The orb gradually rolled away from the Night Crow.
Roll…
- Damn it…
This was the worst possible situation.
The Stone of Ti, unaffected by the ti rupture, had slipped from Ur’s grasp.
He needed to touch the orb to dismantle this intricate magic, but the leakage of mana had severely impaired his body's coordination.
No one could be blad for this situation. Ur, who had nearly been sent flying away, and Seol, who had mustered the last of his will to sever Maradum's hand.
Now, he had almost no mana left.
Directly undoing it was impossible.
In that case, it would be better to let it fall off the cliff and make it shatter.
'Yes. That would be the best option…'
Thud…
However, as if the god of fate despised Ur, everything he wished for had been denied.
The Stone of Ti hit sothing and stopped.
'Damn it…'
It was a day where nothing went as Ur had hoped.
His complaints were brief.
To resolve the situation, he needed to assess it first.
'That's…'
The only silver lining was that the object the Stone of Ti had hit was anything but ordinary.
'That's Sirion's hamr. Perhaps…'
The Stone of Ti had rolled into a massive war hamr. It seed to be Sirion's beloved weapon, which was now lying on the ground.
Ur held onto hope.
Sirion was the figure to be known as the King of Ashes.
Although he had lost everything in the clash against Maradum, he still radiated a terrifying amount of power.
And a similar power flowed from the war hamr he had wielded.
It was the King of Ashes' beloved weapon, a relic from a legendary era. It probably had so unique power.
And Ur's expectations were right.
Whoosh…
[Ash's special ability has been activated.]
[The nearest ally has been granted the ability of the Ash's Avatar.]
[The Ash's Avatar resists all damage and magic.]
For Seol and Somi, this miracle was expressed in a few lines of text.
But for Ur, it was a vivid phenonon he could feel on his skin.
Ur instinctively understood the power the hamr had unleashed and how the situation was unfolding.
Even the usually composed Ur couldn't help but feel a glimr of hope given the situation.
'If Sirion wakes up and grabs the hamr…'
Then, everything would be resolved.
As long as the worst-case scenario he feared didn't happen, things would be okay.
But…
Once again, things didn't result as he expected.
[CollegeStudentsMustDie has beco the Ash's Avatar.]
[The Ash's Avatar resists all damage and magic.]
[Ti Rupture Resist Dice is being rolled.]
[Ti Rupture Resist Dice rolled a 4.]
[CollegeStudentsMustDie resists Ti Rupture.]
"Huh…?"
It was Somi who woke up.
It seed that she was the one closest to the hamr nad Ash.
'Damn it…!'
Ur hated that he understood the situation too well. Even without intending to, he naturally understood what action needed to be taken to resolve it.
In his judgnt, the group was facing a dire predicant.
The simplest solution, a direct contact between the Night Crow and the Stone of Ti, had failed.
Having Somi carry the Stone of Ti to the Night Crow was also risky. Since Ti Rupture had activated, the Stone of Ti had turned unstable. And although a Wizard like Ur could handle it, the thought of soone else running with it was terrifying. Unimaginable things could happen.
That left only one alternative—destroying the Stone of Ti.
The problem was that Somi was the only one who could move.
And another issue was that whoever destroyed the Stone of Ti would be hit by the full force of the energy contained within it.
'She will probably be left in this temporal rift in an aged or regressed state…'
Yes… The rest of the group would return to the Star Graveyard, but she would be left alone in the ti rift.
Of course, if they found a way back, things could be resolved relatively quickly. In as little as ten minutes or an hour, she would be able to return to her original tiline in one piece.
However… if things got a bit more complicated, the situation could turn darker.
What should have been a slight adjustnt of the clock could turn into dozens of cycles without resolution.
It could be a year. It could take decades. Or she might never be able to return at all.
In other words, she would be abandoned.
If this was the fundantal problem of the situation, then Ur's remaining issue was probably related to it.
'I'm not confident I'll be able to explain it to her…'
Ur had spent his entire life trying to understand the world's mysteries. What he couldn't comprehend, he had either dismissed as inferior or dissected through relentless effort until he understood.
Living like this had given him a certain compulsion. Ur couldn't explain what he didn't understand.
If soone told him, with less than thirty seconds to spare, 'You will be left alone in a temporal rift to wait,' he would tear them apart on the spot.
Humans were creatures made of distrust and denial. Throughout their long history, they had always doubted one another.
They were like that from the beginning. Doubting others because they themselves were worthy of doubt.
"Wh-What… Why am I the only one moving…?"
- …
"Is everyone okay? Hello? Wh-What should I do…"
Without having ti to organize his thoughts, Ur started talking.
- Hey, woman… You have a mission.
"This voice…"
She recognized it as Ur, the Magician Seol introduced to her.
His voice echoed in Somi's ears.
- We're running out of ti. I have countless things I want to tell you. How things beca like this. How I had no choice but for things to unfold like this. And what you must do.
"Huh…? What are you talking about?"
He knew this would happen.
In his disoriented state, he talked fervently, but not a single word reached her.
He decided to act crazy and made a suggestion.
- Pick up that hamr and smash that stone.
"Why should I do that? And… I can only hear your voice. Are you perhaps mimicking soone…"
This also didn't work.
Humans were such beings.
So say humans are mostly made of water, but that is wrong.
Humans were made of countless doubts. Doubting even one's own existence is what makes one a human.
Ti was running out.
The chance given to Somi would soon be over.
For a mont, the option of lying crossed his mind.
He could lie to Somi. Tell her that smashing the stone with the hamr would simply undo the magic.
