Episode 9:the truth the time keeper hid
1420 Words
Muna didn’t sleep again.
But this time, it wasn’t fear keeping him awake.
It was questions.
Too many.
Too heavy.
Too real.
The shadow.
The voice.
The way everything had stopped—
except him.
Tick.
He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his hands.
“…An anomaly,” he muttered.
“You keep repeating that like it’ll change something.”
Muna didn’t even look up.
“You’ve been lying to me.”
Silence.
The man stood by the door.
“I haven’t lied,” he said.
Muna finally looked at him.
“You just didn’t tell me the truth.”
The man didn’t deny it.
“…There’s a difference.”
Muna stood.
“Not anymore.”
The room felt tense.
Heavy.
“You knew something like that existed,” Muna said. “Didn’t you?”
A pause.
“…Yes.”
Muna’s jaw tightened.
“And you didn’t think that was important to mention?!”
“I didn’t think you would reach that level this fast,” the man replied.
“That level?” Muna snapped. “It literally said it might erase me!”
“I know,” the man said quietly.
That shut Muna up for a second.
“…Then start talking,” he said.
The man took a slow breath.
“You deserve that much.”
He stepped further into the room.
“No more fragments. No more half-answers.”
Muna crossed his arms.
“Good.”
Silence settled.
Then—
“My name,” the man said, “is not important.”
Muna rolled his eyes.
“Of course it’s not.”
“But what I am,” he continued, ignoring him…
“…is.”
Muna leaned slightly forward.
“Go on.”
The man’s voice lowered.
“I am what you would call a Timekeeper.”
Tick.
The word felt… heavy.
“…Meaning?” Muna asked.
“I don’t control time,” the man said. “I don’t create it. I don’t destroy it.”
A pause.
“I maintain it.”
Muna frowned.
“Like… balance?”
“Yes.”
Muna’s mind started connecting things.
“So the Collectors—”
“—are part of the system,” the man finished.
Muna blinked.
“…What?”
“They remove excess, stolen, or unstable time,” the Timekeeper explained.
Muna shook his head.
“You mean they kill people.”
“They restore balance,” the Timekeeper corrected.
Muna stepped forward.
“That’s not the same thing!”
“It is,” the Timekeeper said calmly. “From time’s perspective.”
Silence.
Muna’s fists clenched.
“…Then what about me?”
The Timekeeper didn’t hesitate.
“You break that balance.”
The words landed hard.
Muna exhaled slowly.
“…Because I don’t take time to give it.”
“Yes.”
“…Because I fix it instead.”
“Yes.”
Silence again.
Then Muna said:
“So I’m not the problem.”
The Timekeeper’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“You are.”
Muna shook his head.
“No. The system is.”
That made the Timekeeper pause.
“For thousands of cycles,” he said slowly, “time has followed one rule.”
Muna cut in:
“To give is to take.”
“Yes.”
Muna pointed at himself.
“And I just proved that’s not always true.”
The room went quiet.
The Timekeeper studied him carefully.
“You didn’t break the rule,” he said.
Muna frowned.
“…Then what did I do?”
The Timekeeper’s voice dropped.
“You revealed something the system was built to prevent.”
Muna’s chest tightened.
“…Which is?”
The Timekeeper answered:
“That time doesn’t have to be balanced through loss.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Muna’s heart started beating faster.
“…Then why is the system like that?”
The Timekeeper didn’t answer immediately.
For the first time—
He looked… conflicted.
“…Because it was designed that way.”
Muna’s eyes widened slightly.
“Designed? By who?”
A pause.
Then—
“The thing you saw.”
Muna’s breath caught.
“…That shadow?”
The Timekeeper nodded.
“It is older than everything you understand.”
A pause.
“It doesn’t create time…”
Muna leaned in slightly.
“…But it defines how it works.”
Muna swallowed.
“So it made the rule.”
“Yes.”
“And now I broke it.”
“…Yes.”
Silence.
