I Received System to Become Dragonborn-Chapter 1267: The Thread

The hum and vibration deepened as Eccar drew his focus inward once he entered the chamber. It did not roar or surge. The power tightened, like a thread being pulled slowly from within his chest.

The runes beneath his feet responded immediately. Their glow sharpened by a fraction.

Eccar closed his eyes.

Then he realized that time power did not open like Magic. There was no familiar flow, warmth, or resistance to push against. Instead, there was distance. He feels... layers upon layers of moments stacked together, pressing softly against his awareness.

"So this is how Krono sees it," he thought. "Not forward or backward in time. But all of it... at once!"

His breath slowed. He let the thread rest against his perception without pulling it closer.

Across the chamber, Saeldir tightened his grip on his staff. The runes along its length pulsed as he synchronized his Magic with the anchors embedded in the walls. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Don’t chase it," Saeldir said calmly to Eccar, with slight tension edging his voice. "If you feel the urge to move toward something, stop."

"I’m not moving," Eccar replied, his voice low. "The power is brushing against me from every direction instead."

The air starts to change.

For a brief moment, the chamber seemed to stretch. Not physically, but perceptually, as if the distance between the walls grew uncertain.

Saeldir also felt it immediately. The anchor diagrams flared, correcting the distortion before it could deepen.

Saeldir frowned.

"This power is already testing the boundary... this power is not passive at all."

"Eccar," he warned, "your presence is becoming a point of reference. Time is reacting to you now."

Eccar’s brow furrowed. Sweat gathered at his temple.

"I see... fragments," he said. "Not exactly visions.... More like impressions. Possibilities brushing past each other."

His hand lifted slightly on instinct, his fingers trembling.

Saeldir raised his staff an inch from the ground. "Lower your hand. Ground yourself."

Eccar forced it down, jaw tightening. It felt as if he was forcing his mind and soul to stand ground, but also surrendering slowly.

"Easy," he told himself. "You’re not here to command it."

The pressure eased. Then something else appeared.

It was a pull. A subtle insistence, like a knot in the thread that refused to be ignored.

Eccar furrowed his brow tighter.

"There’s something wrong," he said quietly. "Not here. Somewhere else. Something... unfinished."

Saeldir’s eyes narrowed. "A future event?"

"I don’t know," Eccar answered. "It feels... manufactured by something."

The runes along the floor flickered, then stabilized.

Saeldir swallowed.

"Is this the Creations Erend is talking about?" he thought.

"Do not follow it," Saeldir said firmly. "Just focus on observation."

"I know," Eccar replied, though his voice strained. "I’m holding it."

The ’thread’ tightened once more, testing him.

"If I pull even a little I’m sure that it will drag me with it," Eccar thought.

He released his focus. The chamber let out low humming sounds. The hum faded to a sound of low murmur as the runes dimmed back to their resting glow.

Eccar staggered half a step back, catching himself before his knees could buckle.

Saeldir moved instantly, planting his staff down as a stabilizing sigil flared and locked the chamber fully.

"I think this is enough," Saeldir said sharply. "That was enough for today."

Eccar nodded, breathing hard. "Yeah... I felt that."

Saeldir studied him closely. "You ’touched’ it. The time power."

"Barely," Eccar said, straightening. "But now I’m sure."

"Of what?"

Eccar looked at his hand again, slower this time, steadier.

"That whatever is coming," he said, "it already left marks on time. We can find its true nature before it appears."

The chamber fell silent again, but this time, the silence carried hope and good news.

Saeldir sighed with relief, feeling the tension in his shoulders easing.

The realization settled in his eyes, replacing concern and worry with hope.

"If what you sensed is correct," he said, his voice steadier now, "then this means we are not just walking blind into it when it appears."

Eccar nodded faintly, still regaining his breath. His pulse had not fully slowed, but the strain had receded enough for his thoughts to sharpen again.

"We’ll know the danger before it arrives!" Saeldir continued. "Not just rumors or fragments of information. We will feel it coming."

A small smile touched his face despite himself. It was brief, restrained, but genuine.

"That will give us time to prepare defenses, strategies, and countermeasures. That is something we never had before."

Eccar looked at him, then slowly made a difficult expression.

"Yeah, but... preparation won’t be enough if only one of us can touch this. What I did just now was not mastery of the time power. It was barely an introduction," Eccar said.

Saeldir’s smile faded, replaced by thoughtful silence.

"This power doesn’t belong to me alone, you remember?" Eccar went on. "Erend carries it, Aesa also carries it. The thread of time will react to all three of us. If only one understands it, the imbalance itself could become a weakness. Moreover, with a power this strong."

Saeldir tightened his grip on his staff again in agreement that formed piece by piece when he heard what Eccar had said.

"You’re saying this must be shared knowledge," he said.

"Yes," Eccar replied. "We must control it together and learn it together. If one of us loses control while the others cannot anchor or compensate... the damage won’t be limited to a single person. I think."

Saeldir nodded. "Then this chamber will not be yours alone."

Eccar allowed himself a faint, tired smile. "Yeah. I don’t want to be alone in this."

Silence returned, lighter than before.

Saeldir gestured toward the chamber entrance.

"Okay. You should rest now. The power you touched today was enough to strain even a Dragonborn body. I’m sure of it."

Eccar did not argue. The fatigue was already settling deep into his bones.

"Yeah. My head feels like it’s been folded inside."

They began to walk out together, the runes dimming fully as the chamber returned to dormancy.

"I’ll report this to King Gulben," Saeldir said as they reached the corridor. "Privately. He needs to know what this changes."

Eccar nodded. "And I’ll speak to Erend and Aesa. But not right now. Maybe tomorrow."

Saeldir paused for a moment, watching Eccar walk ahead.

"We truly do have time now," he thought. "But... only if the three of them learn to hold it without breaking themselves."

The corridor swallowed their footsteps as they parted ways.

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