d ask me. Jalen asked, confused. I don’t know who that is.”
“But you said it.”
“ I don’t think I did.”
Jorm finally tore his gaze away from the Nyx Puppet, his brows furrowed, scanning Jalen’s face as if searching for something. “You did say it,” he stated, his voice steady but edged with curiosity. “Newton. You said his name like you knew him.”
Jalen opened his mouth to argue but stopped. Had he said it? The words had come so naturally, spilling from his lips before he could even think. Newton created the laws of motion, didn't he, But the moment he tried to recall why—who Newton was, why the name had surfaced—it was like chasing smoke. The harder he focused, the further it slipped from his grasp.
A chill crawled up his spine, one entirely separate from the Nyx Puppet’s presence. His thoughts felt off—distorted, like something had been nudged out of place.
The Nyx Puppet had stopped moving forward, but that grin remained. Wide. Unshaken. Knowing.
Jalen swallowed, forcing his focus back on the immediate threat. He could unpack the strangeness in his head later—if there was a later.
“Thirty seconds,” Jorm muttered, his grip tightening, power coiling around him like a living storm. “We just have to hold out.”
Jalen wasn’t sure if ‘holding out’ was even an option. The puppet had broken the rules of movement. Now it was playing with something worse. If it could reverse itself, then—
His thoughts cut off as the puppet twitched. The rewind had stopped. It was still once more, mid-air, its limbs slightly contorted as if its body had glitched into an unnatural position.
Then—