Attack in the Forest

"What?" I shouted. "What do you mean, father?"

Then Lyra came out. "KAELLL!" she yelled with her scary and angry face, leaning towards me, her breasts bouncing.

"You didn't tell me you and Aria had a child, and Aria, I thought we had an agreement to share Kael," she asked.

"What! What agreement to share me?" I asked.

"It's none of your business, so stay there and be quiet," Lyra shouted.

"No, it's not like that, Lyra, sister... what are you talking about?" Aria asked. Confusedly, with her face all red.

"Hahaha, Mother Lyra never changes. Well, here, you will understand when you see this." The white-haired woman showed us the watch on her wrist. It was a time watch unlike any we had ever seen, and it looked more advanced than our watches.

"You see, I am your daughter from the future, from a distant future than where you are from. That's all I can tell. No spoilers allowed in time traveling."

"What! Daughter from the future!" I said with an open mouth.

"No spoiler, Dad," she shushes me.

"So, you are here for the Time Crystal, right?... Here." She sealed the crystal in the necklace and gave it to me. Suddenly, her body slowly began to age. "There is no time now. I have sealed this period from all time travelers, so you all will be sent back to where you come from soon. Listen carefully, Dad. There will come a time when you have to decide whether to save the timeline or destroy it. Just remember that whatever you decide to do, it's all right. There will be people beside you who are on your side. Just remember that. And don't worry, we will see each other again. I'm afraid our times are set in opposite directions, so please don't spoil my future to my past self. No spoilers, okay?" As she was saying it, she slowly turned into an old lady.

Then our vision slowly started to fade. We were fading away. When we opened our eyes, we were back in Aria's house.

"So, what was all that just now, Kael?" Lyra asked confusedly.

"Grandmother," Aria muttered and collapsed onto the ground, crying.

"All this time, I thought you would never come back. I thought you had died, but you were always there. Protecting me. You raised me, sister." She cried, feeling guilty for not realizing that the old lady who raised her was the same woman she called sister.

"And what did you mean you are my daughter from the future?" she mutters, unable to come to terms with the fact that her he fact that the woman who raised her was her daughter from the future.

"Oh...., Aria...." I couldn't find any words to comfort her in her state. All I could do was lend her my shoulder to cry. Lyra also stands there confused. And full of questions. As we are in a state of confusion and emotional turmoil,

"Ahh..." There comes a scream from Luke outside.

We all went outside to see what had happened. There we saw Luke and an alluring woman in a skin-tight purple suit. Lyra recognized her as Mara. Luke was in a frozen chamber, trapped. Only his head outside,

"GUYS, RUN…" he shouts.

With just a wave of Mara's hand, Luke's head was cut off, spilling blood all over.

We were all in stun as to see Luke's death. My knees were shaking. And I was sweating all over under Mara's overwhelmingly bloodthirsty gaze. She looked at me and said

"If you don't want to end up like him, give me the time-crystal."

I gather all my strength and yells

"LYRA... TAKE ARIA AND RUN."

"This is it, right?" I continued while holding the necklace that the woman gave me. Then I threw it to her. When Mara tries to catch it, there is a moment of an opening where her intense pressure is gone. I use a magic scroll that I brought out from inside to create a distraction. A loud explosion echoes through the forest, causing Mara to momentarily lose focus. Taking advantage of the distraction, Lyra carries Aria, who was frozen out of fear and ran in the opposite direction, hoping to escape. I dash forward to her, hiding behind the explosion. I grabbed the necklace from Mara. And I, too, try to escape.

As I run through the forest, jumping from tree to tree. Mara is slowly catching up to me. Her eyes are blazing with fury.

"In front of me are Lyra and Aria. I can let her catch up to me." I thought to myself. And I change direction and run to the left.

As a way of stalling and getting more information, I asked

"So, you are Mara, uhh. You alone? Where are the others? They did not abandon you, did they?"

"You think you can disturb me by asking questions? You can't run from me. I don't need others' help to catch a bunch of weaklings." she hisses.

"Oh, I get it. You are soo weak that they order you to do the grunt work."

"What did you just say? Me, weak? Ha ha, hahaha..." Then she speeded up and got faster and caught me. Grabbing me by the collar of my shirt. "You are going to give me what I want, or else... you'll end up like your friend."

I can feel her grip tightening around my neck, making me hard to breathe. But then, unexpectedly, a bolt of lightning strikes Mara from behind me, throwing her off me. I looked back and saw Aria. She is using her magic. She has come back to her senses.

"Why did you come back? Go AWAY. WE CAN'T WIN," I yell at her.

Mara laughs with a cold and menacing sound.

"You think you can stop me? You are all so weak," she sneers.

"But you'll learn soon enough the power difference between us."

With that, she summons a powerful energy blast aimed straight at us. We try to dodge, but it's too fast. Then Lyra stepped in front of me. With her sword, she reflects the blest to the other side.

Behind that blast, Mara shoots another spell. "FIREBALL," she shouts.

This time, it was too late. It hits us. We fall from the tree.

As I lay on the ground, battered and bruised, I saw Mara walking towards us. As a last resort, I try to escape to the future. But the fall damaged my watch. I looked at Lyra's, and it is still good.

I slowly crawl toward her. Both Lyra and Aria are unconscious on the ground. I put Lyra's hand over Aria. Then I click the return button on Lyra's watch. We all started to disappear. But Mara's hand outstretched and pulled me back.

I couldn't risk endangering the girls any further, so I let go. I was left behind by the teleportation. Then Mara slammed me to the ground and threw me, sending me flying to a tree. While I was flying toward the tree, the necklace dropped from my pocket. I immediately put it back in. But I was too late. She already saw it.

"No backing out now, I guess. I will fight you to my last breath." I stated then, charge right on.

"Come, let's play, boy," Mara replied,

As I charged towards Mara, my sword at the ready, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I was determined to defeat her, no matter what.

But as we clashed, I quickly realized that she was a skilled magic user, much stronger than I was. Of course, I already knew that. She dodged my attacks with ease and countered with powerful spells, each one more devastating than the last.

At last, I've run out of stamina. And I fall to the ground.

Mara stood over me, a triumphant smile on her face. "You see, Kael," she said. "You were never a match for me. Now hand over the crystal."

I felt a sense of despair wash over me as I realized that I had failed.

My mind was blank, and my body was drained of energy.

She picks me up with magic, levitating me in the air. She took out the crystal from my pocket. And She looked at me with a cold, calculating gaze. Then threw me over a nearby cliff and into the river below.

As I hit the water, I felt the impact jolt through my body. I struggled to stay afloat, but the current was too strong. I was being pulled downstream, towards the unknown.

As I was swept away by the current, I felt a sense of despair wash over me. I had failed. I failed to protect Luke, and I couldn't safeguard the crystal. Now the enemy has the upper hand. As I swept away in despair, my consciousness faded away. And I pass out.