The Temporal Warden slammed into Juno like a tidal wave of sand and gears, the force twisting the air around them. The Divider vibrated violently in her hands, sending pulses that rippled through the fractured seconds.
Juno dodged a crushing strike, her feet sliding over shards of frozen time. The Warden's eyes burned with relentless purpose, unyielding as the ticking of a clock.
Milo and Idris flanked the beast, striking with synchronized precision, but the Warden's form shimmered and repaired itself with the flow of temporal energy.
"We can't hold it much longer!" Milo shouted, his baton sparking.
Juno's mind raced. The Divider's hum felt alive, like it was syncing to the beat of time itself. If she could channel that…
Summoning every ounce of focus, Juno slammed the Divider into the ground. A shockwave of warped time burst outward, shattering the frozen moments and unravelling the Warden's form.
For a breathless moment, the creature faltered, its core exposed—a crystalline hourglass leaking glowing sand.
Idris lunged forward, slicing the core with her blades, and the Warden exploded in a cascade of temporal light.
The fractured sky above began to mend, shards of time knitting together.
Juno gasped, lowering her Divider. But a whisper echoed at the edge of her mind:
"This is only the beginning... the loop tightens."
She looked to Milo and Idris, their faces set.
"Whatever's coming next," Juno said, voice steady, "we face it. Together."