Arden stood before Theron, his blood-red flames still flickering in his palms. Theron's words "If you want to understand your power, come with me" echoed in his mind, but his doubts remained strong. "Why should I trust you?" he asked, his voice cold, his eyes locked on Theron's dark green gaze.

Theron smiled, but it wasn't a reassuring smile. "You don't have to trust me," he said, his voice a whisper. "But you need to understand that power… before it destroys you. The gods love to play with their toys and you're their favorite." Arden's blind eye throbbed, Theron's words igniting the fear within him. The god's vision "You cannot escape, blind child" echoed in his mind. "Fine," he said finally, his voice resolute. "But if you betray me… my flames will find you." Theron inclined his head, "Deal," he said, and the two set off together.

Theron began sharing knowledge about divine curses. "A power that distorts time," he said, his tone serious, "is one of the gods' most dangerous gifts. Your blind eye… might be tied to an ancient god the Lord of Time." Arden frowned, "The Lord of Time?" he asked, his voice laced with skepticism. Theron nodded, "Yes. The gods curse their toys and then forget them. But you… haven't been forgotten."

The two entered a forest the trees dense and dark, the air heavy and damp. Theron warned, "Be careful," his voice a caution. "This… is hunter territory." Arden asked, "Hunters?" but before Theron could respond, a fiery arrow shot from the depths of the forest, grazing Theron's shoulder. Theron let out a cry, "Ambush!" he shouted, and five figures emerged from the trees black-cloaked, their faces masked, wielding daggers and bows: magic hunters.

"These… hunt cursed mages," Theron said, his voice thick with anger. "They sensed the energy in your blind eye." The first hunter, his eyes glinting behind his mask, drew a bow, the arrow igniting with flames as he fired at Arden a blazing arrow, heating the air as it sped toward him. Arden shaped his blood-red flames into a shield, the fiery arrow shattering against it, but the explosion knocked him back a step.

The second hunter stepped forward, slamming his hands into the ground earth rose, sharp stone spears shooting toward Arden. Arden shaped his flames into a whip, slicing the stone spears in half, but the third hunter intervened, waving his hands to summon a wave of water that crashed toward Arden. Arden raised a wave of flames, evaporating the water into steam, but the fourth hunter called forth the wind a tornado aimed to sweep Arden off the platform. Arden shaped his flames into a spiral, dispersing the tornado, but his anger was rising.

The fifth hunter stepped up, lightning crackling from his hands bolts of electricity shot toward Arden at blinding speed. Arden formed a shield of flames, but the lightning pierced through, grazing his arm the first wound he'd taken. His rage erupted Kael's death, the stocky man's death echoed in his mind, and now… he was on the verge of killing another. He shaped his flames into a storm, unleashing it on the lightning hunter the hunter collapsed, engulfed in flames, his screams filling the forest, his charred body falling lifeless.

The remaining hunters charged at Arden, but Theron stepped in, a purple light bursting from his staff, knocking the hunters back. "Enough!" Theron roared, his voice commanding. "I want no more blood." The hunters hesitated, one of them shouting, "Theron… traitor!" but Theron's magic drove them back into the forest's depths. Arden turned to Theron, breathless, his flames still flickering. "Traitor?" he asked, suspicion in his voice.

Theron sighed, clutching the graze on his shoulder as he sat on the ground. "I… used to be one of them," he said, his voice heavy. "A hunter of divine curses. But I tried to save someone cursed… and I lost everything. The gods play with their toys and then break them." He looked at Arden, a warning in his eyes. "You… need to understand your power before it breaks you."

That night, they camped in the forest. Arden sat by the fire, thinking of Lyra how she was at the academy, how her golden eyes sparkled… Her words, "Find me," echoed in his mind, but the longing only deepened his sense of isolation. As he tried to sleep, his blind eye burned again a vision struck him. The god's voice: "The Lord of Time awakens," it said, and a clock appeared in the vision, this time wreathed in blood-red flames. Arden woke in a panic, his breathing ragged.

Theron noticed Arden's awakening, pulling out a map. "We need to go to the Lord of Time's temple your power's origin lies there," he said, his tone serious. But at that moment, a shadow emerged from the forest's depths a hunter, recognizing Theron, shouted, "I found you, traitor!" and fired an arrow.