Light Racer and Dark Silhouette stood on a ledge with pensive looks while gazing at the massive fortress in the distance.

"Is this where the Time Guardians are?" Light Racer asked as he grabbed himself by the chin.

"Yes." Dark Silhouette nodded, "By the way, it's pretty hard to know the force level in this place, so I'm not sure if you can fight against them."

"Hmm? Maybe I'm not capable of tricks like you, but do you really think some skeletons can hurt me?" Light Racer said with a confused look.

"Huh, don't be ridiculous. These are Time Guardians, special beings that can fight even Dragons, so we should try to avoid unnecessary battles." The Dark Silhouette waved his hand.

"Dragons? What are they?" Light Racer asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Where do you even live? How can you not know about Dragons?"

"Does it matter?" Light Racer shrugged.

"Forget it. We don't have time for this. Look, here's our target." Dark Silhouette pointed to the center of the fortress.

There was a massive geyser that constantly erupted an unusual blue liquid. A bright blue glow emanated from it as the space around it trembled.

About ten Time Guardians were standing near the geyser, but they dared not come within five meters since it was dangerous for them.

"What is that?" Light Racer asked.

"A special element, one as unique as Chaos Energy. It's Ether." Dark Silhouette said in a serious voice.

"Ether? I've never heard of it. However, it appears to be something important. They built this fortress and put up such serious guards." Light Racer muttered with a thoughtful look.

"Well, it looks like you live in some forgotten village." Dark Silhouette muttered, "The plan is simple, we must break through the guards and absorb Ether. With this power, we can get out of here since even time and space have no control over it."

"Even time and space?" Light Racer wondered, "Is that possible?"

"Yes. Ether and Chaos Energy are two of the three powers that are capable of it, so you're very lucky you could get here." Dark Silhouette nodded.

"Hmm? Am I lucky? What are you talking about?" Light Racer said with a puzzled look.

"You'll absorb Ether. It's impossible for a normal person, but given your speed, you'll do just fine."

"Hmm? Why wouldn't you do it?" Light Racer said with a suspicious look as he did not trust the stranger.

"Huh, don't look at me like that. I'm not going to cheat you. Without your help, I'll have to be here a long time. I can't do that, as it is impossible to have more than one unique energy that is beyond time and space." The Dark Silhouette waved his hand.

"Okay... Let's give it a try, but what exactly do I have to do?"

"Just run as fast as you can, and when you touch Ether, things will change dramatically, so we can finally get out of here."

"Good. Then, go ahead." Light Racer said as he turned into a beam of light that headed toward the fortress.

"Well... I wanted to bide my time, but this guy is fast at making decisions too..." Dark Silhouette muttered before running forward.

The Light Racer acted defiantly, so he simply burst into the fortress through the main gate despite the possible danger. He moved so fast that he instantly destroyed all the chains on the gate, and the momentum from the impact blew the wall completely away.

The Time Guardians were not prepared for such a speedy attack, but they reacted quickly and pounced on the Light Racer as four skeletons in white armor simultaneously rained swords down on him from top to bottom.

"Hey guys, you shouldn't be so formidable, are you really that much afraid that someone might steal your treasure?" Light Racer smirked and vanished.

Moments later, the swords disappeared from the skeletons' hands and ended up in their skulls, so Light Racer continued straight toward the geyser.

"Not so fast!" One Time Guardian exclaimed as a chain link amulet appeared before him.

Whoooooosh.

The amulet glowed brightly as many blue magic circles formed beside it, from which dark chains burst out. Like harpoons, they rushed towards it.

"Huh, nice try!" Light Racer exclaimed as he accelerated, however, one of the magic circles exploded, so for a second, Light Racer had to retreat and slow down.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

It was enough for the chains to grab him and bind him tightly as he could not move a finger.

"You're unusually fast, but what's the point if a simple artifact can catch you?" The Skeleton in the red armor spoke in a menacing voice.

"I agree. It's rather unpleasant to be stopped that way." Light Racer said in a careless manner as he didn't even turn toward Skeleton.

"Huh, for someone who's about to die, you're too calm." Skeleton grinned.

"Are you talking about yourself?" Light Racer smiled with a sly look.

"What...?"

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Behind Skeleton appeared Dark Silhouette, that put a hand on his shoulder and muttered, "Did you have to be so rude to my new friend?"

Crackling.

The Dark Silhouette plunged Skeleton into the ground as a creepy jaw appeared on his arm and ate half of Skeleton's body.

"Man... Your powers are something too strange..." Light Racer frowned.

"This is coming from someone who can literally turn into a beam of light?" The Dark Silhouette smirked as he snapped his finger.historical

Jaws appeared next to the chains that shattered them, so Light Racer was released.

"Why did you come here?" Suddenly there was a menacing voice as a Skeleton in a black robe appeared in front of them.

"We just want to get out of here. Isn't that clear?" The Dark Silhouette grinned.

"You got here because you violated the boundaries of time, so your destiny is to be imprisoned here forever. You are trespassers, so don't cause any more trouble. The Skeleton said with a calm look.

"Destiny? Well, that's my point." The Dark Silhouette spoke in a strange voice.