Chapter 127: I hope Julian is alright
"Ethan!" Eva screamed; she stopped consuming the monster’s energy and quickly ran to Ethan to heal him. Julian teleported to them, while Aaron flew into the air to distract the monster.
Julian grabbed Eva by the waist and instantly teleported in front of bleeding Ethan.
Eva channeled all the energy into Ethan, her hand trembling badly at the sight of his pale skin and the gruesome wound oozing blood—as if a single poke would split his body in two.
’Please heal, heal,’ Eva chanted in her mind as she poured green energy into him. Ethan felt the warmth of her tears on his face, his lips parting as if to comfort her—but instead of words, thick dark blood flowed out.
He felt numb and sensed his life slipping away from him. He tried to hold her one last time, but he couldn’t move his body. Suddenly, he saw a rock headed straight for Eva, and his eyes widened.
"Run...cough...’’ Ethan shouted with all the energy he could muster. His voice sounded like a whisper, blending with the rumbling rocks and the gushing waterfall.
Julian swung his hand in the air, and a large, hazy, black clock appeared—he moved the long hand and the short hand together, causing everything to freeze.
The rocks hurled at them froze in midair, as if a pause button had been pressed. Even the monster froze, but its eyes darted around, showing it wasn’t entirely frozen by time.
Julian hoisted the frozen Eva over his shoulder, grabbed Ethan, and dashed toward a clear stretch free of falling rock—the only drawback of this technique was that he couldn’t teleport while using it, or he would have taken everyone out at once.
Placing them in a safe spot, he gave them one last glance before drawing his sword. "Change." He commanded his beast to shift into its larger form.
It hissed as it coiled around Julian, waiting for its master’s next command—Julian swung his sword like a baseball bat, redirecting the frozen rock toward the monster’s eyes.
"Amplify the speed!" He ordered, and the hourglass mark on the cobra’s head pulsed and spun rapidly, affecting the rocks and making it move faster than sonic speed toward the monster’s giant eye.
Sensing danger, the monster roared and broke free from its frozen state—though some attacks hit their marks, one piercing its eye and sending a sharp sting through its brain.
Roar!!
It enraged the monster that a tiny creature could harm it, and with a wave of his hand, he slapped Julian against the mountain wall, then clamped his teeth on the unfrozen crow—half of Aaron was taken along.
Blood burst into the air as Aaron’s remains stumbled from the sky and hit the ground. Eva’s eyes widened in disbelief, watching the chaos and death of her loved ones, and something in her snapped.
Foxy sensed something was wrong with its master and fully transformed into its large form. Eva’s only thought was to kill this monster—she didn’t care if its energy overloads and kills her in the process. She and Foxy began to drain the monster’s energy.
The air around the monster swirled as green energy waves poured in and out of Eva and Foxy. Eva’s veins bulged and throbbed from the surge of energy rushing into her, making her look like she was about to explode, but she continued to absorb it without stopping.
The tattoo on her back started to glow, drawing some energy to ease the strain on her. The monster noticed Eva’s action; it felt its energy draining quickly, and instinctively, it experienced a wave of fear.
Its eyes locked onto Eva’s figure, which was wrapped in green light.
Without hesitation, it drove its pinky talon straight through her chest. ’No!!’ Julian screamed from where he was pinned, the rock gouging into his stomach as blood surged from the strain of his struggle.
His eyes were bloodshot as he watched Eva fall backward, a tear sliding down her face as her vibrant eyes finally lost their luster.
Julian’s mind went blank; he couldn’t believe what was happening. They were having their meals just minutes ago, and now everyone is gone.
A gaping wound and lifeless eyes replaced Eva’s cheerful smile and her gluttonous, dramatic behavior. Ethan’s stoic expression and Aaron’s annoyed look were replaced by their lifeless bodies.
Julian broke down, hot tears streaming down his face as he cried out in grief. Then, an overwhelming hatred surged through his heart as he turned to the culprit of his family’s loss.
*Present*
Eva brought them out of her space, but before Ethan could step forward, Julian suddenly pulled all of them back. He teleported instantly, even using his snake’s power to send them farther away from the waterfall mountain.
The sudden change in their surroundings disoriented Eva and the others, and it took a minute to adjust before they turned to Julian with question-filled gazes.
Ethan’s expression shifted upon seeing the white edges of Julian’s black hair—he quickly caught Julian before he hit the ground—Julian was out cold.
"What happened to him? He looks so pale—and when did he get white hair?" Eva’s mouth fired questions as her hand poured energy into him, worry etched across her face.
Ethan parted his lips to speak when an enraged roar tore through the sky, coming from the mountain waterfall, and their hearts clenched painfully for reasons unknown to them.
"We need to get out of here," Ethan uttered. Eva placed Julian into her space and hurried across the desert, where only rolling hills of reddish sand stretched around them, with not a single tree in sight.
The sun was blazing, making them sweat and their suit cling uncomfortably to their skin. The hotness beneath their feet brought back memories of struggling through the tower test.
Eva felt they were a safe distance from that place and turned to Ethan, who had been gloomy ever since Julian fell unconscious, but she could see the worry in his eyes.
"You know what happened to Julian. Please tell me— is he alright?" Eva asked, her mind flashing to the moment his expression changed when he saw the white tips of Julian’s hair. Her heart clenched with worry; she prayed nothing bad had happened to him.
"He turned back time,’’ Ethan said, a word that stunned Eva into place. Her eyes widened in shock, not expecting his answer at all.
"Wait—Julian can turn back time? Why am I just hearing about this now? And from your expression... why do I feel it isn’t a good thing?" Eva paused in her tracks and turned to Ethan, giving him her full attention as she waited for him to explain.
Aaron, who overheard their conversation, moved closer with a curious expression. His first thought was what caused Julian to go back in time.
Ethan frowned, unsure if he should be the one telling her this. "You can ask Julian later, but he might not remember why he turned back time... he would be unconscious for a while," Ethan added in a low voice, his gaze absently fixed on the desert as he recalled a time when Julian was unconscious for two days, and only a single strand of his hair had turned white.
Eva looked toward the mountain waterfall, wondering what had happened in the other timeline—and felt it might be for the best if he lost his memory of that incident. It was just a feeling that came to her.
’I hope Julian is alright.’ She mentally planned to check on him again before her space evicts everyone.
"I’ll tell the chef to make a sumptuous meal for him when he wakes up," Eva muttered cheerfully as they continued on their journey.