I believe that feelings of foreboding arise from experience.
In other words, they signal that something bad is about to happen.
Grains of sand trickled steadily from the nozzle of the hourglass.
From what I could see, there were no other signs of anything unusual occurring.
“Sepia, explain this to me. It looks like just an ordinary hourglass.”
When I turned to Sepia, she was staring at the hourglass, pressing her right index finger to her lips and mumbling, deep in thought.
Mastema moved beside Ahavain, gesturing to the other two to come closer.
“Ahavain, set that down. Arnella, Noel, come here. Stay close; it’s safer.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Just do it.”
“Understood.”
Mastema spoke firmly to Noel, who looked puzzled. Arnella and Noel obediently moved closer to Mastema.
“Do you understand what’s happening, Mastema?”
“Hmm… nope, no clue. But that thing is the real deal. Which means this isn’t going to end well.”
“So you don’t know what’s about to happen. Not even your powers can stop it?”
“Correct. My abilities can’t interfere; they’re not the right type for this.”
At my words, Mastema raised her hands, palms up, and shrugged.
I moved Noel and Arnella behind us for safety, standing at the front with Mastema.
“I’ll support you.”
“Much appreciated.”
Arnella and Noel cast their support magic, ensuring we were ready for whatever might come. If a monster were to be summoned, we could handle it.
“Sepia, enough thinking. Get over here.”
“I remember now. The Sands of Time—Agares’ treasure. It’s been activated only once in the past.”
Sepia stopped her muttering, as if the memory had surfaced. She turned toward us and approached.
“Ahavain, listen carefully. The Sands of Time are about to activate. If Mastema can’t stop it, neither can I.”
“Seems that way. From your expression, do you know what will happen?”
“There are ancient records I inherited. The Sands of Time activated once before. Based on those findings, when activated, it engulfs the entire surrounding area and…”
The hourglass began to tremble.
The sand inside emitted a golden glow.
“It erases the area, space and all. Where it goes, no trace remains on the continent. The investigation concluded that it moves through time.”
“Hence the name, Sands of Time.”
Sepia nodded and set up a triple-layered barrier.
“I don’t know where or when we’ll be sent. But if we stay within the barrier, we should remain together.”
“Got it. Damn, if we had our equipment, we could’ve blocked this.”
With everyone in swimwear, we had brought only the bare minimum. If we were fully equipped, I’d have had a magic tool capable of avoiding this kind of activation.
For now, all we could do was watch and wait.
The Sands of Time glowed even brighter, becoming too dazzling to look at.
“It’s coming.”
The moment Mastema said that, the sand fell completely to the bottom of the hourglass.
At the same time, the scenery around us changed.
The familiar cave walls became a rainbow-hued space.
But that wasn’t all.
The ground beneath us disappeared, and we began to fall within the barrier.
The outermost barrier shattered. This space was clearly not safe.
“Good call on the barrier.”
“Agreed. Without it, we’d have been scattered. Well done.”
“Hehe.”
Staying calm, I surveyed the area.
Noel and Arnella clutched hands nervously. It was understandable—they hadn’t faced as many life-or-death situations as I had.
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
“—Yes.”
“You promise?”
Their expressions brightened. A few words seemed to make a difference.
I wasn’t lying—I had every intention of keeping them safe.
The Sands of Time, a magic tool capable of spatial and temporal transport.
I’d seen it shatter as the rainbow space expanded, so it appeared to be a single-use item.
I’d encountered only a handful of demonic magic tools in my life.
Could we obtain another? And if we did, would it bring us back?
“Good grief.”
Realizing there was no point in overthinking, I stopped myself.
Worrying would only make things worse.
The fortunate thing was Sepia’s knowledge and Mastema’s presence.
Being thrown into this without knowledge or allies would’ve been far worse.
“Look, an exit.”
Sepia pointed ahead.
Through the rainbow space lay a vast plain.
It seemed that was our destination.
“The barrier should hold. Stay alert. Let’s go!”
At Sepia’s call, we escaped the rainbow space.
The second layer of the barrier shattered as we exited.
Feeling the ground underfoot was a relief, though I swayed slightly, likely from the adrenaline.
The surroundings matched the plains we had seen earlier.
That alone wasn’t enough to identify where we were.
I checked our group. Thanks to Sepia’s barrier, no one was missing.
Still, it felt absurd to be standing on a plain, all in swimwear.
“Is everyone okay?”
“Yes, no problems.”
“I’m fine as well.”
“I’m okay!”
Everyone but Sepia responded.
“Sepia, are you alright?”
“Yeah. I’m using exploration magic, but… the magic density here feels strong.”
“Magic density?”
Was she referring to the ambient magic in the air?
This was common in remote areas or deep labyrinths, but I’d never heard of it happening on an open plain.
While I could sense magic, it didn’t feel significantly different to me.
But Sepia was a top-tier mage.
She’d be more attuned to these nuances than I was. I doubted she was mistaken.
“It’s subtle, but… ah!”
“What is it?”
“There’s something—or someone. Are they fighting? It’s that way.”
Sepia pointed north.
Looking in that direction, I saw something indeed.
“There’s no point staying here. Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
We moved as a group.
A magic carriage would’ve been ideal, but we traveled on foot.
After some time, we arrived at the area Sepia indicated.
There, a group of soldiers was locked in battle with a massive figure.
The fight was one-sided; the soldiers were clearly struggling.
The massive figure resembled a golem, but its design was unusually refined.
It seemed we hadn’t been sent to a time without humans, which was a relief.
We needed information.
“Let’s lend a hand. Might as well earn some goodwill. Let’s go.”
“Roger that.”
Mastema and I rushed forward, leaving the others to stand by.
