I Became the Timekeeper: Juno and the Minutes of her Shattered Deaths

"Anger is the last refuge of the powerless, but in its flames lies the spark of revelation. But even the sharpest mind can break when left in the darkness too long."

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Juno's fingers dug into the edge of her desk as the voices around her blurred into static. Maeve's cheerful chirping, Riley and Theo's snide remarks, and the teacher's monotone reprimands—it all grated against her nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

Her mind spiraled, replaying the scene at the police station. The hooded figure, the thunderwolf, the panicked officers who had killed her instead of saving her. Her chest still felt the phantom ache of those bullets.

"Miss Luminara!"

The teacher's sharp voice cut through her thoughts, dragging her back to the present. She looked up to see the woman glaring at her, clipboard in hand.

"Would you care to explain why you're ignoring me?" the teacher demanded.

"I—" Juno started, but Maeve's obnoxiously bright laughter interrupted her.

"Oh, come on, teach," Maeve said with a grin. "She's probably daydreaming about something deep and mysterious again."

Riley and Theo chuckled in unison, their synchronized smirks only fueling the fire building in Juno's chest.

"That's enough!" Juno's voice cracked as she slammed her hands onto the desk, rising to her feet.

The classroom fell silent.

Maeve blinked, her grin faltering. "Whoa. Someone woke up on the wrong side of—"

"Shut up!" Juno snapped, her voice trembling with rage. Her hazel-green eyes blazed as she turned to Maeve. "You think this is funny? You think everything is just one big joke?!"

Maeve's mouth opened, but no words came out.

"And you!" Juno whirled on the twins, her hands clenched into fists. "Always sitting there, making your stupid little comments like none of this matters! Like—like you didn't die! Like none of you remember anything!"

The teacher stepped forward, her expression a mix of confusion and irritation. "Miss Luminara, that's enough. If you don't calm down—"

"Calm down?" Juno laughed bitterly. "You want me to calm down? Fine. You can keep your stupid classroom and your stupid lectures."

Before anyone could stop her, Juno grabbed her bag and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Juno ran down the empty hallways, her footsteps echoing against the tiled floors. Her breathing was ragged, her chest tight with frustration and anger.

When she reached the restroom, she shoved the door open and staggered to the sink.

The mirror greeted her with its cold, unforgiving reflection. Her hair was disheveled, her face flushed. She gripped the edges of the sink, staring at herself as if she could force answers to appear.

"This is real," she whispered, her voice trembling. "This is all real."

Her mind raced, piecing together everything she knew.

The hooded figure. The thunderwolf. The voidspawn. The time loop.

This was real, and someone—no, something—was trying to kill her.

But why?

Why had the loop started? Why was the hooded figure targeting her? And more importantly, did it remember the loop, too?

Juno's hands trembled as she splashed cold water on her face, trying to steady her thoughts. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths to calm the storm inside her.

The restroom door creaked open behind her.

"Juno?" Maeve's hesitant voice echoed in the tiled room.

Juno tensed, her grip tightening on the sink. She opened her eyes and met her reflection's weary gaze.

"What do you want?" she asked without turning around.

Maeve stepped closer, her footsteps soft but uncertain. "You ran out of class like a maniac. We were worried."

"We?" Juno turned her head slightly, catching sight of Riley and Theo standing behind Maeve. The twins exchanged uneasy glances, their usual smugness replaced with concern—or perhaps suspicion.

"Yeah," Riley said, his tone uncharacteristically subdued. "You've been acting... off. Is everything okay?"

Juno let out a bitter laugh. "Define 'okay.'"

Theo crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing. "You know, you could just talk to us instead of blowing up and storming out."

"Talk?" Juno shook her head, a wry smile tugging at her lips. "You wouldn't understand."

Maeve reached out as if to place a comforting hand on Juno's shoulder, but Juno stepped back, her expression hardening.

"I don't have time for this," she muttered, brushing past them.

Juno wandered aimlessly through the school halls, her mind churning. She replayed the events of the loop, scrutinizing every detail for clues.

If the hooded figure could find her no matter where she went, then staying in public wasn't a guarantee of safety. But the café... the café was different.

Every time she ended up there, it led to her death.

If I don't go to the café, she thought, maybe I can break the loop.

