Threads of Oblivion

Chapter 1: The Tangle of Time

Opening Scene

The world is a wasteland-fragmented, broken, and twisted by the manipulation of time. A city stands in the distance, frozen in perpetual twilight. Skyscrapers half-shattered, streets warped, and a strange hum in the air-this is the Chrono Bastion, a place where time is held hostage by the

Threadmasters,

the rulers of the Fate Threads. Here, every life is bound by the strands of fate, every choice dictated by invisible forces

In the shadows of this ruined world stands Caelum Moriarty, wearing a long coat that flaps against the eerie wind as he steps through the cracked streets. His face is impassive, his eyes sharp and calculating as he glances at a strange, shimmering distortion in the sky.

Caelum's Voice (Narration):
"I'm not a hero. Never was. But someone has to clean up the mess. Time's not kind, and neither am I."

A deep chuckle echoes from behind him. Caelum stops, his hand instinctively reaching for a small device on his wrist.

Caelum:
"You're late. I was hoping you'd get lost. Saves me the trouble of having to explain how much I hate your guts."

A tall, disheveled figure appears behind him, grinning widely. This is Yuuji, Caelum's reluctant ally and occasional comic relief, a walking disaster prone to absurd missteps but oddly reliable when it counts.

Yuuji:
"Oh, come on, you're always so serious! It's not like anyone's gonna die-today."

He looks around the crumbling city.
"Though, I gotta say, the whole 'time being broken' thing is getting old. Can we go to a beach or something? I hear they fixed the timelines on beaches."

Caelum (deadpan):
"You're so far beyond help, you can't even see the edge of the cliff. No, we're not going to a beach. We're here to find out who's responsible for the Chrono Bastion's collapse. If we're lucky, we'll kill someone important. If we're unlucky, it'll be you."

Yuuji:
"Hey, I'm tough! I can survive anything. Probably. Maybe. But, uh, we're still going to look for food first, right? Because if time is broken, maybe all the restaurants are still open!"

Caelum rolls his eyes but doesn't respond. Instead, he activates a small device attached to his wrist, which generates a holographic map showing the Chrono Bastion's Nexus, a central location where the Fate Threads are controlled. The map flickers for a second before updating, revealing an anomaly-a distortion in time.

Caelum (grimly):
"This... this wasn't here before."

---

Flashback Scene
The screen flashes back in time, revealing a young Caelum-brilliant, confident, and standing before a massive computer screen in a pristine laboratory. A much younger version of Alaric Zephyr stands beside him, an idealistic smile on his face.

Alaric:
"Caelum, this is it! The Nexus. We're going to change everything. No more suffering. No more fates we can't control."

Caelum (stoic):
"Control, huh? And who gets to choose which fate is better?"

Alaric doesn't answer, lost in the grand vision of the future. Caelum, however, is already questioning the consequences. The screen flashes, showing the Nexus-a colossal, glowing orb at the heart of time itself. The ultimate weapon, the ultimate tool.

---

Back to Present

Caelum snaps back to reality with a slight sigh.

Caelum (muttering to himself):
"We thought we could control fate. We were wrong."

Yuuji (loudly):
"Hey, stop brooding! You're scaring the pigeons again! You know how I feel about birds."

Caelum shoots him a glare but doesn't respond. His attention is fixed on the distortion in the air, pulsing with power. He takes a deep breath and steps forward.

Caelum:
"Let's go. We're running out of time-literally."

---

They move deeper into the city, passing through a bustling market where people are living out the same routine day after day. Everything is frozen in time, yet no one seems to realize it. Caelum's footsteps echo as he walks past vendors selling fruits and wares that haven't changed in years. He stops in front of a stall where a woman stands, frozen mid-sentence, offering her goods to a man who's long gone.

Caelum (sighing):
"This is what happens when fate becomes a cage. The same day, the same market, forever. These people don't even know they're stuck."

Yuuji:
"Sounds like a nightmare. Honestly, I'd rather be stuck in a time loop with ramen."

Caelum (dryly):
"That's why I'm glad I'm stuck with you. You're the best distraction from the horrors of existence."

Yuuji grins, oblivious to the gravity of the situation. They reach the Nexus Chamber, a colossal building at the heart of the city. The doors are massive, standing open as if waiting for them. Inside, they find a holographic projection of Alaric Zephyr, appearing as if he's been expecting them.

Alaric (smiling eerily):
"I wondered when you'd show up. I've been tinkering with time, Caelum. You should join me. We can make things perfect, you and I. Imagine-no more pain. No more errors in the timeline."

Caelum (grimacing):
"You're still chasing the illusion of a perfect world? Alaric, you've already destroyed this one."

Alaric (laughing):
"Destroyed? No, no, I've fixed it. You'll see. All of you will see."

Yuuji (muttering to Caelum):
"Is it just me, or is this guy always overdramatic? What's with the whole 'perfect world' nonsense?"

Caelum (coldly):
"Alaric believes in control over freedom. That's his idea of perfection. But what he's created isn't perfection-it's a prison."

---

A sudden crash interrupts the tension, as one of the Fate Bureaucrats, a clumsy, middle-aged man, bursts through the door, holding a stack of paperwork.

Fate Bureaucrat (nervously):
"Uh, s-sorry to interrupt, but there's a minor issue with the Nexus's temporal calibration. The timelines, um, they're... well, they're kind of collapsing? Could you maybe-"

Alaric (snapping):
"Not now, you fool! Can't you see I'm having a moment?"

Caelum (smirking):
"Ah, bureaucracy. Always ruining the dramatic moments."

---

Scene Ends

The tension builds as Caelum prepares to confront Alaric once again, the unstable threads of fate pulling them deeper into a confrontation that will test both their intellect and their will to reshape reality. But first, they'll have to deal with the unexpected chaos that the Fate Bureaucrat has just caused-and Caelum's sarcastic remarks continue to be the only thing standing between him and total despair.

---

To Be Continued...