Time.

Distance traveled.

The intensity of the fire in the hearth.

And the colors corresponding to the paintings on the walls.

...Along with the time at which I entered this ruin.

"Do you really need me to give you hints here?"

"With your intelligence, you should be able to grasp the key yourself."

It was all related to time.

Nothing more.

"As for Aehkator..."

"I already told you, He is only a legendary existence."

"All I know is that He left behind several harmless ruins..."

"And one world-shaking divine artifact."

"An artifact called The Ring of Stasis."

"It is said whoever possesses that artifact can freeze time at will. Everyone else’s time stops, while the holder moves freely."

Sounds a lot like my Ascension Apex State.

Except Ascension Apex only lets me act for a fleeting second.

No idea how many seconds that artifact grants.

If it only freezes time for five seconds or so...

it doesn’t even sound that strong.

...Mm.

I’m getting a little too arrogant.

Actually thinking time stop isn’t that powerful...

While listening to Ansu ramble on about legends surrounding Aehkator,

Rei observed every object in the corridor.

The patterns among the ornaments lining both walls—

he had mostly deciphered them.

They shifted according to distance.

And the method to leave should be simple.

Find the anomaly.

Find the point that violates the rule.

His perception locked onto a distant clock.

Among hundreds of nearby clocks,

all obeyed the pattern Rei had deduced,

their hands moving according to predictable values.

Except one.

Only that one pointed to a value that violated the pattern.

One step.

Tap—

In an instant,

Rei appeared before the erroneous clock.

He removed the wall clock before him.

"The wrong time."

Ripples spread outward.

Then—

Every clock in the corridor—

all at once—

began spinning wildly.

Whrrr—

Clack clack clack clack clack—

The scenery blurred.

The corridors on both sides narrowed,

compressed inward.

And the wall before him—

became a spiraling path winding endlessly forward.

Above.

Below.

Left.

Right.

Nothing but gray haze and pale whiteness.

Only the spiraling road ahead—

pointed into blackness.

From far away came faint calling.

And soft sobbing.

Someone seemed to be crying.

What is this, a ghost story?

Rei immediately thought of weeping children and crying infants—

like something straight out of a horror film.

Shhhh—

Then white noise like a television losing signal crackled at his ears.

The distant darkness was swallowed by whitening fog.

The image before him began regaining form.

And when the scenery sharpened again—

Rei stood upon a familiar yet unfamiliar wilderness.

Every blade of grass here was impossibly clear.

Perception itself felt vividly alive.

Clouds layered across the sky.

The sun hung huge and close.

Ah.

I remember.

This is...

The Realm of Secret Knowledge.

Rei did not turn around.

Because if he turned,

he would probably see the Root.

And that might crash his mind instantly.

And this time—

he wasn’t in Future Simulation.

He even tried activating the simulation here.

But for the first time since obtaining that talent—

something unprecedented happened.

It would not activate.

...Damn.

Throwing me directly here—

trying to make me face the Root and crash my mind?

My strength now is vastly greater than before.

If I turn and look at the Root now,

maybe I wouldn’t fare as poorly as back then.

And besides—

could some small ruin even simulate the complete Root?

Rei shook his head.

Impossible.

Various thoughts ran through him.

Then suddenly—

his perception stirred.

Rei snapped his head aside.

And saw—

a figure with hat brim lowered,

walking toward him.

Staff in hand.

Radiating immense pressure.

"Iz..."

"You’re everywhere, aren’t you."

"You really are my inner demon."

The words slipped out almost unconsciously.

Only after speaking did Rei realize—

that thought had not been his.

His gaze fixed on the person before him.

God-Tier · Deepest Reality

His talent could perceive truth.

Illusions.

Virtual constructs.

Projected simulations.

It saw through all of them.

And yet—

all Rei felt now...

was calm.

The talent gave no falsehood warning.

No sign of fabrication.

The Izparut before him—

was real.

Not just Izparut.

The grass.

The air.

The elemental flow.

Everything around him—

was real.

Not illusion.

Not simulation.

Not projection.

...Is this a joke?

"Yes, Rei."

Izparut lowered the hand touching his hat brim

and finally raised his eyes to meet Rei’s.

Those familiar eyes—

but filled with grave seriousness.

"I do not want to admit..."

"that I made such a mistake back then."

"If I had never raised you..."

"perhaps today’s catastrophe would never exist."

Rei frowned.

"Iz... what are you talking about?"

"I don’t understand."

"Listen to me."

"I entered a ruin related to time."

"After clearing the first region, I happened to see you."

If the Iz before him were an illusion,

Rei wouldn’t have wasted a word.

But he wasn’t.

This Iz was real.

He still didn’t understand the full situation,

but right now—

avoiding misunderstanding seemed essential.

"I think we can communicate."

"We can clarify this."

"Maybe someone is misleading us."

"Don’t let misunderstanding blind you."

But regret showed in Iz’s eyes.

"No..."

"There is no need for communication anymore."

"I already know everything."

"Destroyer of the Secret Sea."

"The one who felled the World Tree."

"Source of contamination in the Moon Sea."

"Liberator of the Abyss."

"Rei..."

"You have been polluted too deeply."

"The reason you came here..."

"is because I summoned you."

"Ninth-Tier Time Magic—Historical Extraction."

"This is the only way to stop you."

"Before all of it happens."

As Iz spoke—

terror slowly rose in Rei’s heart.

He finally understood what was happening.

This is...

a future timeline?

The one before him—

was a future Izparut...

Ninth-Tier Time Magic—

had pulled him out of his own spacetime into Iz’s?

What kind of nonsense is this?

Other people become Immortal Emperors and erase causal threads from their past.

How the hell did I end up—

being the one someone else came back to erase?

A faint killing intent lingered around Iz.

It wasn’t heavy.

But it proved his resolve.

Rei’s right hand gripped his war spear.

"Master Iz."

"Everything you’ve said hasn’t happened yet."

"If you really mean to kill me..."

"At least let me understand why first."

...

Want to unlock up to 60+ early-access Chapters with NFSW Content and exclusive novels ?! Join my Patreon today and dive deeper into the adventure!

patreon.com/denji21