Chapter 21: I Got No Time

Kim Ji-yoo stood at the edge of a neon-lit rooftop, the wind tugging at her coat, eyes narrowed against the electric twilight of the hyper-futuristic city. 

She had just released a man from shimmering energy restraints—a man who claimed to be Arth. But in this multiverse, even names were unreliable.

“How can I be sure you’re the real Arth?” she asked, voice low and suspicious.

The man rolled his shoulders, fingers twitching like they were remembering old moves. His voice was calm, steady.

“Because one of my dead versions told me you’d help.”

Ji-yoo raised an eyebrow. “Still not buying it.”

“I’m Arth. A Space-Time Voyager. In my timeline, I was a cop. I’ve crossed the Multiverse twice already—first to your world, then to one overrun by machines powered by the very Time Cogs I’m hunting. And then—”

She tilted her head. “And?”

His gaze darkened. “I was ambushed. During my third jump.”

She let out a dry laugh. “Yeah, sounds about right. I met a version of you before Sera started flinging me across dimensions. He had four of the seven missing Time Cog pieces. And he was traveling with your female counterpart. Honestly? I'm exhausted by all this multiverse melodrama.”

But Arth didn’t smile.

“You said you met another me?” he whispered. “Then I’m too late.”

Ji-yoo's smirk faded. “Yeah. That version’s already deep into whatever plan you’re just catching up to.”

Back in ‘that’ Arth's universe,

Suddenly, the sky cracked.

Black smoke spiraled upward, swallowing neon in waves of ash. Metallic thunder roared overhead as a chariot of jagged steel descended. The skyline split open—chaos unfurled below.

Ouroboros had arrived.

At the city’s heart stood Iron Maiden.

Her steel exosuit pulsed with power, stance battle-ready, locked on the figure emerging from the smoke.

A blade of magenta light hissed into being.

“Let’s see what your little shell’s made of,” Ouroboros growled, his voice like grinding stone.

He vanished—reappearing mid-air, slashing downward.

Iron Maiden raised her shield just in time. The impact launched her through a concrete wall.

BOOM.

She rolled, boots sparking against asphalt. “You’re fast,” she muttered.

Twin blasts flared from her palms—one at his chest, the other at his legs.

But time twisted.

The blasts froze.

Her HUD flickered:TEMPORAL MANIPULATION DETECTED.

Ouroboros smiled. With a flick of his wrist, the frozen energy reversed course—striking her instead. Armor scorched. Joints buckled.

Gritting her teeth, Iron Maiden launched micro-missiles. Explosions chased him—too slow. He strolled through them like falling leaves.

Then—he was gone.

SLASH.

Her thrusters split. She crashed hard, trailing sparks.

“You’ve got toys,” he said, approaching. “But I’m something else.”

She unleashed a massive unibeam from her core, vaporizing pavement, searing buildings.

Ouroboros stood within a magenta time-bubble, untouched.

“I’ve seen timelines rise and collapse. You’re a footnote.”

Desperate, she triggered an EMP pulse. His systems shuddered—just enough. She lunged, punching him across the jaw. He fell—momentarily.

But time rewound.

In an instant, he reset the moment, caught her mid-swing, and slammed her into the ground.

CRACK.

Armor shattered. Blood pooled in her mask.

Ouroboros raised his blade.

“Good fight,” he said. “But this is where your story ends.”

Iron Maiden’s voice was faint. “Not… yet.”

Her chestplate opened—revealing an unstable, flickering core.

“You’re not taking this world without paying a price.”

Time stopped.

Ouroboros stepped forward in the frozen silence, plucked the core from her chest, and tossed it aside.

Time resumed.

He struck.

She fell—motionless.

Ouroboros stood over her shattered form. “Let them remember you as brave. But bravery... is never enough.”

Above, his army advanced. The sky swirled with entropy, storms of unraveling reality descending.

Then—A ripple in the air.

A portal burst open.

Two figures stepped through: Arth… and Altair.

Ouroboros tilted his head, amused.

Altair strode forward, coat whipping in the wind. “So this is it. The grand finale.”

Arth’s voice was quiet. “It seems.”

Ouroboros laughed. “Touching. Come to avenge her?”

No one moved.

Then—

A low hum.

Altair’s eyes widened.

Arth’s blade pierced her back, erupting through her chest in a blaze of violet light.

“Ghhk—!”

She turned, eyes wide. “A… Arth?”

His face was blank. “I’m sorry, Altair.”

“Why…?” she gasped, trembling.

“Because it had to be you,” he said, withdrawing the blade. “Only you could follow me here. Only you would never suspect.”

She fell to her knees.

“I… trusted you…” she whispered. “You saved me…”

“I did,” he said softly, kneeling beside her. “And that’s what made it possible.”

Her fingers twitched in his hand.

“I looked up to you…”

He closed her eyes.

“I know,” he whispered.

The world dimmed.

Then—blinding light.

Another vortex opened.

The real Arth stepped out, bloodied and bruised. Beside him, Ji-yoo stood frozen in shock.

“We’re too late,” she whispered.

The battlefield lay in silence. Iron Maiden and Altair—fallen. Ouroboros stood at the center of it all, calm and unshaken.

“So,” he said, voice almost gentle. “Everything worked out.”

Arth stepped forward, fists clenched. “You think replacing me is victory?”

Ouroboros smirked. “Replace you? No. I simply became what I was always meant to be.”

He raised a hand and removed his helmet.

Ji-yoo gasped.

The face beneath—was Arth’s.

Ouroboros was Arth.

“The one you met at Kisaragi Station?” he said, glancing at Ji-yoo. “That was me. After I replaced this version—after I attacked him during his jump.”

Arth stared, speechless.

“I copied your life,” Ouroboros continued. “Adopted your habits, your job, your mannerisms. I even split a fragment of my essence to mimic you. That’s how I stayed hidden.”

Ji-yoo’s voice was barely a whisper. “You manipulated her. She trusted you.”

Ouroboros glanced at Altair’s body.

“A necessary sacrifice,” he said. “She almost ruined everything.”

Arth trembled, rage overtaking disbelief.

“You became the very thing we were fighting.”

“No,” Ouroboros said softly, his eyes glowing with violet certainty. “I became the only one who understood what needed to be done.”

Chapter 21: I Got No Time End