The flow of time surrounds me. With Francis in my arms, bleeding out from the harpoon stuck in his stomach, I know I can only do the exact right thing.

Failure isn’t even an option when I can rely on Destiny to lead the way.

I don’t know how far back in the past we’re going, and frankly I don’t care. We’re moving so far back that it hardly even matters. We’re escaping Joe Biden’s grasp, and that is what matters the most.

I’m not strong enough now, but I may be in the future.

I activate my Destiny Card skill [Cancel]:

Cancel: Rank 2. Stop the effects of an ongoing Destiny Card skill you have activated. Cost: 39 LP.

And I target my [Ultra Reverse] skill that’s currently propelling me back through time at an extremely rapid rate. I assume that, once this is deactivated, the [Time Acceleration] and [Irredeemable Force] cards will quickly wear off and send me into a new time period.

My entropy is no longer being forcibly dragged backwards. I’m no longer traveling backwards in time--in fact, I’m going back forwards

The doubled-up [Irredeemable Force] card wears off. My speed slows dramatically.

And then... [Time Acceleration] wears off and I find myself reentering real time.

I come skidding to a very shaky, very violent stop. I threaten to tumble over and go hurtling through the air, but with Francis in my arms, I can’t risk it.

Finally, I’m here.

Somewhere.

I look around. Giant pink conifer trees all over this jungle.

Small scaled animals skittering along the jungle floor, extremely concerned about our presence here.

The air is... pleasantly non-toxic, but likely not conducive to long-term health in humans.

I must say I know exactly where Francis and I have landed in the time stream.

Millions of years ago, in Mystix’s prehistoric age.

I laugh. It actually worked. It actually worked!

Now, with ample time to undergo the process, I level-up and restore my health.

I’m Level 49 at A-Rank, and unfortunately S-Rank is nowhere in sight. But Joe Biden already reached it... He became the first S-Rank hero in a millennium before I could finally make the claim to myself.

It’s a damned shame.

Now that I am back to [50,000/50,000 LP], I draw a baker’s dozen new Destiny cards and keep discarding them until I find a few heal cards. I use as many [Major Heal] and [Minor Heal] cards as I can on Francis, and hope he ends up alright.

He’s a little more conscious now. Unable to move, but the bleeding has stopped and the harpoon isn’t causing him much pain, that I can feel through our [Empathetic Link] anyway.

“You good?” he asks me weakly. “You seem real worried.”

“I need to get you to safety,” he says. “We have to get that device out of your body, or else you’ll die. No healing magic can cure sepsis.”

“Wait, it can’t? Why not?”

“...Actually, perhaps it can. But I am looking at you right now and the quite literal harpoon through your torso surely will have lasting and horrible impacts on your systemless body if it is not removed and healed quickly.”

“Oh, so I’m gonna die...”

“No! We’ll solve this together. I’m too powerful to let my boyfriend die,” I say. “I just have to figure something out...”

“Well, I guess if we’re millions of years in the past, you’ve got plenty of time to reach S-Rank and, uh, keep me from dying.”

He’s... He’s right!

“Francis, you wonderful man! Joe Biden thinks he’s beaten me to the punch and stolen my greatest goal. But he can’t beat me if I reach it before him, in the PAST.”

“Yeah. I thought that was obvious. Isn’t that why you traveled back? To train some more?”

“I kind of did it without thinking,” I admit. “Now, though, I will create a plan so foolproof that Biden can’t possibly win. And also save your life.”

“Sounds good. Kind of sucks when we’re stuck in prehistoric times though.”

“No, actually, that might be even better. I think I have a plan.”

Off in the distance, there’s high pitched squeals from some animals.

I look in the sky and, from a nearby mountaintop, a flock of killer sky raptors approaches.

They’ve long since gone extinct on Mystix, but here, millions of years in the past, they’re here in great numbers. Probably the deadliest animals of the era.

The sky raptors fly around in circles above us, waiting to strike and take us down. We are their prey.

I smile and chuckle.

“Oh, yes. I have a plan in mind.”