Return to the Past

Using the conclusion of her diplomatic visit as an excuse, Catherine smoothly departed the Emerald Dream Forest. She was delighted to have escaped further pestering from that druid, Brandir, repeatedly remarking how much she had learned. If she ever ran into such relentless, clingy suitors in the future, she would simply use Anbaixiu's trick and state outright that she could never marry outside her race. Anbaixiu wasted no time either, heading straight back to his underground palace. During his absence, his undead laborers had worked with diligent devotion, excavating over a thousand square meters of new space within the underground ruins. It had to be said that this lost subterranean civilization had been filthy rich. The newly cleared cavern yielded numerous gold artifacts, roughly estimated to be worth over a million gold coins. Still, a million was pocket change to Anbaixiu now. He casually had it locked away in the vault, not even bothering to weigh it carefully. With everything prepared, Anbaixiu had Naomi attempt her transformation into a time dragon. Standing in the center of the plaza Anbaixiu had cleared for her, Naomi drew a deep breath. Natural energy circulated within her body, swiftly condensing into a honey-like radiance that enveloped her entirely. The brilliant, fluid light expanded rapidly, swelling into a colossal silhouette in the blink of an eye. A body, razor-sharp talons, a draconic head, pointed horns, and wings... A massive, silver-white dragon materialized in the plaza. The dragon's form shimmered with a magnificent glow, its contours seeming to shift and ripple in a hazy, ethereal beauty. Its build was slender and graceful, its eyes shining with the brilliant splendor of a starry river. A formidable aura of dragon fear washed over the chamber, exerting noticeable pressure even on Anbaixiu. Naomi's transformation was flawless; she had reproduced even the draconic aura down to the last detail. Catherine praised, "She's gorgeous, but she looks a little different from the time dragons described in the books." "She is a druid transformed into a dragon, after all, and a time dragon is a rare breed to begin with," Anbaixiu said. "Some variation is entirely normal. Appearance doesn't matter, as long as she can wield the power of time." Catherine said excitedly, "Exactly! The key is rewinding time. Can we just go back to the past like this without any preparation? How far back are we going? And how do we return?" Anbaixiu could only reply, "I don't know much about the mechanics of time reversal either. We'd better ask Naomi." Naomi, in her time dragon form, lowered her massive head and spoke to Anbaixiu and Catherine. "I can feel immense power gathering, but I'm afraid I cannot control it perfectly. Master, I may not be able to send you to the exact temporal coordinate you desire." "How large could the margin of error be?" Anbaixiu asked. "A day or two, or perhaps a year or two. I have never practiced this before, so there is truly no way to be certain. Would it not be better to let me practice a few times first?" Naomi asked. Anbaixiu answered with supreme confidence, "No need. I will assist you. Fate will provide us with the correct guidance." To a legendary diviner, probability was merely a numerical value waiting to be tweaked. Naturally, Naomi would not disobey Anbaixiu's command. She continued, "If all goes smoothly, I can freely govern our return to the past and our journey back to the present. Because we will return to the exact moment we left, to outside observers, it may seem as though we were only gone for an instant. Assuming everything goes smoothly, of course." Anbaixiu glanced at Catherine and said, "Perhaps you should sit this one out. There are risks involved, after all." Catherine shook her head vigorously. "Not a chance! I've worked so hard all this time. How could I pass up a rare opportunity for time travel? Don't worry, I've arranged everything. The elves will do just fine without me." Anbaixiu had already handed over all the knowledge regarding the sealing techniques, completely resolving the elves' existential crisis. Catherine had also stepped down from her position as queen, leaving her free to choose her own path in life. Time travel was an adventure almost no elf had ever experienced, and Catherine had no intention of missing it. Anbaixiu sighed inwardly; leaving Catherine behind now truly would feel like kicking away the ladder after climbing up. "Then let us begin. But let's make one thing clear: you enter this at your own risk!" As soon as Anbaixiu spoke, countless Dice of Fate began to materialize around him. Naomi braced herself and took hold of the elusive power of time. As she channeled her strength, the surrounding space grew hazy, looking as if countless shards of broken glass had sliced reality into fragmented pieces. These shattered facets of space then took on kaleidoscopic colors, spinning with dizzying speed. Yet neither Anbaixiu nor Catherine felt any physical sensation. The shifting lights and shadows before them seemed like mere illusions, leaving them completely unaffected no matter how wildly they danced. Still, Anbaixiu did not let down his guard. Whatever the situation, he flung his Dice of Fate onto Naomi first, granting her precise control over the rewind. Anbaixiu intended to travel back to ten days before Harvey perceived the prophecy, leaving himself enough time to track the boy down. Ten days should be plenty of time to find Harvey and weave a false destiny for him. Yet as soon as the Dice of Fate were cast, Anbaixiu sensed something was terribly wrong. Naomi was like a black hole, voraciously devouring his Dice of Fate. One or two were nowhere near enough, and even one or two hundred fell drastically short... To reach that precise moment, Anbaixiu needed to pour in vastly more power of fate. *Rash. I should have let her practice for a few days! Just how massive is this deficit?!