The tranquil Sea of Forgotten Time was gone.
Towering silver waves crashed against one another, sending columns of mist into the sky. Lightning danced through the clouds above, illuminating the crack that the Eclipse Court had torn open.
At the center of the island, **Lyra** stood beneath the silver tree.
Though she appeared to be no older than fourteen, her presence was immeasurable.
Her silver eyes reflected neither anger nor fear.
Only absolute calm.
The masked leader of the Eclipse Court slowly descended from the fractured sky.
Each step he took caused the surrounding space to distort.
His black spear hummed with a sinister aura.
Behind him stood nearly thirty elite cultivators.
Unlike the black-robed disciples Lin Mo had seen before, these warriors wore armor engraved with crimson symbols.
Each radiated an aura comparable to, or stronger than, Elder Han.
Chen Yu swallowed hard.
"There's... no way we can fight them."
Han Qiu silently tightened his grip on his spear.
Lin Mo agreed.
This battle was far beyond their current level.
The masked man stopped a hundred meters from the silver tree.
"So..."
"The Second Keeper still remains."
Lyra looked at him quietly.
"No."
"What remains..."
"...is only my promise."
The masked man laughed.
"Ten thousand years, and you still cling to your duty."
His voice became colder.
"The Twelve Keepers are dead."
"The Eternal Clock is broken."
"The Age of Time has ended."
Lyra gently shook her head.
"As long as one successor walks this path..."
"...Time endures."
Without another word, the masked man thrust his spear forward.
A beam of black light shot across the island.
It was so fast that Chen Yu couldn't even follow it with his eyes.
Yet...
Lyra simply raised one hand.
The beam stopped.
Not deflected.
Not destroyed.
Stopped.
It hovered in the air, completely motionless.
The masked man's expression finally changed.
"You..."
"You can still use it?"
Lyra whispered a single word.
"**Pause.**"
The black beam shattered into countless silver particles.
Lin Mo stared in disbelief.
"That's..."
The Guardian's voice echoed faintly from the silver watch.
> "Not Borrowed Second."
> "Not Observation."
> "That..."
> "...is the authority of the Second Hour."
The sea responded to Lyra's command.
Countless pillars of water rose into the sky before freezing into crystal-clear spears.
With a graceful wave of her hand—
Thousands of spears descended upon the Eclipse Court.
The invaders immediately unleashed defensive techniques.
Explosions echoed across the island.
Several elite cultivators were forced backward.
Others disappeared beneath the crashing waves.
The masked leader remained unmoved.
He planted his spear into the ground.
A black domain expanded outward, swallowing the silver sea.
Where the darkness passed...
Time itself seemed to weaken.
The silver waves slowed.
The floating clocks cracked.
Even the silver tree dimmed.
Lyra frowned for the first time.
"So..."
"You've inherited part of the Void Sovereign's power."
The masked man smiled beneath his mask.
"The age of the Keepers is over."
Meanwhile, Lin Mo noticed something strange.
His silver watch was vibrating more violently than ever before.
Not in fear.
In response.
The Roman numeral **II** glowed faintly.
As if answering Lyra's presence.
The Guardian spoke again.
> "She is calling to you."
"Me?"
Lin Mo looked toward Lyra.
At that exact moment, she turned to face him.
Their eyes met across the battlefield.
She smiled.
"Lin Mo."
"It is time."
She stretched out her hand.
"Come."
The space between them shimmered.
A bridge of silver light formed over the raging sea.
Chen Yu grabbed Lin Mo's shoulder.
"It could be a trap!"
Han Qiu remained silent, but his eyes held concern.
Lin Mo looked at his friends.
Then at Lyra.
Deep within his heart, he knew.
This was the next step.
"I have to go."
The moment Lin Mo stepped onto the bridge, the silver watch floated into the air.
Every step made the Roman numeral **II** shine brighter.
The masked leader noticed immediately.
"No!"
"Stop him!"
Several Eclipse Court cultivators charged toward the bridge.
Before they could reach it—
Lyra gently lowered her hand.
The bridge disappeared.
The attackers fell into the raging sea below.
None resurfaced.
Lin Mo finally reached the silver tree.
Up close, he realized it wasn't an ordinary tree at all.
Its leaves were made of shimmering fragments of time.
Each leaf contained a memory.
A laugh.
A farewell.
A victory.
A sacrifice.
The lives of countless people.
Lyra placed her hand against its trunk.
"The Second Hour is not about seeing."
"It is about remembering."
She looked at Lin Mo.
"Observation reveals truth."
"Memory gives truth meaning."
The silver tree began to glow.
One leaf slowly drifted downward.
It landed in Lin Mo's palm.
The instant he touched it—
A flood of unfamiliar memories entered his mind.
He saw the First Keeper laughing with Lyra beneath this very tree.
He saw the Twelve Keepers celebrating after sealing away an ancient evil.
He saw them swearing an oath.
> **"No matter how many ages pass..."**
> **"...we will preserve the flow of Time."**
Tears unknowingly formed in Lin Mo's eyes.
These weren't his memories.
Yet they felt... real.
Suddenly—
The sky cracked once more.
A colossal shadow appeared beyond the fracture.
It was far larger than the masked leader.
Far larger than the island itself.
Two crimson eyes slowly opened within the darkness.
Every person present—friend and foe alike—felt an overwhelming pressure descend upon them.
Even the masked leader immediately knelt.
"My Lord..."
Lyra's expression turned solemn.
"It has awakened..."
The Guardian's voice echoed urgently from the watch.
> "Lin Mo..."
> "**Do not look directly at it.**"
But it was too late.
For a single heartbeat...
Lin Mo met the crimson gaze.
And something in the darkness...
Looked back.