Leon narrowed his eyes, focusing on the strange cloud-like gas. It drifted unpredictably, flickering in and out of existence, yet there was an undeniable pattern to its movents.
"This isn't just random," he muttered, stepping closer. Using his Miracle Eyes and Sage Eyes together, he could now see faint, intricate runes embedded within the mist—runes that pulsed with a temporal energy unlike anything he had encountered before.
Reaching out, he let a small wisp of Aether Magic flow toward the mist. The mont his energy made contact, the cloud twisted violently, and the ground beneath his feet shifted backward by several seconds. His own footsteps rewound before his eyes.
"Tch… just as I thought. These clouds are distorting ti itself."
Leon smirked as he analyzed the phenonon. "So that's why this maze is so impossible to navigate… these clouds aren't just here randomly. They are the very reason for the ti shifts."
He knelt, observing the runes within the mist, and his mind pieced it all together. "These aren't natural distortions; they're remnants of the Law of Ti itself."
The realization struck him—the maze wasn't shifting on its own; these clouds were rewriting ti in real-ti.
"If I can avoid them… I can bypass the shifting entirely," he concluded.
He activated Golden Magic, weaving a thin golden thread between his fingers, using it to trace the flow of the distortions. The mist seed to react, subtly pushing away from his magic.
"Interesting. The mont I step into one of these clouds, ti resets, shifting to a different location. But if I avoid them, I'll move freely without interference."
He looked at Ravina, who was watching curiously. "Looks like I cracked it. Stay close and step exactly where I do."
Leon exhaled, then began moving thodically, stepping only where the temporal distortions were weakest.
As he weaved through the maze, avoiding the clouds of shifting ti, the twisting corridors stopped changing—for the first ti, the path ahead remained stable.
And then, at the very center of the maze, floating in perfect stillness, was the Ti Seal.
Leon's gaze locked onto the Ti Seal—a shimring, silver-blue crystal, floating effortlessly at the maze's core. Unlike the chaotic distortions surrounding them, this artifact exuded an unnatural stillness, as if ti itself refused to move around it.
Ravina exhaled in awe. "So this is it... the most elusive of all the seals."
Leon smirked. "Not so elusive anymore."
He took a cautious step forward, his Miracle Eyes still activated, scanning for any last-minute traps. Strangely, there were none—only the swirling clouds of temporal distortions he had just deciphered.
"It makes sense," he thought. "The maze itself was the only defense. If no one could figure out the pattern, they'd be trapped wandering for eternity."
Stretching out his hand, he let a strand of Aether Magic coil around the Ti Seal. The mont his magic touched it, a pulse of temporal energy spread outward, and the entire maze began to collapse inward—but not as destruction. Instead, the shifting pathways froze in place, locking into a single, unchanging structure.
Leon clenched his fingers around the Ti Seal and pulled.
The mont he took possession of it, an overwhelming flood of knowledge surged into his mind. Visions of past cycles, echoes of forgotten tilines, and glimpses of futures that may or may not co to pass. His Miracle Eyes flared, trying to process the influx of information.
"Tch… Damn, this thing is trying to show everything at once."
Ravina placed a hand on his shoulder, steadying him. "Leon, stay focused. Ti is infinite, but you're not."
Leon gritted his teeth and channeled his willpower, pushing back against the flood of chaotic knowledge. Slowly, the overwhelming visions condensed into sothing more manageable—a deeper understanding of Ti Magic itself.
His fingers tightened around the seal, and he smirked. "I see… This isn't just about controlling ti. It's about understanding its flow, its laws. I can use this."
He closed his eyes, letting the power of the Ti Seal settle within him. When he opened them again, his Miracle Eyes had gained an additional silver hue, a subtle reflection of the Ti Seal's power.
Ravina raised an eyebrow. "You look different."
Leon exhaled. "I feel different." He flexed his fingers, feeling the subtle shift in his perception of ti. "This is going to be useful."
Then, he said. "Now… let's get the Blood Seal."
"Okay," Ravina said as Leon looked at her, noticing a calm expression on her face.
"You don't look too sure about how easily I found it," he remarked, narrowing his eyes.
Ravina hesitated before answering. "What do you an? We found it after 47 years, to be exact."
Leon stopped in his tracks. "Huh?"
She sighed, turning to face him. "In your perception, it might have only been a few monts, but in reality, you were frozen for years before you moved again. Maybe that's why you never felt it."
Leon's eyes widened. "Wait… are you saying—"
"Don't worry," she reassured him. "Inside this maze, ti flows differently. One million years here could pass in just a single second outside. No matter how much ti we wasted, not a single second has passed in the real world."
Leon remained silent for a mont, processing her words. He then exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples.
"Forget it," he muttered. "I don't even want to think about it."
Shaking his head, he followed after Ravina, though a lingering unease settled in his mind. How much ti had truly passed in this place?
"Cherry?"
[If Host is asking how much ti has passed, then it was exactly 47 years, three months, 21 days, 13 hours, and 56 minutes.]
Leon's eye twitched. "No, I an… how did I not sense it?"
Cherry, the helper fairy of his system, responded in her usual stoic tone.
[When you attached your magic to distorted ti laws cloud around you, you inadvertently froze yourself in ti. You only moved again when the ti clouds passed by.]
[Since there was no imdiate danger to your life, the system did not activate any safety protocols.]
Leon sighed, rubbing his temples. "Damn… I really never noticed anything like that before."
Shaking his head, he pushed the thought aside and continued walking toward the Blood Seal, determined not to let ti itself play tricks on him again.
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