Chapter 18: The Trial Ends

Ain touched the second bright azure sphere with anticipation.

Just like before, there was a flash of light as another item manifested in his hand. When the light receded, Ain finally saw the item’s appearance.

It was a delicate little flower, a lily.

The flower’s stem and leaves were a vibrant blue while its soft petals were an innocent white. Tiny runic symbols flashed across its surface intermittently.

[Name: Time Binding Lily]

[Aspect: Time]

[Rank: None]

[Aspect Traces: Time 71.2%, Wood 19.4%, Water 5.9%, …]

[Description: This is an extremely rare sacred treasure. It possesses an inherent mutation factor. Time naturally comes to a standstill in its vicinity. It is currently in a sealed state. The Chronarch Precept can be used to unseal it.]

“Wooo…?” Nox asked with curiosity. It had seen the Puppet Command Token before, but this white flower was unfamiliar.

“Time Binding Lily… a time-aspect resource.” Ain said, amazed by the fantastical description. Sacred treasures were a foreign concept to him, but they sounded precious. Moreover, the time aspect was incredibly rare from what he understood.

He gazed at the flashing runic symbols, pondering, “It’s better not to unseal it now. I’ll be affected too if time stops around it…”

Ain carefully stored the Time Binding Flower in a bag before reaching for the third ball of azure light.

What he’d expected didn’t occur this time. Instead of a solid item appearing in his hand, the azure light gathered before quickly drilling into his forehead. He’d experienced this phenomenon with the Puppet Command Token before, so he didn’t panic.

Immediately, a stream of information emerged in his head.

“Temporal Shift.” Ain recited as his lips curved up in joy. He’d been waiting for this!

The Chronarch Precept was a meditation technique whereas Temporal Blitz was a martial art. This made Temporal Shift his first spell!

Temporal Shift’s foundation was similar to Temporal Blitz. They both used time to bridge the spatial gap. Temporal Blitz affected his attacks, whereas Temporal Shift… affected himself!

Temporal Shift was a teleportation spell!

Happily comprehending the spell’s description, Ain promptly realized, “The Rank-1 puppets were using Temporal Shift to dodge.”

Having personally witnessed its effects served as great motivation. This spell could greatly enhance his combat effectiveness, especially for sneak attacks.

A week ago, Ain wouldn’t have immediately correlated this spell to combat. He’d be mesmerized by teleportation itself. The recent experiences caused a subconscious adjustment in his mindset. He’d experienced wondrous occurrences and constant battles. These alluded to the enchanting and non-so-peaceful future awaiting most spirit masters.

With a smile, Ain stopped pondering over Temporal Shift. There was still one last reward remaining.

As if it had reached a peak, his excitement didn’t continue to swell. The final reward was predictable.

With the familiar motion, another beam of light entered his glabella, bringing along a massive sea of information. As opposed to before, Ain remained motionless for some time. His eyes only opened after about five minutes.

“As expected, it’s the Chronarch Precept. It includes Rank-2 and Rank-3 this time.”

This wasn’t a surprise, but he was still content. He was at Rank-1 already, and Rank-2 was just around the corner. Obtaining the follow-up technique was integral if he wished to advance.

While thinking along these lines, another thought occurred to him, which brought him some unease. “It still doesn’t seem to be the complete technique. Is the trial going to continue?”

Just as he uttered these words, a bright flash of light drowned his vision. Once the brilliance dissipated, Ain and Nox were nowhere to be found.

The azure pyramid’s flattened peak was now empty.

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A few seconds elapsed in absolute silence.

Then, without a sound, the giant azure hall began disintegrating into tiny sand granules. The disintegration originated at the center of the roof, gradually radiating outwards, eventually reaching the walls.

A shower of white sand fluttered into the hall, joining the white sea below. The remaining corpses on the battlefield began exhibiting changes as well. As if countless years had gone by, the corpses began shrinking and decaying rapidly. Soon, even their ashes didn’t remain.

Amidst all this, one of the corpses exhibited a peculiar change. Instead of decaying, Carl’s body morphed into a lifeless wooden puppet, no different from the mass of Rank-0 puppets from before.

Atop the azure pyramid, a shadowy figure manifested at some point, appearing dark and ethereal. At times it appeared transparent, while at others it was hazy. Its features were blurry and distorted, as if an enigmatic veil was wrapped around it, disallowing others a glimpse at its true form.

In this shady obscureness, only a pair of brilliant blue eyes were distinct. They shone like dazzling sapphires, displaying an oppressive and cold majesty that suppressed all life with just a glance. Wherever this gaze passed, the flow of aether seemed to stagnate. Or it could’ve been time that stagnated.

At the moment, the figure’s gaze reflected a spherical object resting atop its palm. Its intentions couldn’t be discerned. It just watched on impassively.

