Alphen had died.

He knew that. He'd lived out a good, happy life.

But something even greater than Chronos wanted his friends and him, and for what, he didn't know.

"What happens now?"

Chronos took a step forward, the clock behind him spinning rapidly. The numbers etched upon each sphere glowing with a reality-bending light.

"Now…" Chronos raised a hand at them, a beam of light building within his palm, "…you start over."

Time-Travel Fix-It AU

AN: Lemme know any spelling or grammar mistakes and I'll get around to fixing them.

Chronostasis – Chapter 4

"How about anything goes? Artes and weapons, but no healing artes. First to surrender or is injured too much loses?" Shionne asked as she hefted her rifle, its silver barrel gleaming against the sparring rooms lights.

Dohalim mulled it over. "What constitutes 'too injured', exactly?" he clarified.

"Anything beyond what a grape gel can heal."

"Hmm… acceptable. Mystic artes?"

"I said artes and weapon but no healing artes, didn't I?"

"That you did," Dohalim smiled, twirling his golden shaft with such dexterity it looked like a shield of gold and blue until he slammed it lightly into the ground kicking up dust, "That you did. I hope you don't expect me to surrender."

"I was going to say the same to you," Shionne's murmur was barely audible from the other side of the ring, her scope leveling with her eye to aim at Dohalim.

They both smirked, banter that one of them hadn't felt in many years coming as easily as water while the other appreciated just how much he'd truly lost out on.

"Until defeat it is!"

The hammer of Shionne's rifle cocked back, firing the first shot as Dohalim rushed forward, the sparring room marble flooring cracking from the power in his steps.

Even with her advantage of long-range, Shionne was already beginning to tire from the drawn-out fight.

Or at least that's what this ten-minute spar was beginning to feel like as she was constantly placed on the back-foot with Dohalim's swift charges and strong strikes coupled with the fact her sixteen-year-old body was used to the life of a lab experiment, not the fighting she'd gotten used to during her time on Dahna.

"Haaa-" Shionne exhaled audibly as she chambered a bullet, reaching into her hammer-space to throw up a lightning-element bomb, "-Lightning downfall!" she shouted as her sights centred-in on the shining bomb, a bullet piercing it's shell causing it to explode and lay down an encircling field of thunder.

Shionne ignored the aftereffects of her bomb, choosing to push forward. She slid to a knee, twirling as she did so to aim at Dohalim who was stuck within the field of thunder, a ball of darkness building upon the muzzle of her gun.

"Gravitas Field!"

The ball of darkness was slow in its gait but a looming presence as it closed in on the Earth Lord trapped within the field of light and thunder.

Already, Shionne could feel her stamina depleting from the successive attacks and prolonged fight as she took another moment to catch her breath.

"Tiring already Shionne?" Dohalim called out as he swept his Pulque Shaft through the lightning field to disperse it, the effects it had on him negligible even when combined with the looming force of her Gravitas Field. He slammed the butt of his shaft into the ground, piercing the marble and pouring earth-element astral energy into the ground.

"Y-You wish…" Shionne panted as vines wrapped around her legs, pining her in place while Dohalim stood in place, astral energy building around him in the tell-tale sign of an Astral Arte. Shionne could already tell that with the long casting time, Dohalim was charging up a strong one.

A small part of her wished she'd had Rinwell by her side to steal the astral energy Dohalim was building up.

But that was neither her nor there. Grabbing the last remaining bomb she had in her hammer-space, the rest already been used up to set up traps that Dohalim had easily broken out of, she filled this one with fire-element astral energy before throwing it down at her feet, burning the vines ensnaring her to a crisp while also slightly singing the ends of her clothing.

She looked at Dohalim who was still in the midst of charging his spell. Judging by the cast time, she could hazard a guess that he was either going to use Execution or Ground Dasher. That meant she had around a minute to-

"Reflect on thy sins-"

Shionne's eyes widened as Dohalim began the chant for Execution, already preparing to unleash judgement from the heavens.

With ease borne of practice and experience, Shionne flung her hand out in a wide arc, jumping as she did so to gain some distance between the explosive bullets that now fell like brass rain in the air left in her wake. "Time to finish this…" Shionne murmured to herself, eyeing down her sights at a single bullet amidst the many falling towards the Earth Lord.

