"As I explained before, the Chronos Watch can accelerate the passage of time,"

  Selene said, her voice calm but firm.

  "Typically, it can only be used on non-fatal injuries, as fatal wounds would require decades, sometimes centuries, to naturally heal. Accelerating time to that extent would usually lead to death since the injury itself would worsen rapidly in the accelerated timeframe, even if I narrowed the effect to just the wound itself."

  Albrecht struggled to listen through the haze clouding his mind, the backlash from Mirrorbound leaving him dizzy and barely conscious. Agony surged anew from his ravaged side, no longer numbed by Heinz's stabilizing magic.

  "But we have a loophole," Selene continued, placing a steadying hand on his shoulder. Her gaze locked onto his, fierce and unwavering.

  In a situation like this, she suddenly seemed very trustworthy and even caring.

  "Your ability grants you near immortality. While it can't heal your injuries directly, it prevents further harm once activated. This will protect you long enough for the Chronos Watch to speed through the healing process without causing your death."

  "■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■?" ■ ■.

  Selene held the magical watch next to Albrecht's gruesome wound.

  His entire right side was cut open, raw muscles twitching beneath shredded skin, tendons exposed and torn like frayed rope. Beneath the grotesque scene, his stark-white ribs gleamed horribly exposed.

  It was odd seeing no blood flowing, thanks to Mirrorbound.

  Worse yet was the sickening sensation of his organs shifting, twitching within the gaping wound, barely contained and threatening to spill out at the slightest provocation.

  Selene drew a deep, steady breath, then gently spun the watch's delicate hour hand clockwise. A faint clicking sound filled the silence as the air grew thick and charged with tension.

  At first, nothing happened. Seconds dragged on, feeling like an eternity. Then came a searing, blinding pain, deeper and sharper than Albrecht had ever known.

  He convulsed, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles whitened. The wound pulsed violently, twitching unnaturally as if alive.

  He watched in horror and awe as the Chronos Watch forced his flesh forward through time.

  The clicking grew louder, quicker, as Selene steadily accelerated the motion of the watch's hour hand.

  What started as hours per second rapidly increased to days, weeks, and then months, flashing by in mere heartbeats. The watch's delicate hand blurred, spinning faster and faster, becoming a barely visible streak of light.

  Torn muscles writhed, stretching and knitting themselves back together strand by strand. The exposed ribs became obscured again by growing layers of blood-rich flesh, sinew slithering across bone with visceral precision, pulling taut before merging seamlessly.

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  His organs settled heavily back into their rightful positions, guided by an unseen force, rearranging themselves with surgical precision.

  Sweat drenched Albrecht's skin, every nerve aflame, yet through the excruciating agony was undeniable relief as each second rapidly restored his mangled side.

  "Hold on," Selene urged softly, her voice steady yet surprisingly compassionate. Her fingers remained unwavering as she guided the watch hand relentlessly forward.

  Slowly and painfully, the edges of his torn skin crawled toward each other, closing over the wound inch by inch. His flesh sealed smoothly until only a faint scar remained—an echo of the trauma he'd endured.

  Finally, Selene slowed her spinning, bringing the Chronos Watch to a gentle stop. Its soft clicking ceased abruptly, leaving a ringing silence in its wake, broken only by Albrecht's ragged, exhausted breathing as he lay trembling yet whole.

  "You can release Mirrorbound now," she said gently.

  With relief flooding him, Albrecht allowed himself to deactivate Mirrorbound, instantly feeling the immense mental strain lift, replaced only by deep exhaustion.

  'But why does she suddenly seem like such a reliable person?' he wondered.

  "Heinz, you can come back in," Selene called sharply, her voice echoing slightly through the small storage room, which also served as a small medical facility.

  The door swung open immediately, revealing Heinz standing just outside. His prompt entrance only confirmed Albrecht's suspicion.

  'He was definitely eavesdropping,' Albrecht thought, meeting Selene's eyes. Her expression mirrored his own thoughts, though neither said anything aloud.

  Not that Albrecht particularly cared at the moment.

  Heinz's gaze flicked to Albrecht, assessing him with thinly concealed curiosity..

  "Can you get up?" Selene asked Albrecht.

  "No, I think I need some rest," he answered, lying.

  The truth was that he wanted to continue his conversation with Heinz, who understood the hint.

  "I agree. He should definitely stay for at least the rest of the day." Heinz chimed in.

  "I see," Selene said.

  She rose slowly from her seat, carefully pocketing the Chronos Watch. Her expression hardened slightly as she considered their situation.

  "In that case, I'll need to cover my tracks more carefully. It won't take long before news spreads that the Chronos Watch has been stolen. And with the Central Continents Special Affairs Division already present, it won't take long until they're hunting for me."

  Selene was already at the door when she added:

  "I'm sure you have many questions, Albrecht, but they will have to wait a bit longer. I will be back in one or two hours."

  With that, she left, leaving not only Heinz and Albrecht but also a lot of suspicion behind.

  'I don't remember ever telling her my name… or even what my ability is..' Albrecht thought uneasily

  Even more troubling was her knowledge of the so-called Outsiders, people presumably from other worlds like himself.

  'When she helped me in awakening my ability, she clearly already knew what it could do'

  But Albrecht also had to consider the possibility of every Outsider having the same ability or at least every Outsider from Earth.

  So that could have been just luck or coincidence, and the same could be said for her being at the right location at the right time. Just luck.

  What worried him the most was that he had trouble remembering certain things.

  'When I asked where she was taking me… didn't I say something else first? What was it?'

  It wasn't the first time he'd felt this way. Albrecht realized, with chilling certainty, that his memories weren't just fuzzy. They were incomplete.

  He could clearly remember that he had forgotten something crucial, but not what that something was.

  He already couldn't trust anyone, and now it seemed like that even included himself.