Hello again! It feels so nice to be updating quickly again. It probably won't last, but I figured I'd take advantage of the creative bug. Here we start getting into the real meat of the story and introduce the antagonist. Enjoy!

"Pact-maker Sheena, disaster is once more upon us."

To hear these words, spoken so gravely by the most powerful of Spirits, had every muscle in his back pull with tension. Regal kept glancing down at Raine, still unconscious in his grasp, but he kept an eye on the Summon Spirits.

"That's an understatement," grunted Celsius, who seemed to be trying to hide her unease, even panic, behind attitude. She snapped her head toward Origin and balled her fists. "This wasn't ever supposed to happen!"

Undine shook her head, less volatile but just as unnerved. "Indeed," she spoke quietly. "The seal was intended to be unbreakable, but with everything Mithos Yggdrassil put the world through-"

"Yeah, I don't need you to tell me what Mithos did, Maiden."

"Whoa, hey," Zelos interrupted to put an end to the nervous bickering. "What's with the reunion all at once?"

A terse silence met his question, before, finally, the others looked at their leader. Origin squared his jaw. "...She has returned."

Several of the heroes looked around at each other, no less concerned but also confused. "Who's 'she'?" Lloyd asked.

Raine began to stir, much to her husband's relief, and he supported her in getting to her feet after meeting her inquistive look with a shake of his head. She pressed one hand to her head, and he let her lean into him again as they both now listened.

"Long before the birth of Mithos Yggdrassil, another tyrant wreaked havoc upon the world. The ten you see before you now," Origin explained, giving a vague nod around the gathering, "were once eleven."

Regal frowned. "Eleven?" he echoed. "How can that..."

"As you know, each of us holds command of one element, and by natural laws, that one element alone. Celsius over ice; Efreet over hellfire; Maxwell over matter itself."

At this point, Genis and Colette were coming toward them, the former looking, like his sister, a bit ill. "But don't you technically have two?" asked the boy a little hoarsely. "Space and time, right?"

Origin turned his head to peer toward the younger half-elf. However, he seemed to stare through him instead. "Precisely. Time...was not always mine to control. You may consider me to preside over the others as what you call the 'lord of Summon Spirits,' but in a time long forgotten, that tile, as well, was claimed by another. A vicious, sadistic being, twisted by her own power, she threw the world into chaos whenever it pleased her. She would toy with mortals at whim and shatter timelines for sport. She was the empress of time, and she fancied herself the empress of us as well."

"The empress of time..." Raine was frowning herself when Regal glanced at her. "I've never heard about anyone like that. She's not mentioned in any records, books, even legends. How is that possible?"

"By design, I assure you. As Celsius has stated, she was never meant to be remembered by the world; she was never meant to return. Now she has, and when she learns of who you are, she will be driven to seek vengeance upon you."

This sent another ripple of surprise through the group, and they all looked around at each other before Zelos asked the next logical question: "Us? We've never even met her; what's her beef with us?"

Origin closed his eyes. "You are the Heroes of Regeneration. You challenged fate and won, just as the men and women involved in her defeat. She looks upon the mortal races as insects and pawns, seeking to crush beneath her feet any she deems arrogant and pretentious. She will have a personal vendetta."

"We don't have time for a history lesson!" snapped Celsius, glaring toward their leader. "She's out there right now, doing who knows what, who knows where, who knows when!"

"If we do not provide these people with the proper information, history is doomed to repeat itself, Celsius. What happened with Ivy cannot happen again. I will not be responsible for that." A subtle wave of awkward discomfort went through some of the others, and Regal narrowed his eyes slightly in trepidatious curiosity.

"Then everyone quit yer yappin' and let's make with the magic," snorted Maxwell.

Having all of the Summon Spirits present and speaking at once in such an aura of tension had every one of them on guard, and Regal subconsiously held a little tighter to Raine, who, while not exactly appreciative of either public displays of affection or signs of possessiveness, didn't fight it this time.

