Alastor stood alone in the cold darkness of the chamber, the echoes of Nyx’s betrayal still ringing in his ears. The weight of her deception pressed down on him like a crushing force. He had trusted her, and she had used that trust to climb higher within the Pyramid, leaving him exposed, vulnerable. But as the anger burned through his veins, something shifted within him—a fierce, unrelenting determination.

He had come too far to be destroyed by betrayal.

The Pyramid had taught him that survival wasn’t just about strength or skill. It was about adaptation, about using every tool at his disposal to outthink his enemies. And now, more than ever, he needed to find the edge that would allow him to turn the game in his favor.

His eyes drifted to the ancient hieroglyphs etched into the stone walls around him. The familiar symbols of life, death, and rebirth glowed faintly in the dim light, but something else caught his attention—something he hadn’t noticed before. Among the standard glyphs was a single, larger symbol, more intricate than the others. Its lines were sharper, more pronounced, and it seemed to pulse with a faint golden light that called to him.

The Symbol of Ra.

His heart raced as he approached the glyph, the glow intensifying as he drew closer. He had heard whispers of it—an ancient hieroglyph said to grant its wielder immense power, a direct connection to the god of the sun, Ra. But it wasn’t just about fire or light. Ra was the god of time, the force that governed the cycles of day and night, of life and death. To control the Symbol of Ra was to control time itself.

Alastor’s hand trembled as he reached out to touch the symbol, his fingertips brushing against the cool stone. As soon as his skin made contact, a surge of energy rushed through him, flooding his senses with a dizzying intensity. The world around him seemed to ripple, the walls and floor warping as though reality itself was bending to his will.

His vision blurred for a moment, and then everything snapped into sharp focus.

He could feel it—the flow of time, like an invisible river that coursed around him. The seconds ticked by, but now, they were tangible, something he could manipulate. The power of Ra surged within him, the hieroglyph burning brightly under his touch, and for the first time, he understood the true potential of the Pyramid.

Time could be altered.

The knowledge came to him as though it had always been there, waiting to be unlocked. The Symbol of Ra wasn’t just a glyph of power—it was a key. A key that allowed him to bend time, to twist the loop that had trapped him in this deadly game. The Pyramid had sought to control life and death, but time itself was the greater force, and now it was his to wield.

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Alastor gripped the edge of the symbol, focusing his mind as the energy surged through him. He could see the flow of events, the moments that had passed, and the ones yet to come. Nyx’s betrayal, the trials, even the Gatekeeper’s offer—they were all threads in the vast tapestry of time. And with the Symbol of Ra, he could manipulate those threads, altering the outcome of the loop in subtle, powerful ways.

His mind raced with the possibilities. He could change everything. Every failure, every misstep could be undone. He could control how the Pyramid’s trials unfolded, shaping the future to his advantage. Nyx had thought she had bested him, but she had no idea what he was now capable of.

The first test came almost instinctively. Alastor closed his eyes, focusing on a single moment—one from just a few minutes ago, when Nyx had stepped forward to betray him. He felt the flow of time shift, bending to his will as he rewound the events, the scene playing backward in his mind like a film on rewind.

In an instant, he was back in the chamber, standing next to Nyx before she had revealed her treachery. The world around him shimmered, the echoes of his earlier decisions fading as the loop reset itself. Nyx was unaware of what had just happened, her face calm, her expression unreadable as she prepared to execute her plan once again.

But this time, Alastor was ready.

With a flick of his thoughts, he nudged the flow of time forward, subtly altering the moment just before she spoke. Her footing shifted ever so slightly, and her balance faltered, a tiny but critical mistake that made her vulnerable. Alastor seized the opportunity, stepping forward with a cold, calculated precision. His hand brushed against her wrist, just as she had done to him so many times before, but this time, he wasn’t playing along.

Nyx’s eyes widened, confusion flashing across her face as she felt the shift in the air—the moment where everything had changed.

"You’re not the only one who can play this game," Alastor murmured, his voice low and dangerous.

Before she could react, he stepped back, letting the altered moment unfold. Nyx’s betrayal never came. The subtle manipulation of time had undone her advantage, leaving her off-balance, uncertain. The Hierophant’s cold gaze flicked between them, unaware of the changes in the loop but sensing that something had shifted.

Alastor’s pulse quickened as he felt the rush of power coursing through him. The Symbol of Ra had granted him control over the loop—control over time itself—and with it, he could change the course of his fate. He could manipulate events, twist the outcomes of the Pyramid’s trials, and ultimately, control who rose and who fell.

For the first time since entering the Pyramid, he didn’t feel like a pawn in someone else’s game. He was the one holding the strings now.

The glowing hieroglyphs on the walls seemed to pulse in recognition of his newfound power, the ancient energy of the Pyramid flowing around him like a living thing. Alastor smiled, his mind already racing with the possibilities. Nyx had betrayed him, but she had also given him the key to something far greater than she could have imagined.

He glanced at the Symbol of Ra again, feeling its pulse beneath his skin. He could alter time, but he would have to be careful. Each change, each manipulation, had consequences. The Pyramid would not take kindly to someone tampering with its sacred laws.

But for now, time was on his side.

"Time is no longer my enemy," Alastor whispered, a fierce determination settling over him as the world bent around him, shifting to his will.