Times Curse

Chapter 3: A Long Journey Through Time

"Sighhh. Another dead end. I really thought this would be it." Arius looked around the deserted plane, unsure of what to do next. "Well, what do ya think Milo? Where should we search next." Arius turned his head to his left shoulder, where a golden yellow, Simanthian teller, sat.

Milo let out a tiny squawk and stared at Arius as his voice started to echo through his head.

"Well I don't KNOW Ari, and how should I. Just because your grandfather said I would be your guide, doesn't mean that I just randomly know all the secrets of the universe, much less where Time resides." Milo rolled his eyes. Arius laughed at the gesture.

"Well, I don't know either, soooo what do you think our next move should be?" Milo sighed in annoyance.

"Well, there is one place we haven't checked, however, it is basically just an endless void. Nothing could possibly live there, but if you wish to check, then go ahead and see. The coordinates are CC34.BC67, 8870. I do believe that no one has traveled there before so your Chronologious might flash red." Arius smirked.

"See, you do know what our next move should be. I was right, you were wrong. I mean you do know about basically everything about the timeline." Milo huffed out a breath in exasperation, but you could tell, he wasn't too mad about it by the smug smile that was creeping up his face.

"Well then, let's get going." Airus reached into the collar of his shirt and pulled out the Chronologious that was hanging around his neck.

The Chronologious had a light bronze body with hints of gold tracing its 7 rings. At its core were complex designs of metalwork that, if closely inspected, showed the wearers past.

The day that Arius had put it on, it had shown brightly before revealing his secrets. He tried not to look at these patterns for they showed things he wished to never see again. However, once in a bright moon, he would feel the urge to look, only to be whirled back into the memories of his dark past, the bright metal ball weighing heavily on his chest.

With a flick of a finger, Arius started the Chronologious up and held it out in front of him. He closed his eyes shut, and began to chant.

"CC34.BC67, 8870." The 7 rings started to spin faster and faster. Then there was a flash of light. Arius waited a moment before slowly opening his right eye cautiously. He could only see pitch black. Wondering if he was back in some temple in the Camation Islands, he fully opened his eyes and looked over to Milo who was just now adjusting to the darkness.

"Hey, Milo, soooo where are we?"

"I-" Milo paused and sighed, pinching the space between his eyebrows like Arius had seen many, and he meant MANY times before. He was honestly surprised there wasn't a permanent mark on his forehead.

"Were you not paying attention to me when I said no one has been here before?"

"Well, I-"

"You know what, don't answer that, of course, you weren't. Just keep walking, there's bound to be something around here."

"Okay then, but just saying, if we die, I'm blaming you, Milo." Milo turned his back on Arius haughtily.

Arius knew that he should probably act more mature now that he was 16, but seriously, messing with Milo was just too much fun.

Smiling to himself, Arius started walking into the deep oblivion. It couldn't be that bad. The worst that could happen was that some random monster came out of nowhere and started attacking them, but even in that scenario, Arius could just jump to a different time.

He had a good feeling about this place, he felt as if it was going to be the answer to his 4-year quest. Then again, he thought that every place they went was the answer, but he was super sure of this place this time. With this thought, Arius picked up his pace, practically sprinting into the unknown.

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Arius had been walking for hours. All that optimism was long gone now, he just felt tired. Milo had fallen asleep on his shoulders a few miles back and was curled around his neck like a scarf.

Arius was so close to just calling it a day and going to his favorite beach in Tamaria, buttt that never got anyone nowhere so he kept his dragging feet going.

After a few more miles, Arius finally spotted something. At first, he thought he was hallucinating the tiny glint of light, but at that point, he was willing to take anything. His head perked up, scaring Milo awake in the process.

"Oh my god boy, you're going to be the death of me. Did you find something yet?"

"Yeah, up there, do you see that?" Arius said, pointing to the light.

"See what- ohh, hmm. It looks kind of like a refraction of light though, doesn't it? Maybe it's a mirror?"

"Only one way to find out." With his newfound hope, Arius sprinted towards the light. As he got closer, he thought he could see someone running alongside him. Then they were on his other side, then above him. That's when Arius decided to stop. He looked back but all he saw was himself. That's when he realized, he was trapped in a room made of mirrors.