The party walked back towards the city center, the golden statues clutched in their hands a tangible link to the kingdom's strange, tragic history. As they reached the main square, they saw it, standing proudly even amidst the ruins: the massive, beautifully carved statue of Bombom's muscular shadow, its heroic pose a silent testament to their adventure. Bombom smiled, a genuine, wistful expression on his face. He remembered the flicker, the brief, terrifying second when the world had shifted, and he'd seen this very square in its ruined state. It wasn't just an illusion; it was a glimpse of the truth.

As they continued, they came upon a long, collapsed bridge that stretched out over a deep chasm, connecting their ruined city to nothing. A weathered sign stood at its edge, the words "The Bridge Incident" carved into the wood. There was no other explanation, leaving the party confused.

"I remember seeing this in a book," Lyrielle said softly. "King Chadimus offended a rival kingdom, so they lost ties. That bridge connected both kingdoms. The kingdom Chadimus offended started calling him... PinKiePie."

Bombom's face was a mask of pure shock. The rest of the party just stared, trying to process the image of the proud, powerful king being given such a ridiculous nickname. They finally found the path they had originally taken and began the long walk out of the forgotten kingdom.

"So..." Bombom said, breaking the silence. "We didn't tell the driver how much time we would spend here..."

Gluteus smiled. "Walking we go."

"Awn, come on!" DragonSlayer exploded, his exhaustion and frustration finally boiling over. "I'm super tired of being humiliated by the enemies! And you know what's worst?" He spun around, pointing an accusatory finger at Bombom. "You killed the guy I wanted to take revenge on! I never knew people from the past were going to be so powerful!"

Bombom just laughed. "He didn't 'die.' Tokigami was just Yuto."

DragonSlayer's jaw dropped. "W-WHAT?! I COMPLETELY FORGOT HE SAID HIS NAME AT THE FIRST MINUTE!"

The rest of the party burst out laughing. Bombom, annoyed but also amused, decided to turn off his stream. He reviewed the footage later, his frustration growing. The VOD was full of holes. The parts where the time had shifted left some minutes of full static, leaving him pissed. He stopped the footage right at the moment 03 had appeared, and still, the mysterious man had not been recorded.

He walked over and gave SynchroNoice a light slap on the back. "So, how was your first mission? Super tough?"

The small man nodded, a new confidence in his eyes. "If it wasn't for you, Bombom, I would be that witch's slave forever and died with the time disease." He paused, then smiled. "I think I should join a Rank D team and slowly grow."

"Yes," Gluteus rumbled in agreement. "And you fought a strong mage. That would probably put you in a higher tier."

SynchroNoice nodded, and Bombom smiled. The kid wasn't as useless as he thought.

"Did my brother... could he have ended those enemies easily?" SynchroNoice asked, his voice full of a hopeful determination.

Bombom was shocked for a second, then he lied, a confident smirk on his face. "Y-yeah, sure. H-he would have totally demolished those guys in twenty seconds." The words filled SynchroNoice with a new fire.

Bombom stopped walking, his expression turning serious. "In my world, we had a theory that if you mess with time, you could create a different timeline. Is it possible here?" He looked from Gluteus to Lyrielle.

"I don't know, Bombom," Gluteus shrugged. "I'm not that intellectual."

Lyrielle shook her head. "This was my first time seeing time manipulation, but my people have a history I heard... combining Light and Dark generates time..."

Bombom's head was fuzzy. "So that's why 03's parents' bodies were being used on the cube."

Lyrielle nodded, smiling.

A sigh of relief escaped Bombom's lips. "So we can chill, knowing they won't come back."

As he kept walking, a single, thorny vine snaked out from the dark woods beside the path. It moved with a silent, deliberate grace, deftly lifting Ren's book from the small purse at Bombom's hip without anyone noticing. Deep in the forest, the green-haired apprentice, Renji, smiled, his expression as blank and puppet-like as ever. A voice echoed from the shadows. "Good job." Pink eyes emerged from the darkness as Karima stepped forward. "It's a good thing I kept you," she purred, a cruel smile on her face. "I could outlive everyone using your power." She laughed, a high, tinkling sound, and kissed his cheek. The grass around Renji's feet began to wither and die as he drained its life force, transferring the energy to his own body, and then to hers. She opened the book. The blank pages began to fill with swirling, magical text.

"So," the words read, "the god of time, seeing that, decided to split the timeline in two. One where Bombom had won, and the other, where Bombom's team was completely destroyed by Tokigami. 03, arriving late at the place, destroyed Tokigami. Ren is still in the tower, waiting for his redemption."

The witch laughed. "We are going to find a way into this timeline," she whispered to the empty forest, "and reign with our god." She closed the book, and both she and her apprentice vanished into the shadows.

Further down the path, Bombom kept walking, a strange, empty feeling nagging at him. He reached into his purse, his hand searching for the familiar, leather-bound book. Nothing.

"What happened?" DragonSlayer asked, noticing his sudden pause.

"I lost Ren's book," Bombom replied, a frustrated look on his face.

DragonSlayer just laughed. "Can't believe you lost that."

Lyrielle smiled. "Don't worry, Bombom." She pulled the dormant, crystalline cube from a pouch on her belt and handed it to him.

"Ooooh," DragonSlayer said, his eyes wide. "You didn't die when you touched it."

Bombom sighed. "Of course not, dumbass. This one wasn't in a pyramid, duuuh."

DragonSlayer mumbled something under his breath, not wanting to provoke him.

Bombom smiled, looking at the cube in his hands. "So, we are putting this in a safe location. This one is almost similar to the one in that pyramid, but..."

"But?" SynchroNoice asked.

"No shadow monster came from it," Bombom finished.

"Maybe this one is different," Gluteus suggested.

"Yeah, maybe you're right..." The party kept walking until, in the distance, the warm, welcoming lights of a small village could be seen.

"We should probably stay at that village tonight," Gluteus said. "We are super tired."

Bombom nodded, a vengeful glint in his red eyes. "And I will kick that driver's ass for not waiting for us," he huffed.

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