Chapter 586: Ripple Effect [ 2 ]

He imagined Melissa as he saw her in the Memory Record. It was the template of sorts, and the rest he filled with the memories he had of her.

Their childhood, the days before the accident, and then even their meeting in the Memory Record. Although it wasn’t exactly the meeting he was expecting, nor did he know if it was actually real… the orb reacted to him.

Bit by bit, the image of someone started to materialize. It was a woman standing still, her hair as black as the void. Her hair was very long, reaching her feet, and her eyes, while hard to see, were glowing green. She was slightly skinnier than he remembered.

A warm sensation spread throughout his chest when he realized it really was Melissa. He had so much he wanted to tell her, but he knew now was not the time. After all, their reunion was long overdue.

Despite that, even if he didn’t want to accept it, something felt a little off about her. She seemed out of it, mentally.

The location was also a big red flag since no matter where he looked, there was nothing but darkness.

But before he could even begin to contemplate her surroundings, the orb suddenly moved, arriving right in front of her face.

Her eyes were blank, but when she realized who was on the other side, some light returned to her eyes.

Yet that light soon turned into hate.

“What are you doing here…?” Melissa asked, her voice echoing in the void. “Have I not told you to never seek me out ever again?”

Did I say that? Definitely not… That conversation most likely happened before the Shattering. Is she one of the survivors?

Rael thought, but since he knew Melissa was moments away from breaking the orb in spite, he decided to skip to the important stuff.

“I have reason to believe Solenne is coming after you.”

Her expression didn’t change.

“And why should I care about that bug?” she asked. “Let her come. It wouldn’t be the first time I put her in her place.”

“You beat Solenne?” Rael muttered. “No… that’s not important. I saw the future, and there’s literally no future. Whatever’s going to happen is going to affect you as much as it’s going to affect me. So wherever you are, get somewhere safe.”

“…”

She brought the orb closer to her face.

“Brother, you are being manipulated.”

As he opened his mouth to speak, Melissa interrupted.

“You are standing between a rock and a hard place. You’re being led to believe that you’re in a more desperate situation than you truly are…”

His mind spun for a moment but then settled down as he understood what she was getting at.

“But the future…?”

“You might die. I, on the other hand, am perfectly safe in my realm,” Melissa said, narrowing her eyes.

Then, a look of understanding appeared on her face.

“You seem to be going up against a person who can manipulate much more than thoughts. He’s pretty dangerous, but you’ve built up a little immunity against one of his abilities, haven’t you?” Melissa hummed. “Though I still see that even if he doesn’t use his thought suggestion abilities on you, he still got inside your head… especially since you contacted me.”

In the far-off distance, a single pillar of light descended, causing the orb to shake heavily.

“Well, looks like you revealed my location as well.” Melissa rubbed her glabella as she turned to face the light pillar. “You should get back to doing what you’ve already been doing. I, on the other hand, am going to move my old bones.”

“Wait—” For origınal chapters go to NoveI-Fire.ɴet

She shattered the orb, yet in the final moments, he spotted a figure that descended alongside the light pillar, sporting golden hair and a suit of golden armor.

The figure was someone he knew very well. After all, he was inside her mind for a couple of months.

Solenne… Rael stared at the shattered orb, his mind racing.

“What did I just do…?”

When did it happen? Why was he even so wary of Lucien to begin with? Just… how did Lucien get inside his head so easily?

The future remained unchanged inside the Prophetic Realm, which further emphasized a single point.

Ever since Lucien appeared, he ticked everything into place and even managed to make him doubt himself so much that he, Gaia, and even Anna felt like they had no choice but to reach out to Melissa.

Yet that very same connection was what led to Melissa being discovered… that faint trace of mana that connected them… Solenne followed it.

And once again, it was all his fault.

[I’m sorry,] Gaia apologized. [It seems like I was too rash. If you want to blame someone, then blame me.]

[I am also at fault. I should have known that it seemed way too good to be true.] Anna grimaced. [I will be gone for a while. I wish to gather my thoughts.]

Their apologies continued, and so did his regret.

If only he wasn’t so naive, and if only he had realized something was off sooner… none of this would’ve happened.

Melissa mentioned she had once beaten Solenne, but could he trust that? What if she was simply showing off? Furthermore, if Melissa was as strong as Solenne, then their battle would definitely end with someone paying a high cost.

And since Solenne waltzed in there that confidently…

Taking a deep breath, he opened his status screen, navigated to his laws, and finally…

Special 10% Mastery Effect – Time Regression: Rewind time by exactly 24 hours. May be used once every 60 days.

<Do you wish to activate Time Regression? Yes / No>

<Notice: You will be rewinding time for the entire universe and all the people in it. Powerful beings will notice the change.>

[Are you sure?] Gaia asked, skeptical. [If you turn back time now, then…]

Then I won’t be able to turn it back later, Rael finished. But as it so happens, Anastasia set the time limit for the fourth trial to be in 48 hours. That means she already knew.

Everyone knew but him. It was discouraging and a much bigger kick in the balls than he had ever felt.

I’m already second-guessing myself, Rael thought. What if this is exactly what Lucien wants? If he’s baiting me out with Melissa to force me to turn back time, I won’t be able to escape what happens next.

But seeing as time was ticking down, he had to make his decision.

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