Zoe ducked behind a ruined wall to catch her breath. She had been trying to escape the demon that was chasing her. Raven City had been completely destroyed. Benji and the rest of his group were nowhere to be found. A piercing scream rang out nearby causing Zoe to leap to her feet and run as fast as she could. No matter how fast she ran the demon got closer and closer. Zoe lost her footing on loose gravel and went down hard. She felt a tearing sensation followed by searing pain and she rolled to a stop. She looked down to see her a long piece of rusty steel sticking out from her right thigh. Blood ran down her thigh to pool on the ground around her. With no way to heal herself she tried to crawl away which only caused the wound to bleed even more.

"You useless child! How dare you run from me!"

She looked back in horror as the demon lept from the shadows of a nearby alley. The demon is, or was, her mother. Long, black, matted hair fell down around the shoulders of what had been chasing Zoe. Scars and pock marks tarnished what had once been a beautiful face. Long, sharp nails extended out from bony hands.

"It's your fault I look like this you stupid girl!"

Tears rolled down Zoe's cheeks. "What did you do to my friends? Why are you here!"

Her mother looked at her with a sinister smile on her face and laughed. "Idiot girl, they left you here! They were never your friends."

Zoe shook her head, scatters her tears to the wind. "That's not true!"

"It doesn't matter. Now I get to do what I should have done years ago."

Zoe watched as her mother's bony hands tore away the tattered remains of a once beautiful dress. The woman's yellow, cracked fingernails pulled away the flesh of her torso revealing a gaping maw full of jagged, yellow teeth. As her mother slowly walked towards her Zoe could only watch, paralyzed by fear. Zoe screamed as her mother grabbed her with slimy, cold hands.

Zoe screamed into the darkness of her bedroom as she struggled to break herself free from the sheet that was twisted around her body. She fell to the floor and reached up to turn on the light on her bedside table. She curled up into a ball beside the table as light flooded the room. Slowly Zoe came to opened her eyes and looked around.

"It was just a nightmare." She told herself while activating Angelic Voice.

The spell washed through her body and quickly calmed her down. It had been years since she had a nightmare about her mother and none with such intensity. The World Spike and the situation she found herself in added frightening layers to her subconscious mind. She shakily stood up and looked at her bed. It was soaked where she had been laying and the bottom sheet had been pulled free from the matress. She pulled the oversized shirt she wore up to her nose and recoiled from the acrid smell. Stress sweat was never a pleasant odor but this was a whole new level of stench. The clock on her bedside table said 4:00am. She walked out of her bedroom and quickly walked towards the showers, hoping not to pass anyone on the way.

Zoe closed the door to the shower room and quickly stripped down. She turned the temperature up until it stung her flesh before taking a washcloth and soap and gave herself a thorough wash. After washing her hair she quickly rinsed off and wrapped the large towel around her torso. She picked up her sweatsoaked clothes and walked across the hall to the hotspring. She slid the antique wooden door open and walked inside before closing it behind her.

The hotspring was rectangular in shape and divided into eight separate sections by smooth gray stone. Each of the sections were fed by wooden pipes which ran along the top of the central wall and brought in fresh water from somewhere below. A thin channel ran along the outside of the sections and collected any overfill. A smooth tan floor ran around the perimeter of the room. Zoe chose a section facing the entrance before dropping her towel and clothes to the floor. She settled down in the water to sit on the submerged bench.

Zoe tried her best to clear her mind and live in the moment but the same thoughts entered her mind. That she was a burden to everyone around her. Everyone had a defined role but her. Everyone was powerful but her. All she could do was talk to people. She couldn't fight, or heal. Her father wouldn't return her calls or texts. Maybe the nightmare was right. Maybe she was just a stupid, useless girl. She wished she could have been given more useful powers.

I think I can help you. Under certain circumstances powers can be exchanged.

"They can? Um, how does that work?" Hope filled her as she spoke.

The being must give up three powers for every single power they wish to gain. The newly created power must be approved by the World Spike before it is granted. Think carefully before choosing as you will be severely limiting your future potential. Once you’ve chosen simply state which powers you wish to sacrifice and which power you wish to gain. Be specific.

“A.I., I wish to sacrifice Social Butterfly, Harsh Mistress and Voice of Reason in exchange for a different power. Something that I can use to help everyone.”

Shall I choose for you since you didn't specify a power?

"Yes, please. I trust you."

Accessing data-banks.

Matching host desires against known powers.

Ideal power located.

Time Magic will be give to Zoe Weaver.

Requesting approval from World Spike.

Request approved.

Incompatible class detected.

Class will change to Chronospeaker.

Experience will be reset to zero.

Do you wish to continue?

“Yes.”

As soon as she spoke that single word, she was hit with a pain unlike anything she had felt before. The piece of twisted steel that nearly took her life was nothing compared to this. The pain pierced through to her heart causing her slide under the waters of the hotspring. After a few moments of pain she felt a great emptiness inside of her. That emptiness was replaced with another wave of excruciating pain as her mind struggled to adapt. Eventually the pain stopped and she stood up, coughing up mouthfulls of mineral laced water.

“Pain, pain, go away.”

She spoke the words, barely louder than a whisper. As Angelic Voice took effect, she opened her eyes.

Name Zoe Weaver

Level 1

Class Chronospeaker

Experience 0/100

Traits

Angelic Voice

While speaking you can enhance your voice to give your allies a buff relieves physical and mental stress.

Time Magic

You can wield time itself to help your allies and punish your enemies.

Double Time

Allies move at twice their normal speed for 10 seconds.

learned

Time Vortex

Enemies move at half their normal speed for 10 seconds.

learned

Halt Time

Time stops for your enemies for 10 seconds.

50,000

Reverse the Flow

Attacks against you and your allies are reflected back.

100,000

Time Conquers All

Objects in the target area age by 25 years.

500,000

End of Days

Time flows uncontrollably turning the target to dust.

1,00,000