Her heart pounded at the idea. She would avoid the café entirely. Instead, she would stay in her dorm, far from the chaos and the killer.

It wasn't a perfect plan, but it was a start.

As she made her way toward the dormitories, Juno glanced at the clock on the wall. The hands ticked forward steadily, almost mockingly.

She clenched her fists.

I'll figure this out. I have to.

Juno slammed her dorm room door shut and leaned against it, her chest heaving. Her thoughts swirled like a hurricane, fragments of memory and fear crashing into one another.

She began pacing the cramped space, her boots clicking against the floor in a rhythm as erratic as her heart. Her constellation-patterned jacket shifted with each step, its familiar weight grounding her, if only slightly.

"Okay," she muttered, dragging her fingers through her hair. "Think, Juno. Think."

The fragments.

She stopped in front of her desk, resting her hands on the edge as she stared blankly at the scattered books and trinkets.

"Agredor," she whispered, her voice trembling. "It all started with the attack on Agredor. That's when it happened. The explosion, the chaos—my system activating for the first time."

Her reflection in the window stared back at her, its hazel-green eyes wide with frustration and desperation.

"My time abilities worked," she continued, as if reasoning with herself. "I rewound time. That's why I'm stuck in this loop. But why—why am I here, in this memory? Why not somewhere else? Why this specific day?"

Her mind flashed to the hooded figure, its shadowy form an unrelenting specter in her thoughts.

"It's trying to kill me," she said bitterly. "Over and over again. It knows I can't fight back here. It knows I can't summon my Chronosword or use my system. It... it must have control over this space."

The realization felt like a blade twisting in her gut. She was trapped, vulnerable, a puppet dancing in someone else's game.

Juno sank onto her bed, her head in her hands.

"How do I stop this?" she whispered, her voice cracking. "I'm nothing compared to that thing. I'm just... weak."

The word tasted bitter, but she couldn't deny it. She'd always seen herself as fragile, someone who scraped by with luck and cleverness rather than strength. The hooded figure was powerful, relentless, and impossibly cunning.

"What chance do I have?" she muttered, tears stinging her eyes. "I'm going to die. Again. And again. And again. I'll never get out of this. I'm... I'm going crazy."

Her breathing hitched as she fought back the rising panic, her hands clutching at the moon-phase charm bracelet on her wrist.

But then, like a flicker of light in the darkness, a thought struck her.

"The thunderwolf," she murmured, her fingers tightening around the bracelet. "It was part of my memory. All of this is built from my memories. Which means..."

Her eyes widened.

Which means I might be able to use something—or someone—from my memories, too.

The idea was fragile, uncertain, but it was something. If the hooded figure was pulling its power from her own mind, then there had to be a way to turn that against it.

She stood up, pacing again, her thoughts racing. Who or what could she use from her memories if she was right? Could she find a way to reach Selene or Exos? Could she bring forth a weapon or an ability that would tip the scales in her favor? 

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Juno felt a spark of determination.

The spark was extinguished when a sound jolted her from her thoughts.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Her heart stopped. She stared at the door, dread coiling in her stomach.

"It's just Maeve and the twins," she told herself, though her voice wavered. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. "Go away!" she shouted, her voice sharper than she intended.

No response.

The knocking ceased, replaced by an eerie silence that stretched on for what felt like hours.

And then—

BOOM.

The door exploded inward with a deafening blast, splinters of wood flying through the air. Juno shielded her face with her arms as she stumbled back, her ears ringing.

When she lowered her arms, her blood ran cold.

Standing in the doorway, framed by the destruction it had wrought, was the hooded figure.

It stepped into the room, its presence oppressive, its shadow stretching unnaturally across the floor.

"No," Juno whispered, her voice barely audible.

The figure tilted its head, as if savoring her fear.

Juno's back hit the wall as she tried to put as much distance between herself and the intruder as possible. Her mind screamed at her to fight, to run, to do something, but her body refused to move.

The figure raised a hand, a dark, swirling energy coalescing around its fingers.

Juno's breaths came in shallow gasps as she clenched her fists, summoning every ounce of courage she had left.

"I'll see you again and I'll make sure all this ends," she hissed, her voice trembling but defiant.

The hooded figure stood still. It simply smiled—a cold, cruel smile that promised nothing but pain.

Its lips parted, "Time can only tell."