The Time Queen and The Zodiac Wielder

Yui and Suzumi took a small break and rested at a camp and Yui looked around. There were items already on the camp. She picked up a bottle and a name was written on it. The name read "Shizaki". She set the bottle down.

"Yu-chan's been here." Yui said.

"Hm?" Suzumi looked at Yui.

"Meaning we were a little bit too late getting here. I'm sure Gloria is in a location near Yu-chan. We may be far away, but our destination feels closer than normal." Yui said.

"Yeah...We better get as much rest as possible. There's a long road ahead of us." Suzumi said. Yui nodded and they went inside the tent to rest.

Gloria used her time powers to dodge Trickster's attacks and went for a counter attack. She slashed and Trickster vanished in a puff of black smoke. She looked around and was on guard. Irea walked backwards and was back to back with Gloria.

"Do it." Irea said.

"Temporal Shatter!" Gloria yelled and a clock appeared in front of her and shattered then created a Time Fracture. "There he is...Hidden in a Time Fracture."

"Heh..You uncovered my secret. I can hide within a time fracture, by separating myself from time itself and living in a world with no time, but my own." Trickster smirked.

"This time I'll erase you for good!" Gloria yelled and her sword shined then she dashed to Trickster and slashed.

Trickster parried and went for a slash then Gloria perfectly dodged and appeared behind Trickster and stabbed him in the back. Trickster grunted and a bit of blood came out of his mouth.

"Blade of Time! Erase Trickster!" Gloria yelled and her sword began shining. She took the sword out of Trickster and a clock appeared and spun in reverse and erased the clone of Trickster. "What..?!"

"Is that the death you envisioned? Unfortunately, you took out one of my many illusions." Trickster said and appared. "The real me is nowhere near you. You're only seeing illusions of me, even in a Time Fracture in which I hide in. You can't defeat me Gloria, nor can I defeat you. We are at an infinite stalemate, a never-ending cycle. How about you give up."

"Never. If I can't defeat you, the True Hero most certainly will." Gloria said then her sword vanished.

"True Hero..?" Trickster looked at her.

"The Demon you all fear oh so much...Yufumi. The Ancient Hero is a True Hero. You fear that power because a True Hero can even take down Dark Lords themselves. The Zodiacs are True Heroes. You all fear them, no matter what you can never permanently kill the Zodiacs. The Knights become Champions, Champions become Gods, Gods become a Living Myth, Myths become Reality. No matter what you do, a Zodiac can never die. There will always be Zodiac Knights, Champions, Gods, and Myths. Keep running with your tail between your legs. Sooner or later, you'll meet you inevitable end." Gloria snapped her fingers and time started again, making the Trickster Illusion vanish.

"The Zodiac Temples. They are in this world as of now. They used to be on Earth, but they noticed Earth wasn't big enough to contain their power so they migrated to Utalia. We shall find them all over the world in different countries. We should start with Eshea though." Irea said.

"Yeah I know...Eshea, Genten, Xoskea, and other countries all have at least one or two Zodiac Temples..one being the Cave of Leo." Gloria said. Her clock eye shined and ticked. "We only have 7 months before the Sacred Realm awakens their wrath to save the Human Realm. It'll be an unnecessary slaughter of innocent lives if we don't hurry."

"I need to Rebirth. Go on without me, I'll meet up with you in five days." Irea said. "I'll send one of my sisters with you to aid you."

"Alright." Gloria nodded and walked off.

Irea self destructed and shattered into yellow sparks and went into a Rebirth phase. Gloria continued ahead and her vision began getting blurry and she blinked once and saw herself in an empty battlefield then a giant hell spawn demon appeared in front of her.

"What the hell..?" Gloria summoned her sword. "Trickster...no...this is his True Form, Orthros. It may be an illusion, but I can't risk getting trapped in this reality."

Orthros summoned his sword from a pillar of lava. He looked at Gloria and Gloria twirled her sword then felt a hand grab her shoulder. Arcane stood beside her and looked at Orthros.

"Orthros...A Fallen Legend. Banished by Nymphira, the first Goddess of the Human Realm. Trickster has new tricks in this form such as Darkside View. If you look into his eyes, you'll drawn into viewing the most evil pits of his soul, corrupting your soul. Do not look in his eyes when they glow red." Arcane said and summoned her sword.