"Consuming Wildfire!"

"-they smite with blackened blade!"

Dohalim was consumed by the explosion left in the wake of her bullets at the same time Shionne landed. Darkness surged beneath her feet and shot upwards in a torrent of dark astral energy sending her flying. She hit the ground with a thud, the Sclopetum Rene that had been given to her to use during the Candidacy cluttering a few feet away.

It was with a groan that Shionne rolled over to lay on her back, coughing out some dust she'd inhaled during the explosion and her fall, blindly groping around for her rifle. Dark-element astral energy crackled along her form as she opened her eyes to a gold and blue shaft pressing lightly against her throat, held by a moderately charred Dohalim.

She eyed the way a fire was put out with a swish, showing the extent her explosions had left in their wake, black suit half-destroyed as Dohalim stood over her. "Truly, when I had asked if Mystic Artes were allowed, I meant more for me than you," Dohalim said as he extended a hand, Shionne accepting.

There was a small mount of tightness to the grip as Dohalim minutely tensed at the sight of her Thorns crackling across their hands. "That will still require some time to get used to," Dohalim murmured as he finished helping Shionne to her feet, "However, I can say that we have successfully failed in accomplishing what we had initially set out to do."

The pink-haired Water Lord gave him a very confused blink before it suddenly dawned on her. "Right, we were trying to get me used to using water a bit more…" Shionne winced at her blunder, especially considering that was the whole reason they'd come to the sparring grounds in the first place, she'd failed spectacularly.

"Mayhap you'd like to try your hand against myself?" a voice called out, Shionne and Dohalim whirling around in surprise as the door to the private training grounds opened without their consent.

With white hair hanging over one side and the sides and back of his head shaved stood Ganabelt Valkyris, the Lord of Light and Cyslodia, a golden ornament clinging to the left-side of his skull that curled to reach his brow. "I must say, the way you fought while short certainly explains how you both became Lords," the man who would-be Meneck drawled, giving an appraising look to both Dohalim and Shionne.

"Ha! Just watching you two his got my blood pumping!" a second voice boomed, a large figure lumbering into the sparring grounds behind Ganabelt. Black and red armour adorning his hefty frame stood Erwolsey Teldilys, the Lord of Flames and Calaglia. "Your strength… I can respect that!" Erwolsey grinned as he loomed over his three fellow Lords.

It was Dohalim that took charge of the situation between the two, stepping before Shionne to address two Lords that Shionne and Alphen had both lain low in the past. "The two of you were watching?" he asked cautiously.

"Bah!" Erwolsey waved off the suspicion thrown his way with a motion of his hand, "I could hear the two of you the moment I walked in. Valkyris was already in the viewing rooms when I got here."

The white-haired Lord's expression curdled ever-so slightly at the lack of honorific given to his last name but conceded as he looked over to the two. "Yes, I was indeed watching. I'll admit my interest was piqued when the monitor stated the room was in use," Ganabelt motioned to the previously locked door, a panel to the side stating that the room was in use by Dohalim il Qaras and Shionne Vymer Imeris Daymore.

"Truly, it was fascinating to watch, however…" Ganabelt's eyes sharpened, the sharp intellect that shone during his time as Meneck and his reveal as the Lord of Cyslodia coming to the fore, "My offer still stands."

He held a hand out to his side, a golden shield-like arch appearing from his hammer space as he stared as Shionne, waiting for a response.

She looked at him for a moment.

She came to a decision.

Blue etched its way across her forehead, a flower forming to shine the Symbol of a Lord of Water. She cocked her rifle as she challenged Ganabelt's stare with her own. "Two-on-two, Dohalim and I against you and Lord Teldilys," she challenged, Dohalim already accepting the terms as he stepped up to her side.

Ganabelt didn't get the chance to rebuke her offer, the large lumbering form of his fellow Lord falling into step beside him, a gargantuan axe made of hardened lava and stone appearing within his grasp, its edge a sharpened steel in contrast to the stone that made up the rest of its form.

"Heh, I like you girl," Erwolsey commented as he readied himself, Ganabelt rolling his eyes before doing the same. "After this is done, call me Balseph!" he shouted, fire-element astral energy forming upon his forehead in the form of across made of flames.

