Chapter 1090: 77. Cracks of Time
DONG!
The distant toll of a bell echoed through the entire void. Along with Muen stirring the Eternal Clock, some ancient and arcane power instantly spread outward, causing everything around him to become slow in Muen’s eyes, even those black bolts of lightning and those terrifying astral winds.
“Very good.”
But Hamreign was not affected. Or rather, a small, old, worn clock was floating around her, giving off power from the same source as the Eternal Clock, allowing her to remain completely unaffected by this force.
Heh. At times like this, that old little brat was actually quite considerate.
“I did not expect your use of the Eternal Clock to have already reached this level. Your progress is faster than I imagined. No wonder that fellow said nothing, because for the current you, even if nothing was said, it would be enough.”
Hamreign praised him, only her tone was still icy cold, making it very hard for anyone to feel that it was praise.
“...I actually feel very distressed. This feeling of being spun around in circles by riddle-spewing bastards is very unpleasant.”
Muen scratched his head and sighed.
“So then, Miss Dragon, what exactly do you want me to do?”
“That clock in the phantom of the past just now... no, do you still remember the aura of that ancient relic?”
“The aura of the ancient relic? That was only a phantom. There was no aura there. The real relic is separated from me by eight hundred years. How could I possibly...”
As Muen spoke, he suddenly froze.
No.
He remembered.
Clearly, that was only a phantom. Clearly, the real ancient relic had appeared eight hundred years ago.
Yet he still remembered.
It was as if, at that time, he had truly appeared eight hundred years in the past, had truly watched that disaster from the sidelines, had truly memorized the aura of that ancient relic in his mind.
“The Eternal Clock is an Authority that symbolizes time. It is the source of the river of time. Although it is not in its complete state right now, locating an ancient relic that can likewise use the power of time across eight hundred years is still not difficult.”
Hamreign said, “If it can do it, then you can do it. You are now its possessor. Its master.”
“...I’ll try.”
Muen did not waste a single word and immediately focused again, mobilizing the power of time.
He did not know how he was supposed to search for something from eight hundred years ago, nor did he have any related experience. He simply followed his instincts, constantly recalling in his mind the appearance of that ancient relic at the time... its aura... and...
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
The hand moved.
The hand of that battered clock from eight hundred years ago was turning, and the hand of the Eternal Clock was turning as well.
The times the two pointed toward were completely different, even without any connection at all.
But under Muen’s deliberate control, the hand of the Eternal Clock gradually adjusted.
Until—
Tick.
The hands of the two completely overlapped!
“There!”
Muen suddenly pointed toward a certain direction.
In the boundless void, countless blurry points of light drifted everywhere, and in the place not far from where Muen pointed, there happened to be one such point of light.
It was neither overly bright nor overly dim. Without Muen’s guidance, perhaps no one would ever have noticed such an inconspicuous point of light.
Hamreign twisted her dragon body, and in the blink of an eye, she had already arrived before the point of light.
For the first time, Muen examined these points of light from such a close distance.
He narrowed his eyes, trying hard to make his vision pierce through the influence of those distorted and blurry rays of light and see clearly into the interior of the point of light...
“Huh?”
Muen let out a cry of surprise.
Because he really did see some kind of physical object inside the point of light. It was not at all the thing he had imagined before, but countless complex lines outlining something that faintly emerged between light and shadow...
The outline of a broken piece of land?
“Are you certain?”
Hamreign was also observing this point of light and did not rashly choose to touch it.
“The aura of that ancient relic is indeed here, but... huh?”
Muen let out another cry of surprise.
In the depths of his consciousness, the Eternal Clock continuously gave off low and ancient bell tolls, guiding him toward the existence of this point of light.
However, the ticking sound responding to that bell seemed faintly not to be coming from within this point of light.
But perhaps it should be said...
Not from within the current point of light.
“There is an error in time.”
Magic power continuously flowed into the alchemical cores. Muen connected with the Eternal Clock and swiftly used the power of time to sense and calculate.
Very quickly, he obtained the answer.
That ancient relic was inside this place, but it was not inside the current version of this place. Rather, it was...
Inside this point of light from thirty-eight minutes ago!
“So that’s how it is!”
Muen came to a sudden realization.
He finally understood what Miss Dragon had meant just now by “hiding in the cracks of time.”
They had to follow the ancient relic from eight hundred years ago to search for those revived fellows, but those fellows had not hidden inside the normal timeline.
They were hiding...
In a certain place’s “thirty-eight minutes ago.”
Thirty-eight minutes was a very short amount of time. So short that, compared to the hundred-year scale Miss Dragon had been searching across at every turn, it was not worth mentioning.
But this slight difference in time was completely untouchable. Between two timelines that could not be made to coincide, even if Miss Dragon searched for another hundred years, even if she could truly lock onto this location, she still would not be able to find those fellows separated from her by a mere “thirty-eight minutes.”
What blocked her was not space.
It was time.
No wonder...
After she had discovered this trace, she had immediately abducted him without the slightest patience.
Muen finally understood everything, and also understood Miss Dragon’s actions. After all, the fellows she had searched for so long were right before her eyes. Forget stealing someone from a wedding. If it were him, even if the other party had already entered the bridal chamber and reached the final step with the arrow already on the string, he would still kick the door open and drag the person over at once.
