A Timekeeper’s Awakening

Cron dashed through the halls. Some of him wished he could still use an Orgone, like Speed, to run faster. But he didn't let that stop him. Many students around him eyed him curiously but ultimately didn't care for him.

Cron was trying to find his way to the library. He wanted to get a head start in everything he could. If Cron got a head in the physics of an Orgone, that would be great! Or he could get ahead of Temporal Ethics!

Soon enough, he stumbled through the halls, going through door to door; he found the Onyx Academy Grand Libray. To Cron's shock, the Libray was huge. He had never seen a library so dense in his life.

The three-story room was lined with bookshelves, many named after the subjects they contained. To Cron, this library was like being five and looking through a candy shop's window.

A lady in a yellow robe walked up to Cron. She was an adult, a bit taller than Cron. Her robe had a few time marks on it. "Hello, sir. How could I help you today?"

The lady caught Cron off guard, but he quickly composed himself. "Oh, where to start?! I want to get into my studies right away! Where's a good place to start?"

The lady chuckled. "My, aren't you an academic? As a first-year student, I will inform you that you cannot access the two floors. Those are for the upper-level students. But you are free to look at everything down here. However, you cannot take any book outside the library unless your Professor has instructed you."

Cron nodded excitedly. "I understand."

"Anyway, a good place to start is always the basics," the lady said. "I recommend the books about the basics of Orgones and Time Abilities. Also, my name is Professor Mary; I'm the Librarian of the Grand Libray."

Cron nods once more. "Thank you for your recommendation, Mary. I will get started. My name is Cron."

Mary nods. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Cron said as he started to walk and find a lane about Orgones.

Mary smirked after Cron left. "What a good kid," she said.

Cron looked down the lanes. When he found the Orgone section, he started to grab the nearest books he could find. Soon, Cron had a stack of books, and Cron couldn't tell where he was going. He walked sideways to find a table. As soon as Cron spotted one, he gently laid the books on the table and sat down.

He was excited to get started, but someone interrupted him by tackling him. "Oh, you're here!"

It was Lia. She was excited to see Cron in the library. After Cron was guided off stage, she thought the worst. Once everything was done in the Grand Auditorium, she immediately tried to find a library because she knew that would be one place Cron could be.

She quickly stood up and got Cron up. Lia was happy to see her friend safe. "I was so worried about you! I thought I would have to beat up the Grand Master!"

"Young lady!" Professor Mary said. "I will not allow such actions in my library ever again! If you do that again, I will ban you from this establishment! Then you would have to get your textbooks elsewhere! Do I make myself clear?!"

Lia froze because she was caught red-handed. She didn't mean to make a scene but was excited to see Cron again. "I'm so sorry! I won't do it again!"

Professor Mary nodded. "Good, and keep your volume down. Some here are trying to study."

Lia nodded, and then Professor Mary walked away. As soon as Professor Mary left, Lia turned to Cron with glee. "Tell me everything."

Cron recapped everything from Grand Master Ronos. From him not getting kicked out to his new opportunity at the academy. And his newfound excitement about coming to the library to study.

"You're such a bookworm," Lia teased, slugging Cron's arm.

This time, Lia didn't punch that hard. Cron was grateful for that. "Yes, I know, but I need to study if I want to fulfill the Grand Master's request."

"Pfft, you're smart enough; you don't need any of this," she said. "I say getting experience makes you smarter."

Cron shrugged at that. And that statement tugged at his heart. "Yeah, but I can't do that."

Lia realized what she said and felt stupid because of it. "I'm so sorry! I didn't want that to slip. I was just speaking out loud."

"No, no, you're fine. I'd rather you be straightforward with me than sugarcoat it."

"I know, but it's not fair to you to say that you need experience with an Orgone to be smarter. You're way smarter than me anyway; you probably know something I don't."

Cron smirked. "You want to talk about the ethics of using our Orgone?"

"And like that, you lost me!" Lia said, standing up. "You go ahead and put all this nerd stuff into your brain. I will go to my dorms so you have fun."

Cron laughed as he picked up a book. "Oh, I will. I'll see you later."

"Yup, see you later, Cron," Lia said as she encased herself in her Orgone and zipped out of the library.

Cron felt envy reach his heart again. If he had an Orgone for Speed, he would study fast and probably read all the books on the first floor. Unfortunately, Cron had no access to an Orgone. Cron read the day away. He lost track of time until Professor Mary got his attention.

"Hello, Cron," she asked politely.

Cron put the book down. "Yes, Professor Mary."

"You do realize that it's almost curfew?"

Cron eyes widened in fear, then stood up fast. "Oh no! I didn't check the time! Oh, uh, I don't know where the dorms are! Do you know where?"

Professor Mary put a hand on Cron's shoulder. "Calm down. You still have an hour. And it's not that far from here."

She gave the directions to the boy's dorm room. Cron also dug into his bag to find some information about the school. The forms had his dorm room number. Cron nodded his thanks and ran off in the directions Professor Mary gave.

Running out of the main building, Cron found himself on a large lawn. The vast lawn had lights showing its beautiful walkway, trees, and large bushes, but Cron couldn't appreciate its beauty. He had to run.

As Cron ran through the lawn, he heard a yelp. He froze in his tracks. He could muffle sounds and hear his feet dragging across the ground. Cron was scared of what was happening but curious to find out what it was.

The sounds were coming from a big bush around the corner. Cron made his way to the area. As he did, he could hear three distinct snickers. A deep fear rushed through his veins, but curiosity brought him closer to what was happening. 

Cron looked through the thick bush to see a brutal scene. The three bullies, Trey, Rom, and Derk, were looking down at another first-year student.

The first-year student's clothes were in ruins, and he was on all fours. Blood circled the student as he cried and begged the bullies to stop.

Rom was a big kid, but he could eat the poor student. He had the power of speed and seemed to be in charge. "You should have thought about that before you ratted us out!"

"Please, the professor asked me. I didn't want to lie!" the student said, crying.

"What a wimp this kid won't survive here," Trey said. Trey was lanky but tall and possessed the time ability Stop.

"Yeah, we should kick him more!" Said Derk. Derk was about the average height and weight and was a lapdog to Rom. Derk also has the time ability Slow. 

Concern over took Cron. He was going to get help before they killed this student. As Cron stepped, he heard a crunching noise. Cron had accidentally stepped on a stick.

All three bullies looked in Cron's direction. With fear, Cron tried to run away, but Rom used his Orgone of Speed to catch Cron instantly. Rom was holding onto Cron's arms in a vice-like grip. Rom grinned like a hungry wolf that caught his prey.

"Oh, hello, Timeless."