A new chapter every day - Chapters 1-30 prepare you for a world you never knew. Even though you live in it from the moment you were born. Adam Thorne always knew he was different. But he never imagined the truth would cost him everything. Hidden in plain sight, a secret society of Time Keepers has shaped history for centuries. Now, Adam finds himself at the center of their ancient war. His crime? Being born. As a third child in a world where temporal manipulation is both gift and curse, Adam's very existence threatens a carefully constructed order. The Council, led by the enigmatic Ardos, will stop at nothing to control him. His family? Torn apart. His future? Uncertain. With each tick of the clock, Adam uncovers layers of lies that stretch back generations. Friends become enemies. Enemies become uneasy allies. And at the heart of it all is, a mentor who holds secrets that could save Adam—or destroy him. As Adam's powers grow, so do the stakes. Visions of a catastrophic future haunt his dreams. In a race against time and fate, Adam must answer the ultimate question: When the entire world is a conspiracy, who can you trust? "Inherited" is more than a story—it's a journey through the twisted corridors of time, where every moment could be your last, and the greatest threat isn't the future... It's the past you never knew you had.
Ancient Greece, 323 BCE
Alexander III knew he was about to die. Also known as Alexander the Great. The certainty of it settled in his bones like a chill he couldn't shake. As he stood before his assembled court, the words he had prepared evaporated from his mind, leaving only a hollow dread.
The great hall, once a symbol of his power, now felt like a tomb. Shadows danced at the edges of his vision, and for a moment, he could have sworn he saw time itself unraveling like frayed thread.
He had called this assembly for a reason, a final desperate act to confront the terror that had plagued his empire. For too long, a shadowy figure known only as "The Man in the Mask" had been targeting noble families, murdering their third-born children. No one knew his motives, but his actions had left a trail of grief and fear across the land. Alexander had issued an ultimatum, demanding that the masked villain reveal himself at the palace by sunrise or face the wrath of his finest warriors.
But as the moments ticked by, Alexander's confidence faltered. The air grew thick with anticipation, the silence broken only by the whispers of his courtiers. Then, with a resounding boom, the great doors of the hall swung open, and the Man in the Mask appeared—cloaked in black, his silver mask gleaming ominously in the torchlight.
"You summoned me, Alexander." The voice came from everywhere and nowhere, a whisper that screamed in the king's mind. "How... quaint."
The Man in the Mask materialized in the center of the hall, his silver facade reflecting distorted images of the terrified courtiers. Alexander tried to speak, to rally his guards, but his voice failed him.
"Lost your words, little king?" The masked figure's tone was almost gentle. "Perhaps I should lend you some of mine. Shall I tell you of the day you die? Or have you realized that day is today?"
Alexandros felt a bead of sweat trickle down his spine. "You... you can't know that. No one can see the future."
A laugh like breaking glass filled the air. "Oh, Alexandros. The future, the past, the now... they're all the same to me. Time is but a game, and I've long since learned to cheat."
The king's mind reeled. He tried to focus on the here and now, but fragments of impossible memories began to intrude. He saw himself as an old man, withered and dying. Then as a child, looking up at his own face. Past, present, and future blurred together in a nauseating swirl.
"Stop this! "Alexander gasped, clutching his head. "What do you want?"
The Man in the Mask stepped closer, his presence a void that seemed to suck the very life from the air. "Want? I want what I've always wanted, what I will always want. To reshape destiny itself. And you, dear Alexandros, are but a pebble to be brushed aside."
With a gesture that seemed to tear at the fabric of reality, the masked figure removed his disguise. The face beneath was beautiful and terrible, ancient and youthful all at once.
"Remember this moment, Alexandros," the being said, his eyes glowing with an inner fire. "For it is the last moment of the old world. Time, it bows to me now, and through it, I will forge a new destiny for all mankind."
"My name is Ardos", the being's voice resonated through the chaos, each word a hammer blow against the foundations of reality. "And this is the dawn of a new age."
Suddenly, Ardos's eyes flashed with a cruel light. He raised his hand, and Alexander felt his body lift off the ground. An invisible force crushed his throat, choking the life from him. As he gasped for air, Ardos spoke, his voice soft and almost tender.
"You wanted to see my power, didn't you, Alexandros? Then watch closely".
With a flick of his wrist, Ardos sent the king flying across the hall. Alexandr slammed into the far wall with a sickening crunch, bones shattering on impact. But death did not claim him. Instead, he felt his broken body knit itself back together, only to be torn apart again as Ardos flung him to the opposite side of the room.
This torturous cycle repeated, each death more agonizing than the last. Alexandros died a hundred deaths in the span of mere minutes, his mind fracturing under the weight of the impossible pain.
As the king's screams echoed through the hall, the guards finally broke from their trance. They charged at Ardos, weapons raised. But their blades passed through him as if he were made of smoke.
Ardos turned to face them, a small smile playing on his lips. "Ah, loyalty. How... quaint."
With a wave of his hand, the guards froze in place. Then, slowly, horrifically, their bodies began to age. Skin withered, hair grayed and fell out, muscles atrophied. In seconds, they had lived entire lifetimes, crumbling to dust before the terrified eyes of the court.
As panic erupted in the hall, Ardos raised his arms. The very stones of the palace began to groan and shift. Cracks spider-webbed across the ceiling, chunks of masonry raining down on the screaming courtiers.
"Let this be a lesson," Ardos's voice boomed over the chaos. "Time is mine to command. Your lives, your empire, your very reality... all are but playthings to me."
With a final, terrifying surge of power, Ardos brought the entire palace crashing down. The once-mighty seat of the empire collapsed in on itself, burying its inhabitants in a tomb of their own making.
As the dust settled, Ardos stood amidst the ruins, untouched by the destruction around him. He brushed a speck of dust from his sleeve and looked around, his expression almost bored.
A small movement caught his eye. A tiny bird, perhaps a sparrow, had survived the carnage. It hopped along a fallen beam, chirping softly.
Ardos knelt down, his movements impossibly gentle. He extended a hand, and the bird hopped onto his finger without hesitation.
"Hello, little one," he said, his voice as soft as a summer breeze. "Did you enjoy the show? It's not often one gets to witness the fall of an empire, is it?"
The bird tilted its head, regarding Ardos with bright, curious eyes.
"You know," Ardos continued, stroking the bird's feathers with his free hand, "I've always admired your kind. So small, so fragile, yet you persist. You adapt. You survive."
He stood, lifting the bird to eye level. "Perhaps that's why I do this. To push humanity to evolve, to become something... more."
For a moment, Ardos's eyes seemed to soften, a flicker of something almost human passing across his face. Then it was gone, replaced by the cold, cosmic power that seemed to radiate from his very being.
"Run along now, little one," he said, gently tossing the bird into the air. "Fly far and wide. Spread the tale of what you've seen here today. Let them know that Ardos, the first of the Time Lords, has arrived."
As the bird flew off into the distance, Ardos turned his gaze to the horizon. His eyes glowed with an inner fire as he surveyed the world that was now his to shape.
"And so it begins," he murmured. "A new history, written in the ink of bent reality and shattered chronology. Somewhere, somewhen, a child will be born. A child with the power to challenge even me. But that... that is a story for another time."
With a final, knowing smile, Ardos vanished, leaving behind a world forever changed. The ripples of this moment would echo through the centuries, shaping the destiny of one special boy who would be born two thousand years in the future – a boy named Adam.
The reign of the Time Lords had begun, and the very concept of history would never be the same again.