Ganabelt summoned his own weapon, a rapier while his golden arch curved protectively around his back. His eyes shone a cobalt blue as a pentagon of light formed on his brow.

To her side, Dohalim readied his Pulque Shaft, eyes glowing blue like the rest of the Lords, an inverted triangle forming just above his eyes, a second smaller and normal triangle forming within the larger inverted one, all made of earth-element astral energy.

"En Garde, Lords of Ganath Haros and Elde Menancia! I, Lord Ganabelt Valkyris, Lord of Light challenge you!" Ganabelt gave a dramatic flourish of his straight-edge rapier.

"Bah, let's just get this fight started already!" Balseph roared, slamming his oversized axe into the ground, shattering the marble flooring more than it had already been from Dohalim and Shionne's prior fight, signaling the start of battle for the four.

The moment Balseph let out a loud low roar with a sweep of his axe, Dohalim charged forth into the fray tossing a pineapple gel over his shoulder before weaving through large sweeps of Balseph's weapon.

Shionne clutched the gel as it arced towards her, the dark yellow blob falling into her hand with a jiggle. She shoved it into her mouth and chewed, her stamina rapidly refilling, having been depleted from the fight between herself and Dohalim.

It was instincts honed from years of fighting that allowed Shionne to anticipate the lances of lightning rushing towards her but her lack of muscle memory and coordination from her younger body prevented her from dodging in time, thunder coursing its way through her body. "Grrk!" Shionne grit her teeth, while she was mental used to pain, she was still working off the after-effects of Dohalim's execution, Ganabelt's thunder re-igniting the pain she experienced but fifteen minutes prior.

Subconsciously, a hand groped out to latch onto a bomb in her hammer-space only to grasp nothing, having used them all up already. She didn't even have the mental capacity in the midst of being attacked to create more bombs out of Astral Energy. With little options left as Dohalim distracted Balseph, she tightened her grip around the trigger of her rifle, her forehead shining as she imbued her rifle with water.

A torrent of pressurised water rocketed from the barrel, passing through the arcing thunder, and struck Ganabelt in the chest with such force it tore open his extravagant vestments and forced him backwards into his gilded arch. The electricity given off by his weapon, unfortunately for him, was able to easily pass through the water-torrent and conduct the lightning, severely shocking him.

"Arrrrgh!" Ganabelt's voice tore through the room as the water torrent continued to pass through his thunder, electrocuting him down to the core. No longer being the one affected by thunder, Shionne continued to hold down the trigger of her rifle, muscling through the surprise she felt at the reveal of her increased water affinity to craft bombs with Astral Energy.

"Th-That's enough!" a light shone once more upon Ganabelt's brow, his thunderous attack stopping, the only thing attacking him now being Shionne's water torrent which he blocked by moving his golden arch from behind him to before him, using his once weapon as a shield. He warily eyed the youngest Renan Lord, a newfound respect in his eyes as he looked at her. He'd taken her young age as an indicator of her lack of experience but her hastily created attack was more than capable of injuring him.

Certainly capable of injuring, he thought as he gingerly touched his torso, wincing at the pain from what was certainly thousands of gallons of water crushing him within a tide. What was all the more impressive was the fact that it wasn't one of her primary methods of battle, the fight he'd witnessed between the Water Lord and Earth Lord showcasing her predilection towards fire and light element attacks. Never mind that she was still grasping her fresh affinity towards water as well.

The white-haired lord readied his rapier, choosing instead to forego his usual method of long-range light-element artes in favour of close-range combat.

Shionne noticed her opponents change in stance.

Ganabelt's charge, while not breaking the ground in a show of force, was certainly faster than what she'd be able to fight against using her rifle.

Fortunately, she wasn't the only one fighting at the moment.

"Dohalim!"

"Right!" he shouted an assent while dodging a particularly nasty swipe of Balseph's axe, the man's irritation of the game of cat and mouse between the two feeding his weapon with fire energy, the lava core burning red-hot as it passed over the Earth Lord. His dodge turned into a triple backwards-cartwheel that transitioned into a leaping somersault. As he came down, the gilded length of his Pulque Shaft found purchase between shattered marble, earth energy flowing abundant in the foundations of the building. Dark-orbs orbs shone azure blue, earth energy building just above his eyes as vines shot out from amongst the cracked flooring, wrapping around both the charging Ganabelt and towering Balseph.

