8:27 PM, 26th of December, 1728

  Alexander fell, and he heard Mari screaming to his left.

  The beast had turned away from the now crumbled cliff, instead charging at a group of guards.

  They raised their blades in an attempt to stand their ground, but they stood no chance. In mere moments, they were trampled and turned to paste, no longer recognizable as the people that they once were.

  At the same time, both Alexander and Mari met the ground, stray remnants of the cliff above still tumbling down, one of them nearly striking Alexander, who ducked just in time to have it fly overhead.

  The beast was thrashing around like a snake in its final moments of life, twisting and turning, dashing in unpredictable patterns. Only it wasn’t a snake, and it was nowhere near dying, having no real wounds to speak of despite facing nearly a hundred enemies.

  Althea stood, guards now near her, helping the swordplay professor to his feet. A beautiful silver two-handed blade was held in her right hand, looking as if it weighed nothing as she raised it to the sky.

  “It should be me you’re worried about, you stupid beast!”

  Her voice reverberated throughout the battlefield, and only a moment later, the Fallen Star Beast turned to look at her.

  It stopped for a moment, looking as if it were assessing the situation, before letting out an equally loud screech and charging straight for her, its limbs letting off a melodic rumble as they tore into the earth beneath them.

  It was unbelievably powerful, its physical prowess obviously surpassing everyone present, and yet, it seemed simple-minded. How could such a powerful beast succumb to such simple provocation?

  As the two forces met, Althea let out a swift slash, instantly cutting through one of the forcipules aimed at her neck. It glided like a knife through butter. A black goo sputtered out of the wound, and the beast instantly turned tail, its large body coming dangerously close to both Alexander and Mari.

  Mari simply screamed, crouching down and looking as if she was trying to become one with the rubble beneath them, something Alexander barely heard through the pounding of his heart in his ears.

  The beast continued, ignoring the two students, running along the path it had originated from.

  Alexander thought this might be a good opportunity. He raised the blade in his hands and lunged forward, an attempt to see if he could damage the beast at all.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  He was rash.

  He saw it. One of the sharp yellow legs jabbed out and pierced straight through him.

  He tried to raise his blade, a futile attempt to block the attack.

  The blade snapped in an instant, something he had again seen.

  He tried to backstep, the top half of the blade still flying through the air.

  The leg met his chest.

  It tore through his suit, and, much to Alexander's surprise, only barely scratched the skin beneath.

  His skin grew hot from the blood pouring over it as the beast continued along its path of retreat.

  He had barely been quick enough, only surviving by the smallest margin, able to do nothing in the face of the beast's sheer speed and power.

  What use was seeing the future if nothing he could do would alter it in any meaningful way?

  He needed to be able to do more.

  As that thought crossed his mind, another feeling did as well.

  He felt the moment in the future that he saw grow a little further away.

  And yet, at the same time, it stayed exactly where it was.

  He put his arm out in front of him, blade still in hand, and slashed downwards.

  The battlefield fell silent on Alexander's ears.

  He watched the sword fall.

  He watched it fall again.

  And again.

  The moment had compounded on itself.

  He brought his hand up again, but this time, when his future self brought it down, he decided not to.

  His vision reflected that.

  It was even more disorienting than it had been before, and yet, Alexander felt that it was a step in the right direction.

  The sound of the battlefield returned, and Alexander looked on at the breathtaking sight in front of him.

  Althea was running down the carapace of the Fallen Star Beast, nearing its head.

  It contorted its body in an attempt to throw her off, but to no avail. She continued down its back before aiming her sword towards the heavens and bringing it down into the skull of the terrible monster.

  That single swift moment was all that was needed before the battlefield fell silent.

  The Fallen Star Beast was dead, killed by a single clean strike.

  Its limbs twitched for only a moment before its entire body fell to the ground, dirt and dust filling the air as it did.

  Alexander looked around at the carnage before him. Dozens were dead, and yet he felt like he had witnessed an overwhelming victory, thanks to the efforts of only a single person.

  He was confident that even without the guards present, Althea would have been able to slay the monster just as easily.

  Bringing his hand up to his chest, Alexander pressed his palm against his blood-stained clothing in an attempt to keep the blood at bay.

  It was bleeding an odd amount for such a small wound.

  Behind him, he heard Mari grunt as she attempted to stand, her voice still oddly absent in each moment of the future he saw, though he couldn’t say the same for the movement of the rubble beneath her feet.

  He realized as she approached, though, that despite the battle being over, his Authority hadn’t calmed down at all. Pain still resonated in his chest, different than the physical wound.

  Bringing up his palm in front of his face, Alexander’s vision blurred, something he didn’t think was possible since closing his eyes didn’t have any effect on his future sight.

  He turned his head to the approaching footsteps.

  “Hey Mari, I think something's wrong.”

  A dizzying feeling overwhelmed him, and before he knew it, he was on the floor, rocks sticking into his back, staring up at the faces of a dozen people.