Then suddenly, right under its watch, the spherical object vanished without rhyme or reason. Simultaneously, deafening sounds akin to breaking glass resounded throughout the world!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Outside the black monolith, the obsidian canvas depicting the infinite brilliant stars shattered with a piercing crack!

Thundering roars of wind and lightning, akin to an apocalyptic storm, drowned the crumbling skies, resounding throughout the world. The endless sea of white sand was in turmoil, raising disastrous waves like a chaotic ocean.

The azure hall’s gradual disintegration abruptly accelerated. It wasn’t just the hall. The entire black monolith was quickly disintegrating into tiny sand granules, merging into the tumultuous sea of white below. Soon, only a pearly sea of sand remained under the shattered sky.

The monolith was no more.

However, the azure pyramid still remained, floating in space silently amidst the world-ending disaster.

Atop the azure pyramid, the shadowy figure turned to face the catastrophe unhurriedly. Its conduct exhibited absolute calmness, unbothered by the sudden turn of events.

Like pieces of tinted glass, fragments of the broken sky hurled down with great momentum. A gigantic hole appeared in the vast skies, depicting an endless void beyond.

The figure watched on as something colossal emerged from the darkness. It tore away the void like dissipating black smoke, before entering the realm of white sand, replacing a vast region of the inky skies, measuring thousands of kilometers, with a metallic red hue.

This colossal object was seemingly just a small portion of something much more gargantuan.

The shadowy figure remained unperturbed atop the azure pyramid; its blue eyes stared at the unimaginable sight. Reflected in its stoic vision were not the broken skies. It seemed to peer past the behemothic object, traversing innumerable space and time to contest an equally domineering gaze. Those unfamiliar eyes were a crimson red, reflecting endless tyranny and absolute power.

The inscrutable fabric of reality seemed to tremble in fear, constantly rippling without pause.

A silent, yet devastating, confrontation was occurring.

The brilliant blue eyes manifested an azure hourglass. Fine white sand seemed to be slowly trickling within.

The fiery crimson gaze embodied an intricate red chalice. Viscous golden liquid seemed to be gently flowing inside.

The strength within these gazes intensified with the emergence of these phenomena, threatening to tear the world apart.

The flow of time seemed to have paused in this strange confrontation, but the moment still continued.

An unknown amount of time elapsed.

The shadowy figure atop the azure pyramid finally moved, slowly flicking its hand at the broken sky as if to dismiss the apocalypse.

Time began flowing backward as all creation reversed. The sky fragments slowly left the sand burial, rising back into the air. The colossal red object looming above withdrew, fading into the dark void beyond the shattered sky.

The churning sea of white sand gradually settled, and the thundering roars of the void storms were no more.

The inky canvas of the starry sky returned to its former, magnificent glory.

It seemed as if nothing had occurred. Silent and tranquil.

Only the gentle rain of white sand still drizzled. The crimson gaze had dissipated. All was as it should be.

The shadowy figure retracted its gaze. It stared at its now-empty palm. Then, its sapphire blue eyes gradually closed.

The blurry shadow dissipated, and the white granules paused midair.

…

A bright light flashed in a dark eerie forest.

The flash was momentary, seemingly just a passing illusion, or a hallucination. However, the nearby insects and tiny animals suffering from temporary blindness could definitely attest to its authenticity.

Although the light disappeared, the passenger it’d ferried now stood atop the grass and decaying flora, gazing at the dense forest vigilantly. A gaseous cloud of whiteness hovered around him, surveying their dark vicinity.

“Am I… outside?” Ain mumbled while lowering his stance. The dense foliage around him was barely visible under the sparse moonlight escaping the canopies. Under such unfavorable conditions, assuring his safety was quite difficult.

“Wooo…” Nox left his shoulder and glanced around; its head full of curiosity as it’d never seen a forest before. Its perception was much better than his. It sensed the few insects and rodents nearby before informing him.

“Stay close.” Ain whispered, taking cover under a tree. He’d entered the forest near Everlite City quite a few times. Although he’d always stayed within the forest boundary, it was still better than nothing.

“Looks like I’ve really left that hidden realm. The trial must’ve ended then.” Ain concluded with some relief. He’d obtained generous benefits there, but the events were too stressful, especially the unsettling knowledge of an unknown gaze possibly observing him.

Shaking his head, Ain prepared to ponder a way to get back home when he suddenly jolted in fright.

“Wooo…?” The sudden movement surprised Nox. It inquired while glancing over curiously. It hadn’t sensed anything awry.

Ain paused, not in the mood to answer. With a slow and deliberate motion, his left hand was brought forward. Just moments ago, this left hand was empty. However, now, there was something clenched in his palm…

Something had just abruptly appeared in his hand!