That she wouldn't suffer any harm.
He was about to lie, but he couldn't bring himself to.
- …I, Ur, will veer away from darkness, drawing nearer to the light, and will obey the commands of my master, Snowman, remaining by his side. If I fail to uphold these vows…!"
These were the words Bornuil said when he entered Ur's body while he was being subordinated to Seol in Alcatron.
Was lying in this situation truly evil? Would his existence be annihilated the mont he lied to Somi?
Of course, his inability to lie wasn't solely due to this dilemma.
'I don't want to lie…'
He was the Wizard of Origin, soone who had existed for many years. To think that his solution to avoid being trapped in the temporal rift was to deceive a weak human with lies.
This wasn't about justifying a lie.
It was a matter of existential significance. That's why he said.
- You're wrong. I'm not confident I'll be able to convince you in the remaining ti.
A conclusion he'd drawn from understanding humans.
- Hahaha… Hahaha… Hey, haven't I told you before? In the end, it beca just like that. What did I say was the goal of those who rambled about how they were right in front of others?
Somi rembered his passing words.
"When they demand sacrifice…"
- Yes.
Sacrifice.
He couldn't bring himself to say it.
Because she probably already knew.
After saying that, Ur gave up.
[The Ash's Avatar state will soon be deactivated.]
- Somi…
- Seol?
This was unexpected.
As if driven by so will, Seol's consciousness was still intact.
It was truly sothing special and unique, as soone would expect from the first Transferee who had crossed the wall and reached Supre-rank.
"Oppa? Seol oppa!"
Ur had resigned.
Even if Seol was grasping onto his will, he wouldn't be able to convince her in what little ti they had left.
- Pick up the hamr.
"Yes…?"
- And smash that stone.
Ur let out a self-deprecating laugh.
He'd already tried this. This would only breed more doubt.
"Then… what would happen?"
- You'll be left here for a brief mont… No, it might get a bit long.
Since Ur and Seol were now one, Seol could read all of Ur's thoughts.
"Why only …"
Ur thought Seol was an irredeemable fool. He could have just lied.
But amid Somi's confusion, she only asked Seol one question back.
"Why… are you telling this? You could have just lied to ."
Ur found that a bit strange, too. He thought Seol would surely lie.
- Wait for .
The mont Seol uttered those words, Ur stiffened.
'This guy…'
Seol was now demanding sacrifice—more ruthlessly and more rcilessly than Ur ever could.
- I'll co back for you.
Ur understood every single word Seol had said.
His words were a lie, yet they weren't.
Saying he would co back wasn't sothing that could be said lightly.
Due to the peculiarities of ti magic, the resources required, and the value of Somi as a person. They all had to be weighed.
Yet Seol promised her.
He didn't consider it a lie. He intended to make it true.
Seol would co back for Somi, who was left in the temporal rift.
'Ah…'
Ur laughed in disbelief.
He realized that Seol's reckless statent was the only correct answer.
Seol was able to say what Ur couldn't.
Comrades trade in trust—a currency Ur had never earned, never spent, and never cared to understand.
He had always thought of being perfect by himself.
However, Seol was different.
Seol understood this currency perfectly.
The currency he had accumulated through effort and sacrifice was burning with a value beyond asure at this mont.
Crackle…
"H-how heavy…"
Han Somi didn't hesitate and grabbed the hamr.
She believed in Seol and his words.
That was why she picked up the hamr.
The only reason she could lift the unbelievably heavy hamr.
Whoosh…
Sirion's beloved weapon.
The hamr that had endured the age of hatred was now in Somi's hands.
Somi's body was engulfed in a mysterious energy.
"AAAHHH…!"
After raising the hamr high, it ca down on the Stone of Ti.
CRASH—!
[The Ash's Avatar state has been deactivated.]
Somi's body froze, her body still mid-swing.
And the Stone of Ti…
Crack…
Crackle…
Countless fissures spread across it before it shattered completely.
[The Stone of Ti has been destroyed.]
[The subordinate, the Calamity Magician, has died from the recoil.]
[You have obtained additional rewards.]
[Ti Rupture has been dispelled through a special thod.]
[You have obtained additional rewards.]
[Return to Origin has been activated.]
…
The hamr shattered the Stone of Ti. And along with it, the values Ur had built over a lifeti started to crumble.
The belief that he was a being born to teach the inferior, that he was perfect by himself, that only the weak needed companionship.
All those beliefs started to crack.
He started to doubt his truth…
- I understand…
BOOM—!
A massive temporal vortex swallowed up the group, leaving only Somi behind.
Seol, Ur, who had been kicked off the Night Crow, and Mariju were swept away by the vortex and disappeared.
Whir…
With this, it was done.
"Ugh… Maradum… where's…"
"Over there! He's collapsed!"
"Check if he's breathing!"
The dwarves of the Throne of Ashes approached the fallen Maradum and checked his condition.
"He's dead."
"Hmm…"
Sirion turned his head.
His beloved hamr, Ash, lay on the ground, having shattered the Stone of Ti.
And beside it was a hunched-over woman.
Sirion approached her.
And he roughly grasped the situation.
She had destroyed the Stone of Ti. And the rest of the outsiders were nowhere to be seen.
Her appearance resembled soone in the group.
Her back was bent, her skin sagged, and her teeth were scarce.
Her eyes were clouded, and her hair was white.
"You…"
"Hehe… Hehehe…" Tears welled up in Somi's eyes. "I… It seems that I've been left behind."
"I see…"
And so, Somi was left alone in the temporal rift. Whether she was left behind or abandoned remained unclear.
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