"Right. And I'm certain time doesn't work in this dimension?" Gloria asked.

"Time Based Powers don't affect him in this dimension, but there are a few workarounds." Arcane said.

"Noted." Gloria said.

Arcane ran towards Orthros and Gloria followed. Orthros roared and slashed at Arcane. Arcane jumped and ran on his sword then spotted a weak spot and threw her sword at it then did handsigns quickly and raised her hand.

"Heavenly Lightning!" Arcane bellowed and white lightning surged towards the sword then shocked Orthros powerfully.

"Pure Elements..?" Gloria looked at Arcane then focused her attention on Orthros and slashed at his leg and it only scratched him. "Magma Armor. Hey! He has Magma Armor, reducing all forms of damage!"

"Right!" Arcane landed on the ground and summoned her sword and her aura appeared then her eyes formed the Zenith Yaoke Symbol. "Guess there's no reason for me to hold back, even if I'm battling an illusion!"

Arcane bellowed and she activated the Ophiuchus Symbol on her hand then her aura spiralled around her quickly. Gloria watched Arcane and was surprised.

"What is this..? This isn't Awakening nor Evolution." Gloria said.

"This is Apex Aura. I hold the power of Zenith Ascension. Zenith Ascension isn't Transcendence, Awakening, or Evolution. My appearance doesn't change other than my aura color, I unlock the Ultimate and Absolute Power within myself!" Arcane's aura surged to the sky and she bellowed. "I've awakened this power from all the training I've done the last few Centuries! This is nothing but Pure Energy, Power, and Will!"

Orthros looked at Arcane and grunted as her aura stopped surging and her hood came off then she took off her mask. Gloria looked at Arcane shocked and noticed all the limits Arcane has broken within herself.

"A True Hero.." Gloria said.

Arcane whispered something and white lightning surged around her arm. She threw her mask aside and dashed towards Orthros and yelled. The lighting caused the ground to break.

"Nothing but Pure and Limitless energy..." Gloria's eyes shined.

Arcane jumped up and yelled then her eyes shined and Orthros slashed down then Arcane's clone vanished then the snake in the air turned into the real Arcane and she struck Orthros's Core and a large white explosion happened and Gloria was blown away.

"I am the Pinnacle of Pure Power! You will not win this war!" Arcane bellowed and her whole body shined white. "Now die! Heavenly Apex Lightning Strike!"

Orthros's Core shattered and Arcane went through Orthros's body and landed on the ground on one knee and Orthros fell to the ground. The reality turned back to normal.

"What the hell..?" Trickster looked at Arcane and grunted in surprise. "The Yaoke..? You're...you're the daughter of the God of Ruin, Cedas...Granddaughter...of Chaos."

"Yes...I am." Arcane stood up and looked at Trickster. "For Generations, you've been the bane of this Realm's existence...Chaos should be dead and yet you revived him."

"I will reach absolute power one way or another! My destiny will be fulfilled! The destruction of the Human Realm--"

Arcane held her hand out at Trickster her shadows surrounded her hand then a pulse of dark energy destroyed the illusion.

"She can control all the elements also..?" Gloria stood up from being on one knee.

"Here." Arcane turned back into her normal form then tossed a necklace with the Aquarius Zodiac Crystal on it to Gloria. "That's the key to an old friend's Zodiac Temple."

"T-Thanks.." Gloria caught the necklace then watched Arcane out her mask back on and her hood over her head.

"Defeating that illusion took a big out of Trickster's energy. You shouldn't hear from him in a few weeks." Arcane walked away.

"Where are you going?" Gloria asked.

"I have other business to tend to..." Arcane said. "We will meet again soon."

Gloria looked at her then the necklace and saw a woman land on the ground and carried a large battle axe. She looked bewildered and stepped back.

"Oh..it's just you Emma." Gloria sighed in relief.

"Irea sent me. I actually happen to know where one of the Zodiac Temples are. I found one yesterday. We'd have to go to where Arcania was though." Emma said.

"Alright, let's find Yui first. I can't leave her behind as she also holds a key." Gloria said.

"Right." Emma nodded.