"Okay, how about we start with a name?" Zelos suggested, folding his arms. "I like to know exactly who I'm beating to a pulp. Y'know, honor and all that." Agreement was murmured through several others. The Spirits had still only referred to this apparent evil as "she" and "her." The other name—Ivy—meant nothing to him, but judging by the reactions, he would guess that it was not the so-called empress. "Just who is it sending such a chill down your immortal spine?"

"Yes, Origin, you lapdog, do introduce me to your new masters. I'm dying to get to know them."

The effect this cool, smooth, venomous voice had on the gathered Summon Spirits was nothing short of remarkable. As if instinct had taken hold, Celsius dropped to one knee in the air; Undine bowed her head; Efreet covered his face with one great arm; Gnome shrank into as compact a space as he could. All at once, each of them showed a disturbing amount of...submission. Not respect, nor admiration, nor loyalty—but submission nonetheless. And like it or not, it sent another chill down his spine.

All of them whirled to face a speaker, and he felt a shudder run through Raine's body. There before them was the form of a woman, skin so pale as to be nearly white. Her hair was long and loose beneath a silver circlet in the shape of an infinity symbol. At the roots it was black, but it faded into stark white at the ends. Her dress was elegant, with a sweeping skirt and draping sleeves. From her neck hung a pendant, the charm an hourglass in which sand constantly flowed but neither top nor bottom ever lost or gained a single grain. Silver sashes and jewelry adorned her figure. Surely, the empress lived up to her title.

"Eternity," hissed Origin through gritted teeth, the only one who didn't cower before her.

Glittering green eyes scanned the gathering, and Eternity strode forward slowly, almost prowling. "It seems I have missed a great deal since our last disagreement, but I'm glad to see that none of you have forgotten me. I suppose loyalty runs more deeply than you thought, my treacherous old friend."

"You will find no loyalty here, Eternity. Do not become accustomed to walking free; it will not last long. This world has forgotten you, and I intend to keep it that way." Origin summoned his weapons and pointed them toward her, but there was a distinct lack of concern in the way she chuckled.

"I will deliver your judgment later. But first..."

Several of the other Spirits looked up again in alarm, clearly knowing what was about to happen. But although they began to move, Eternity flung out her arms, and everything just stopped. Insects froze in the air; the breeze died immediately; the other Spirits became statues. The world around them simply paused. Only the eight heroes and the being who hated them so moved freely.

Regal seized up again, pushing Raine a little further behind him protectively as time was so easily brought to a halt around them. It was surreal, like walking through a painting, but he scarcely took his eyes from their newest enemy. Now, in the anticipation of some unknown attack, he tried to channel his body's mana to either counter or defend. It was a little harder to breathe, though, and all around him the others struggled similarly.

But there were eight of them and one of her, and they had defeated every other Summon Spirit in the world.

"So," Eternity continued, keeping them all under predatory scrutiny, "you are the world's most recent saviors. ...Pitiful. Small creatures desperately clawing at their fate, seeking to rise from the dust and mud where you belong. You relish and revel in the adoration and praise of your peers. You are arrogant, but you are fragile. I will not have mortality oppose me again, fancying themselves heroes and champions. You are a thorn in my side, but soon enough removed. Whatever you have accomplished, whatever you think you have conquered, everything you have known until now is about to change. How would you do, I wonder, playing by my rules?

There was no time to react. Eternity swept an arm in a circle before her, and the ghost image of a clock appeared. An unpleasant smile mired by hatred showed from behind it, before she curled her hand into a fist. The image cracked, then shattered, hazy pieces swirling in several wild, spinning whirwinds. They cut through the heroes, splitting them up, and while he held tightly to Raine's hand, they were forced apart, too, translucent shards swirling about them as they did the rest of the party.

"Raine!" he called, watching her throw her hands up to shield her face. He tried to reach for her again, but the world around him was beginning to shift and spin. He heard voices, some from their friends and others he couldn't identify, all speaking over one another until it became just a lot of noise. His surroundings, too, blended into ever-changing colors, and he finally ducked his own head, feeling his heart pounding while his mind raced and his stomach roiled.

What was happening?

Just what was this being capable of?

And how in the goddess Martel's name, he thought desperately before his mind seemed to float away, were they supposed to fight it?