“Can you enter that point in time?” Hamreign asked, her tone still sounding extremely calm.
“No.”
Muen shook his head directly.
“The current me is far, far from being able to reverse time for that long, even within a defined range.”
“Is that so?”
Hamreign was not surprised at all. After all, the fact that Muen could now admit that he “could” reverse time had already made her somewhat surprised. This rate of growth had already exceeded her expectations.
As for that little problem he could not achieve...
She had long since prepared a solution as well.
“If you cannot do it alone, then add a little external force.”
“Eh? External force?”
Muen blinked. His brain had not even realized anything yet when he immediately felt the dragon claw gripping him suddenly tighten again!
However, this time it was not trying to crush all the bones in his body. As it tightened, Muen felt an immense force surge into his body in an extremely rough manner!
“This is...”
The majestic force poured in continuously. Muen’s face immediately flushed bright red, and he needed to fully concentrate in order to guide these terrifying powers that did not belong to him and pour them into the alchemical cores.
But even so, he still felt that his body was somewhat unable to bear it.
“No, no... this is too rough.”
Muen gasped heavily. “I’m going to... going to be completely filled up!”
“Shut up. Hurry up and operate the Eternal Clock!” Hamreign scolded.
“I, I know...”
Muen operated the alchemical cores and connected with the Eternal Clock.
DONG!
That ancient bell toll became even clearer, as if it had already crossed the limitation of time and arrived before the two of them.
Tick. Tock.
The hand on the worn clock floating beside Hamreign began to reverse.
Time...
Also began to flow backward!
Until thirty-eight minutes ago!
And at this moment, Hamreign did not hesitate at all. Pulling Muen, who was almost unconscious, she directly touched that point of light!
...
...
“Cough, cough, cough...”
Muen lay on the ground, coughing continuously, almost as if he were about to cough out his own lungs.
But this was not because he was sick or weak. It was only because, back then, in order to control that portion of powerful force poured in from outside, his breathing had been subconsciously driven too urgently, to the point that it had even reached the limit of his current physical body.
Terrifying.
Too terrifying.
Was this the legendary natural disaster? Was this the legendary Dragon of Death and Doom?
Muen sighed emotionally, still feeling lingering fear.
In that situation, Miss Dragon clearly had not used her full strength. She had only used a little force on him, and that had almost made his eyes roll back as he passed out.
He was the yellow-haired one among yellow-haired ones, a man determined to become someone who would always be on top. After mixing around outside for so long, it was not as if he had never come into contact with forceful girls, but one this forceful and mighty...
It was indeed Muen’s first time experiencing it.
Of course, the main reason was still that the difference in strength was too great.
“I hope that was the last time. This feeling of almost being stretched until I split open, I do not want to experience it a second time.”
Muen finally calmed his breathing and the various chaotic powers in his body, supported himself up, and began to examine his surroundings.
“Hm?”
Warm sunlight shone over the surface of the water, reflecting back with charming ripples of light, almost making Muen think he had returned to the previous Tars, returned to that beautiful lake left behind after the natural disaster had ravaged it.
But this place was not Tars. It was clearly an unfamiliar place. A winding little river flowed past in front of Muen, and Muen saw some traces of artificial cultivation on both sides of the riverbank.
People lived here.
And it was not the distant past, but the present.
“As expected... are those points of light all passages leading to certain places?”
Muen rubbed his chin, thinking about the nature of those points of light while beginning to analyze the current situation.
Miss Dragon had temporarily gone somewhere unknown.
He did not know whether they had been separated or whether she had left on her own initiative. In any case, she had not left behind any message.
But judging from the fact that he had successfully reached a certain place, that action back then had undoubtedly succeeded.
Under Miss Dragon’s rough infusion, he had successfully reversed time by thirty-eight minutes, then arrived at the other end of the point of light.
In other words, here.
“In that case... the enemy Miss Dragon wants to find is now...”
“Hey, kid over there.”
“...”
Muen’s pupils suddenly contracted. Almost instinctively, he assumed a stance from which he could counterattack at any time. Both hands moved behind his waist, and Elizabeth’s hilt emerged from the spatial magic device.
However, when Muen turned around, what appeared before him was not some bizarre figure capable of being reborn from the ashes.
It was only an ordinary old grandmother, her face covered in wrinkles, wearing a kind smile.
She stood on a field ridge a little ways away and waved amiably at Muen.
“Young man, you’re an outsider, aren’t you?”
“...”
Muen narrowed his eyes. After a brief moment of thought, he decided to observe for now.
“Madam, how could you tell? Do I look that different from the locals?”
“There isn’t really any difference in looks. It’s just... we don’t have the custom here of going naked in public.”
The old grandmother supported her cheek with her hand, her expression shy.
“Oh my, young man, what a fine body you have. It makes this old granny think of some romantic affairs from when I was young.”
“...”
Muen silently lowered his head.
After the old woman’s reminder, he finally discovered it at this moment.
Perhaps because he had just experienced an intense fluctuation, or perhaps because Miss Dragon’s infusion into him had truly been too rough. In any case...
The clothes on his body were now completely and utterly in a tattered state.
At the very least, those two pectoral muscles he was so proud of were currently wantonly displaying their might beneath this bright sunlight...
“...”
After some thought, Muen raised his head and said to the old woman seriously,
“Madam, if I say I’m not a pervert... would you believe me?”