"Tch!" the Light Lord clicked his tongue, continuing to grow ill-tempered as the conflict persisted, both the Earth and Water Lords proving to be irritants in their own ways, particularly the Earth Lord at the moment with his capacity to produce ensnaring vines. His rapier flashed silver in the artificial lights of the training rooms, dexterous hands somehow able to find room to begin cut away at the vines.

The room gained an uncomfortable amount of warmth as Balseph used sheer brawn and power to proceed, the two elements of Balseph's Fire and Dohalim's Earth-infused vines fought, the stronger of the two winning out.

Even with his strength that had decreased from his travel back in time and experience, Dohalim could tell that he was at a disadvantage, fire being a natural nemesis of earthen constructs such as vines made quick work of them. The vines encircling Balseph burned to motes of cinder as the core his weapon grew from red to white, the sheer heat freeing the larger man.

Above Balseph's eyes shone his own symbol of fire.

"Haha! We're just getting started!" the Lord of Fire bellowed as he hefted his axe, releasing another wave of heat in a show of surprising precision and control that incinerated the vines Ganabelt had been in the midst of slow progress. Said man's eyes shone with annoyance, his hand tightly grasping the handle of his blade as he stood side-by-side Balseph, Shionne and Dohalim doing the same opposite the two.

All of them had their symbols of power blazing brightly on their forehead.

Elements clashed within the sparring room.

Balseph's blazing heat contending with the frost and rime Shionne was subconsciously releasing, her new control over water proving to be a deterrent in the face of her fellow Lord. Likewise, Ganabelt's power made the electricity within the lights flicker and in some cases, short-out, the lightbulbs unable to contain the sheer amount of voltage running through them.

Dohalim's power was the only one that didn't make any visible imprint, but that didn't mean no effects to be felt. Beneath them, the very ground itself moved and roiled, the foundation weakening and strengthening in strategic places at the Lord of Earth's whims.

The fire lord gave a friendly grin that looked all the more menacing as it twisted his scarred face into an unmeaning sneer. The fight between water and fire quickly tilted in his favour as he released more and more astral energy, Shionne instead taking the opportunity to create ice glaciers between the two of them, ice that was quickly melting.

Balseph's axe seemed to draw in heat from the very air itself, the once sweltering hot air becoming near subzero with the lack of heat. Both Shionne and Dohalim gave a jerk of surprise at the level of fine-control the man was displaying, unable to recall him ever showing it before, in Dohalim's case, within Shionne and Alphen's memories. "Surprised?" Balseph grinned as he hefted his axe into the air.

The room went dark as Ganabelt consumed all the electricity and light within his vicinity similar to what his companion had done with heat, lightbulbs no longer functioning with a lack of electricity.

Shionne and Dohalim stared at them with wide-eyes, startled by their abilities, even more so in Dohalim's case as he'd never fought them personally. Shionne wondered if they'd always had these abilities, choosing to never use such strength on a rabble resistance like them.

The only light in the room were the light upon their brows, their glowing eyes, and the now shining-white of Balseph's axe.

With a laugh Balseph gave one last heft of his axe before lifting his left leg up and slamming it down to produce enough force for a swift dash.

*Crunch!*

The heat and fire building up within the axe was extinguished like a candle in the wind, the surprise of his footing leaving him broke through his concentration. The foundations that Dohalim had so carefully weakened beneath the two's feet coupled with the already destroyed flooring caused the heavy-set man to lurch into the ground with a surprised grunt, his left leg knee-deep into the floor.

That momentary moment of surprise caught Ganabelt off-guard as the primary source of light disappeared. The close proximity to the blindingly-bright axe leaving him seeing white spots in the sudden darkness, something both Shionne and Dohalim were quick to capitalise on.

The Earth Lord rushed forward, the impact of footfalls audible in the darkened room, audible enough that Shionne was able to 'see' him even in the dark. "Shionne!" Dohalim shouted drawing her attention in his direction.

"Hmm!" Shionne hummed with a nod even though it went unseen. She chambered a round into her rifle, imbuing it with a gargantuan amount of water-element astral energy. "This one's got your name on it!" she yelled, pulling the triggering.

