Amina paced frantically through a wide hallway in the Temple of Gods. As a Warden, this place was normally her home, but at this moment, she was a fugitive on the run. Her footsteps echoed through the lavish hallway as she moved at a fevered pace. The intricate gold trimming that covered the pristine white walls passed by her as she tried to process what was happening

Everything had gone wrong inside the tower. The Triple Star Alliance, humanity’s greatest force, had fallen apart in the eleventh hour. Soon the monsters inside would overrun the tower and spill out to the streets, laying waste to everything on Earth. And that would be just the beginning.

She stopped at a doorway and looked both ways. Thankfully, no one had followed her. With a sigh of relief she opened the door. Inside were two of the other Wardens, seated on white thrones and deeply engaged in conversation. They maintained the appearance of human men but were completely opposite to one another in looks. One was old with white hair and a long, wispy beard to match. The other was younger, with a strong physique. Despite their appearance, they, like all Wardens, were far from human.

“What exactly is going on?” Amina said, interrupting their conversation.

The old figure turned to her, rubbing his beard as he spoke. “It appears that the human alliance was betrayed by one of their own.”

“Chrono’s right.” The younger one said. “But we can’t let them fall here. It’s time for desperate measures.”

Chrono nodded. “I’m going to revert everything that has happened. It may be hasty and foolish, but it’s our only option.”

Garindale, the younger of the two looked at Amina. “You understand what will happen to us if we interfere, don’t you?”

Amina nodded. “A fate worse than death…” Every Warden knew this. The Grand Warden took great pleasure in ensuring that everyone knew the stakes of this wicked game they played. To interfere directly with the humans was a cardinal sin, and the punishment would be severe.

Chrono stood up. “That’s right, but it’s a price we have to pay.” He gestured to Amina. “If I simply revert time, there’s a risk that everything plays out the same once again. We need you to find someone from your group of followers. Someone who’s learned something from all this. Seal their memories so they can make use of them in the new timeline. It’s a long shot, but every little bit helps.”

Garindale nodded. “We must hurry. The Grand Warden is surely looking for us by now. Find someone suitable. I’ll transport myself and Chrono there, and he can set back time. Who knows what will happen to us, but that human can hopefully prevent this from happening again.”

Amina took a deep breath. This was all happening so fast. One moment the humans looked poised to clear the tower. The next they had fallen apart completely. Now the three of them were committing the ultimate sin and betraying the Grand Warden. But it had to be done. There was much more at stake than humanity and the planet Earth. “Okay. I’ll find someone.”

As the Warden of Mind, Amina had bestowed Mind powers to a number of the tower climbers. That was one of her jobs as a Warden, after all. This time, she closed her eyes and activated her powers from outside the tower. In an instant she sensed the mental state of all her followers; the people she had formed a pact with and bestowed powers on. She cycled through them rapidly, trying to find someone who’s memories were worthy of preserving.

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“Amina…” Garindale said. “Your body…”

Amina opened her eyes and saw that her feet had been covered by a cloud of small, white particles. The particles crawled quickly up her legs, leaving nothing behind as they ate up her flesh. To her surprise, there was no pain as the cloud continued devouring her on the way upward.

“I see.” Chrono said. “This must be what happens when we use our powers outside of the tower.”

Ignoring the rapid disintegration of her body, Amina closed her eyes and continued scanning the minds of her followers. There were too many to go through in detail, so she ignored those who hadn’t made it to the top five floors. That left her with eighteen candidates. She could only choose one out of this group.

“You’re running out of time, Amina.” Garindale said, his voice flush with impatience and frustration. “Just pick someone.”

She rushed through the eighteen followers until she finally came across one who seemed to understand the situation. He was a member of the Three Star Alliance and he was currently on the final floor. His individual accomplishments weren’t great and his stats weren’t anything impressive, but he had a great deal of knowledge about the tower. He wasn’t the ideal candidate, but he was their best option.

“Found one.” Amina said, as she opened her eyes. The particles had made their way up to her chest, leaving only her shoulders and head remaining. “His location is 148, 572, 78, on the final floor. I’m sealing his memories right now.”

“Understood. Thank you, Amina.” Garindale waved his hand, and a portal appeared before him, along with a cloud of particles at his feet. Both Wardens nodded to her one final time before hopping into the portal.

Amina could only watch and solemnly accept her fate as the cloud ate up what remained of her. She did her job. The rest was up to them.

***

Alex looked up hopelessly at the black flames that sparked from the Demon Flare’s sword. This was it. The final moment of his life. He cursed the demon under his breath. If he was going to die right here, he would do it with his head held high.

Gritting his teeth, he watched as the sword came crashing down. But just as it was about to strike him, a piercing bright light blinded him. He could only see white. Was this death? The moment his life would flash before his eyes?

No. Alex’s vision quickly returned, and he saw the demon’s sword frozen in place two inches from his face. Even the black flames somehow held perfectly still. He still couldn’t move, but from the peripheral of his vision he saw two figures approach him.

“Looks like we made it just in time.” A voice said. “But it looks like my time is up.”

Alex tried with all his might to turn his head and catch a glimpse of these mysterious figures, but his body wouldn’t obey him.

“You did well, Garindale.” Another voice said. “Now it’s my turn.”

Alex’s stomach dropped as a flash of white light enveloped him. In an instant he found himself drifting in an empty gray space, his whole body feeling weightless. The only other thing in this sea of gray was the figure of an old, white-haired man. The figure appeared to move away from him, drifting off in the distance.

Alex found himself finally able to speak again. He called out to the old man. “Who are you? What’s going on?”

“I am Chrono, the Warden of Time.” the old man said, his voice barely audible in the distance. “Right now I am reverting back time and undoing everything that has happened.”

What the hell was going on? Undoing time? Why was a Warden getting involved in all this? Alex opened his mouth to speak but the Warden’s words came first.

“This is our gift to you; another chance at clearing the Dominion Tower and saving humanity. There is much more at stake than you can possibly imagine. Chart a different course in the new timeline and prevent your people from making the same mistakes again. Humanity can not afford to fail a second time.” Chrono’s voice trailed off completely as he disappeared into the distance.

Humanity can not afford to fail a second time. Those words echoed in Alex’s mind as he felt his body return to the physical world.