The world was already in chaos, but no one was prepared for what was coming next. The Dangerous Age had birthed tyrants, warlords, and magicians of immense power, yet none were as terrifying as the figure who now emerged from the shadows.

  The night was eerily silent as Raizo walked through the ruins of the fallen city of Valtora. Smoke curled into the sky like ghosts mourning the dead, and the once-mighty fortress that had stood at the heart of the city was nothing more than crumbling rubble. The massacre had been swift—too swift. Not a single survivor remained.

  Raizo knelt and placed a hand on the blackened earth. He closed his eyes. There was no trace of a normal battle, no struggle, no signs of a prolonged siege. Instead, there was something unnatural—a distortion in time itself. The energy that lingered here felt ancient, yet fresh, as if reality had been bent and reshaped in an instant.

  A name surfaced in his mind, a name he had hoped never to hear again.

  Veyron.

  A magician who had been erased from history. A being so powerful that even the greatest sorcerers of the past had sacrificed everything to seal him away. He wasn’t just a tyrant or a conqueror—he was something far worse. He wielded forbidden time magic, an ability that made him untouchable.

  Raizo rose to his feet, his gaze sharpening. “So, you’ve returned.”

  A slow, deliberate clapping sound echoed from the distance.

  Raizo turned. A figure emerged from the smoke, stepping over the remains of the fallen city as if they were nothing more than decorations in his path. His long, dark coat billowed slightly in the wind, and his crimson eyes gleamed with amusement. His presence alone seemed to bend the space around him, distorting the air as if reality itself rejected his existence.

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  Veyron grinned. “Ah, Raizo. It’s been far too long.”

  Raizo said nothing. He simply watched, calculating, waiting.

  Veyron let out a soft chuckle. “No words? You always were the quiet type.” He gestured around at the destruction. “Do you like my work? I must admit, I’ve been away for so long—I nearly forgot how satisfying it is to erase entire cities from time.”

  Raizo’s fists clenched. “You’re playing with forces you don’t understand, Veyron.”

  Veyron raised an eyebrow. “Oh, but I do understand them. In fact…” He lifted his hand, and time itself seemed to ripple. The ruins around them reversed—blackened structures rebuilt themselves, shattered stones floated back into place, and the fires rewound until they became torches burning steadily once more. In mere moments, the city of Valtora stood whole again.

  Raizo’s eyes narrowed.

  Veyron turned, gesturing to the illusion of life he had created. “Beautiful, isn’t it? But watch closely…” He snapped his fingers.

  Time shattered.

  The buildings collapsed instantly, as if they had never existed. Screams echoed once more, but this time in reverse—voices twisting as if pulled backward through time before fading into nothingness. In the span of mere seconds, Valtora was erased all over again.

  Veyron smiled. “I can undo anything, Raizo. Life, death, even your existence if I so choose.” He took a step forward, his tone turning serious. “The age of kings and heroes is over. This world is mine now.”

  Raizo didn’t flinch. He had fought countless enemies—warriors, demons, gods. But this… this was something beyond power alone.

  Veyron tilted his head. “Tell me, strongest magician—how do you plan to fight someone who controls time itself?”

  The wind howled between them as Raizo slowly unsheathed his blade, his energy surging like an oncoming storm. The battle between the strongest magician and the master of time was about to begin