Then Muna laughed.
A short, disbelieving laugh.
“So let me get this straight…”
He looked up.
“I accidentally walked into some hidden world…”
“Gained powers I don’t understand…”
“Got chased by things that eat time…”
“And now some ancient… whatever that thing is… is deciding if I should exist?”
The Timekeeper didn’t smile.
“That’s an accurate summary.”
Muna ran a hand through his hair.
“Wow.”
Silence stretched.
Then—
“…Why me?” Muna asked quietly.
The question hit differently.
Not angry.
Not loud.
Just real.
The Timekeeper looked at him.
And this time—
He didn’t dodge it.
“…Because you were already different.”
Muna frowned.
“How?”
The Timekeeper stepped closer.
“Your time was never stable.”
Muna’s chest tightened.
“…What does that mean?”
The Timekeeper hesitated.
Then said:
“You were born with more time than you should have.”
Silence.
Muna blinked.
“…That doesn’t make sense.”
“It doesn’t need to,” the Timekeeper said. “It just needs to be true.”
Muna shook his head.
“No… people don’t just get extra time.”
“Normally, no.”
Muna stared at him.
“…Then how did I?”
The Timekeeper didn’t answer.
And that—
Was the answer.
Muna’s voice dropped.
“…You know.”
The Timekeeper stayed silent.
“…You know and you’re not telling me.”
Still silence.
Muna stepped back.
“You’ve been watching me from the start, haven’t you?”
The Timekeeper didn’t deny it.
“…Yes.”
Muna laughed again.
“But you didn’t help.”
“I couldn’t.”
“You wouldn’t,” Muna corrected.
The Timekeeper’s expression tightened.
“If I interfered too early,” he said, “you would never have awakened this ability.”
Muna’s chest tightened.
“…So all of this—”
He gestured around.
“—was supposed to happen?”
A pause.
Then—
“No.”
Muna froze.
“…What?”
“This,” the Timekeeper said, “was never supposed to happen.”
Muna’s heartbeat picked up.
“…Then what was?”
The Timekeeper’s voice dropped.
“You were supposed to be collected.”
Silence.
The words hung in the air.
Heavy.
Cold.
Muna’s voice came out slowly.
“…Meaning?”
The Timekeeper met his eyes.
“You were supposed to die.”
Everything stopped.
Not time.
Muna.
“…When?” he asked.
The Timekeeper didn’t hesitate.
“Long ago.”
Muna’s mind went blank.
“…But I didn’t.”
“No.”
“…Why?”
The Timekeeper looked at him carefully.
“…That’s what we don’t understand.”
Silence.
Muna stepped back.
So many things suddenly felt different.
His clock.
The cracks.
The echoes.
Everything.
“…So I’m not just different,” he said slowly.
“I wasn’t even supposed to be here.”
The Timekeeper didn’t respond.
Because he didn’t need to.
Muna looked at his hands again.
“…Then maybe that’s why I can do this.”
The pendant glowed faintly.
“Maybe I’m not breaking the system…”
He looked up.
“Maybe I’m proof it’s wrong.”
The Timekeeper’s eyes narrowed.
“…Be careful with that thought.”
“Why?”
“Because if you’re right…”
A pause.
“…then everything changes.”
Silence.
Then—
A c***k split the air.
Both of them turned instantly.
But this time—
It wasn’t dark.
It was bright.
Blinding.
And something stepped through.
Not a Collector.
Not a shadow.
Something else.
Something new.
Muna’s breath caught.
“…What now?”
The Timekeeper’s voice was tight.
“…Something that shouldn’t exist either.”
The figure lifted its head.
And looked directly at Muna.
“…So,” it said softly,
“You’re the one who survived.”
Muna’s heart pounded.
“…Who are you?”
The figure smiled slightly.
“Someone like you.”
Silence.
Muna’s chest tightened.
“…That’s not possible.”
The figure tilted its head.
“Then explain me.”
To be continued…
- Writer