Her aim was dead-on, the bullet leaving her rifle in a trail of ice crystals so cold they were clear like glass. It exploded against Dohalim's Pulque Shaft, his own capability in controlling astral energy preventing it from completely exploding for a split second. Half a second was all he needed as his shaft smashed into Ganabelt's bruised torso, releasing his hold on the astral energy.

"Freeze to the core!" Dohalim roared with a savage grin.

The Ganabelt's fine control over light and thunder released, light returning to the room just as Shionne's ice exploded, sending him flying in a hail of clear crystals like a bullet towards the unbalanced Balseph. The two collided with a crash, wrenching Balseph's leg out of the building's foundations before sending them both to the ground, their symbols flashing and dissipating.

Shionne was breathing heavily as she healed Ganabelt, her hands hovering above her torso in the green light of healing artes.

The man's stomach and chest were a mess of yellow and green bruises, the bones of his ribs rife with hairlines fractures during his initial fight against the Water Lord and soundly shattered by Shionne and Dohalim's Boost Strike. "Arrgh!" Ganabelt hissed painfully as he accidentally brushed against Shionne for the third time during the healing process, her Thorns momentarily impairing him with debilitating lances of pain.

"I didn't even know something like this existed…" Balseph muttered as he looked down at Shionne, himself being little worse for wear from their battle in comparison to the Light Lord. "…and it does it by itself? Hurting anyone?"

Dohalim nodded, the truth about Shionne's 'situation' coming to light when Ganabelt had spasmed beneath Shionne's touch, accidentally causing hr to brush her hands against the lapels of his coat, but it was enough to cause her Thorns to activate. "Almost anyone," Dohalim corrected as he stood to Shionne's side, "People close to her, friends like myself, are able to touch her without being harmed."

Balseph gave a considering tilt of his head.

"Aye, that'd be hell if you couldn't touch anyone… ah…" he said thoughtfully but stopped, taking in Dohalim's solemn expression and Shionne's silence. "Sorry, Lass."

Shionne stood up without a word as she finished healing Ganabelt, the only thing the light lord needed now was some rest and a tailor to patch up his coat. "Thank you," was the man's slightly clipped response, a wary berth between him and the woman who had just healed him. Respect, admiration, and fear shone in his eyes that Shionne had learned well enough to ignore in her early days, but she'd become used to no longer being feared as she'd grown older and the curse had been removed.

Just another thing she'd need to get used to.

"Even with all of… that…" Ganabelt said, a grimace painting his features as he thought of the Lord of Ganath Haros' Thorns. "…I must say, you certainly control over your element swiftly, Lord Shionne. You were able to produce tides of water and even crystal ice. Quite impressive for someone for your age and lack of exposure to your heightened affinity," the white-haired Lord complimented truthfully, his eyes settling on equal amounts of respect, fear and admiration.

"Aye, you as well il Qaras!" Balseph grinned at Dohalim who merely gave a polite nod of thanks in return. "Does make me wonder… Lord Shionne, Lord Dohalim… why do you want to become Sovereign?" the large man asked, a tone of curiosity in his voice.

"…Before we answer," Dohalim began, red locks falling naturally to frame his features, "May I ask why you wish to know?"

Balseph crossed his arms with a shrug, "Knowing the competition."

"As simple an answer it may be, Lord Dohalim, a greater understanding of our fellow Lords has its… advantages," Ganabelt added, joining the conversation.

Dohalim thought it over for a moment, but before he did, he looked at Shionne.

She only nodded her head once, otherwise choosing to keep her silence.

"Very well," Dohalim agreed, a smile stretching its way across Balseph's features, before he could say anything though, Dohalim lifted a single finger. "However, what say we all share our reasons?" Dohalim added, expressions of conflict appearing on the Lord of fire and the Lord of Light's faces.

"A fair trade it would seem," Ganabelt murmured to himself, almost too low to be heard. But nonetheless, he nodded, agreeing to his fellow Lords terms.

"Works for me! I'll go first" Balseph grinned.

The three remaining lords allowed him to take center stage. A sudden seriousness charged the air, a stark contrast to the almost-jovial nature Balseph presented.