* Unable to resist grumbling inwardly, Anbaixiu summoned his Golden Throne. The power of fate could also be fueled by gold. The number of Dice of Fate multiplied exponentially, surging like an ocean wave into Naomi's body. Several minutes later, the swirling lights and shadows gradually settled and froze into stillness. Naomi collapsed exhausted to the ground, swiftly reverting to her human form. The time reversal had drained every drop of her strength, leaving her unable to lift even a finger. Anbaixiu hurriedly scooped her up and cast several recovery spells. Only after confirming she was merely exhausted did he breathe a sigh of relief. Catherine looked around in bewilderment. "Did it work? Why does nothing look different?" Indeed, it appeared as though nothing had changed. They had not even shifted locations, still standing in the dim underground cavern. "No, it did change. Look around—the 'home' we built earlier is gone." Anbaixiu pointed toward a spot in the darkness. There stood a massive stone structure that Anbaixiu had originally converted into his laboratory, alongside which Catherine had built her own dwelling. Now, however, the structure stood in its crude, untouched state. Anbaixiu mused, "Time rewound, but our spatial position remained unchanged. That makes sense. A time dragon alters time, not space." Whether that was the true reason, Anbaixiu could not be entirely certain. He knew next to nothing about temporal magic. When Naomi had channeled it just now, he had felt no resonance whatsoever. With Naomi now fast asleep from exhaustion, waking her was out of the question. Their only choice was to leave this place first. "Let's go. We'll head to the surface and confirm what point in time we've landed in." Anbaixiu led Catherine toward the entrance of the underground ruins, only to find a massive, unbroken gate blocking the way, sealed without the faintest crack. "Damn it. I forgot about this." Anbaixiu ran a hand over the gate, made of some unknown material, completely stunned. These underground ruins had remained unexcavated for ages until an earthquake shook this very gate open, which was why Heji Stone had offered the place to Anbaixiu. Now that time had rewound to before the earthquake occurred, the gate was sealed tight. This was a gate the dwarves had spent countless years failing to breach. How were they supposed to get out? Catherine began to panic as well. She notched an arrow and fired at the gate; an energy arrow unleashed from an artifact bow packed enough power to pierce a city wall, yet it left only a tiny pit on the surface. Catherine gasped in shock. "What in the world is this made of to be so sturdy?" Anbaixiu shook his head. He only knew it had been crafted from the corpse of some creature blended with various metals, but the exact composition remained a mystery. Seeing Catherine prepare to try again, Anbaixiu stopped her. "Save your breath. Since this gate was originally opened by an earthquake in the future, it is impossible for us to force it open ahead of time now. Remember what I told you: established fate cannot be altered. We returned to the past to change a future that has yet to happen." Fate was a single thread. No matter how many loops it formed or knots it tied, it remained a continuous thread from beginning to end; one could not simply snip it and splice in a new strand. Perhaps fate had already determined whether Anbaixiu would succeed or fail in saving Harvey. Regardless of the outcome, Anbaixiu was currently merely playing out his part in the script. "So we're just supposed to wait here? If I'd known, I wouldn't have let us travel back in time from this spot," Catherine grumbled. Anbaixiu was in no hurry. Do your best and leave the rest to heaven; a way forward would present itself eventually. "No need to rush. Let's look around. I refuse to believe the Goddess of Fate let me return to the past just to mock me." Such was Anbaixiu's confidence. After enduring so much, he had begun to believe he truly enjoyed the favor of the Goddess of Fate. If she were to appear and offer him the status of a chosen, Anbaixiu would accept without hesitation. Alas, fate was ever mysterious and elusive. Relying on his memory, Anbaixiu began searching the darkness for an alternative exit. Yet before they had walked very far, Anbaixiu was startled into summoning his Golden Throne on the spot. Catherine reacted just as swiftly, instantly summoning her black panther mount and raising her artifact bow. Ahead in the darkness, numerous bizarre pinpricks of light had appeared, gleaming like countless pairs of eyes. This was completely wrong. According to Heji Stone, no living creatures existed in these underground ruins—not even corpses. How could there be living things here? Then what was the deal with all these eyeballs staring at them? The gloom could not impede Anbaixiu's senses, and he soon "saw" the true form of the creatures lurking in the dark. Every single one of these swarming monsters looked like an overgrown toad. An image from a monster manual flashed through Anbaixiu's mind. Could these be... slaadi?