"House Teldilys isn't the most well-standing House, compared to the il Qaras," he nodded at Dohalim. "But that's why I'm here, to change that! House Teldilys will become more than a lower house! That's why I fight to become Sovereign!" Balseph roared to any that listened, smashing his knuckles together in a shower of sparks.

All that listened were the three before him since they were currently situated in a Lords-only building.

"How… so like you, Lord Teldilys…" Ganabelt murmured shaking his head at the simple reasoning of his fellow Lord. "I suppose I am next then. Very well."

"I aim to become Sovereign so that we may expand out horizons beyond Rena and Lenegis," Ganabelt managed to sound charismatic, even with his worn clothing and injuries. "I believe we shouldn't confine ourselves to Lenegis. Instead, we should colonise Dahna and expand our reaches to the furthest reaches of space My pursuit for power is for the advancement of all Renans!"

The response to his reasoning was quiet, none of his fellow Lords particularly moved by his rationale.

"Tch," he clicked his tongue before motioning towards Shionne. "And you, Lord Shionne? What reason do you have for becoming Sovereign?"

"…I don't want to become Sovereign."

A deafening silence was her answer, Ganabelt and Balseph staring at her blankly before a confused sneer reached across Ganabelt's face.

"Y-You… You do not wish to become Sovereign? Yet you participated in the Crown Contest Candidacy!" Ganabelt questioningly stuttered that progressed into a shout, looming before Shionne even with the threat of her Thorns ringing in his head. "Why?!"

Shionne stared Ganabelt down.

"My husband is on Dahna."

It was a simple answer.

Yet Ganabelt backed down anyway. His hackles were still raised, there was no doubt about that, a fury raged beneath his breast at the sheer lack of care and ambition for the contest. However, there was a spark of something within the younger girl- no… younger woman's eyes that eclipsed even his own grand ambitions. Whatever that was, there was a certain amount of ambition in it that he could grudgingly respect.

"Ha! To think someone as young as you is married!" Balseph, meanwhile, cared little about her lack of care towards the contest. To him it merely meant less competition to become Sovereign. "If he's as strong as you, I wouldn't mind going a round against him some day!"

There was a certain irony to that statement that caused Dohalim to let out a laugh, something which caught Ganabelt's attention.

"And how about you, Lord Dohalim?" Ganabelt grit out, placing a lid over the impulsive fury that burgeoned within, "What are your reasons for becoming Sovereign?"

The red-haired man stopped laughing, his face becoming pensive for a moment as he thought about his response.

"I have no wish to. I was simply stronger than the other candidates."

Dohalim didn't bother masking the laugh that left his lips at Ganabelt's inarticulate scream of rage.

A/N: I honest to God hate fight scenes because they're much more difficult to write, especially since in-game, barely any fight is that quick unless you're a level 100 vs a level 13. Also, do I know where I'm going with this story? Absolutely fucking not. I'm writing this while I procrastinate during work.

I fully believe that Balseph and Ganabelt were relatively decent people before being exposed to complete power during their seven-year reign which ended up corrupting them. Relatively being the keywords since they're Renans, and most Renans were self-centred assholes. Almeidrea Kaineris can go suck a dick though cause even the Lenegis quest states she's basically a back-stabbing underhanded bitch who killed her father and brothers to become Lord.

If you couldn't tell, I very much dislike her. Around the same as much as I dislike Vholran.

Current Chapter - 7 1/2 years before start of Canon, 1/2 year before the start of the Crown Contest

Estimated Level. Age, and Clothing for Characters

Dohalim –

Level: 50 (Strong and experienced as a Lord Candidate from birth, but weaker compared to his future/past self who was on-par with a Level 95 Chronos alongside everyone else) – Currently on par with Great Astral Spirit

Age: 22 years old

Hair: Natural Wavy Hair (Default Hair)

Body: Principal Coat B (Black Suit)

Attachments: None

Weapon: Pulque Shaft

Shionne –

Level: 30 (Experienced but her body at this point was used for experimentation with very little chance for physical training, also lack of coordination and physical strength compared to her future/past self) – Currently on par with Vholran during fight in Ganath Haros.

Age: 16 years old

Hair: SW-IVY

Body: SW-EQ02F

Attachments: None

Weapon: Sclopetum Rene