"I still need to go somewhere else."

"Go wherever you want. I’ll follow you anyway."

She had nowhere else to go.

Her only real option now was to stay with Kanzaki Rei.

Of course, she could wander around aimlessly if she wanted.

But there was a good chance the Kanzaki Rei before her wouldn’t approve. Besides, if she wanted to reach the origin point of this reset timeline, she still needed to remain by his side.

Kanzaki Rei merely nodded.

In the next instant—

he had already appeared above the Secret Sea.

Aehkator followed closely beside him.

BOOM!

Kanzaki Rei casually thrust out a palm.

A purple-black passage instantly tore open before them.

[Phase Traverse]

Originally, Phase Traverse was a Sixth-Tier spell, something Kanzaki Rei himself could not learn.

But that did not stop Izpalt from modifying it into a Fifth-Tier format that Kanzaki Rei could study.

And afterward, through Ascension—

Kanzaki Rei successfully released the spell in its true Sixth-Tier form.

"Another phase technique."

"You really know a ridiculous number of things."

"So this is what mages of the current era are like?"

"It almost feels as though the mages of your age might actually be stronger than the mages of ours."

"Mages of your era?"

"I heard that the very first mages were split off from the Origin itself. Every mage supposedly wielded an Initial Forbidden Magic."

"Have all modern forms of magic truly evolved from the Initial Forbidden Magics?"

That was the legend he had heard before.

And honestly, traces of it could indeed be sensed.

Within every elemental spell, one could more or less perceive the shadow of the [Initial Forbidden Magic — Elements].

Aehkator tilted her head.

"How would I know?"

"I haven’t exactly studied many spells from your era."

While the two spoke—

they passed through the Phase Traverse corridor in an instant.

Arriving in the deep sea.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Phase Traverse gateways that Kanzaki Rei unleashed exploded open one after another.

Within only a few blinks—

they had already reached the Abyssal Sea.

A pitch-black, unfathomably deep abyss.

Yet there was still no sign of Earth.

If Earth truly existed within the Abyssal Sea at this moment, then through Hidden Origin, he should have been able to sense its existence.

"Aehkator."

"Can you push time forward a little more?"

"How far?"

"January of next year. The twenty-eighth."

"Sure."

Aehkator immediately raised her right hand high.

Ripples of time spread outward from her body.

At that instant, Kanzaki Rei sensed the flow of time shifting.

It was not exactly a simple leap through time.

Instead, it resembled frozen time more closely.

It was as though their own personal time had been halted, creating the illusion that the outside world’s time had been skipped ahead.

...Wasn’t that kind of stupid?

Wasn’t this basically just wasting time?

No... there was something different about it.

In this state, one’s personal time truly was paused.

Like cryogenic sleep in science fiction stories—

preserving one’s condition while reaching the future.

Bzzzz—

A strange resonance echoed around them.

Then mist gradually began to spread through the surroundings.

January.

The Month of Oblivion had arrived.

The sensation of forgetting everything slowly rose within his mind.

"It’s appeared."

Around them, more and more planets gradually emerged in scattered clusters.

At the same time—

his perception of Earth finally appeared.

BOOM—

A few more rapid bursts later, Kanzaki Rei continuously unleashed Phase Traverse gates.

Using Phase Traverse to move at terrifying speed—

he arrived directly at Earth.

The streets bustled with people coming and going.

People of different skin colors and different styles of clothing filled the roads.

This—

was the Earth he remembered.

At this point in time, humanity had not yet transformed into monsters.

While observing the scene, his perception instantly swept across the entire planet, covering every human lifeform on Earth.

And within them—

he sensed absolutely nothing abnormal.

"I plan to wait here for a few days."

"Hm? Is something going to happen here?"

Kanzaki Rei replied,

"If everything proceeds normally, every human on this planet will transform into monsters."

"I want to witness how it happens."

"And after you see it?"

"Are you planning to stop it?"

Stopping it...

didn’t really hold much meaning.

From a rational perspective—

he only wanted to witness the event so he could better understand how to restore monsters back into humans once he returned to the original timeline.

His perception lingered on his parents.

Complicated emotions stirred within him.

Kanzaki Rei slowly closed his eyes.

[Future Simulation]

When he opened them again—

he had already seen everything that would occur.

"We can go now..."

"So fast?"

"Didn’t you say you were going to wait here for several days?"

Kanzaki Rei shrugged.

"I lied."

"You lied?"

"You really are a strange person."

In truth, everything Kanzaki Rei had said was directed toward himself.

By speaking this way, he could better determine the direction of his future, allowing Future Simulation to steer events toward the outcome he desired.

Otherwise, who knew where he might wander off to after several days had passed?

At the same time, Kanzaki Rei also wanted to test something.

He wanted to test Aehkator’s reaction to Future Simulation—to see whether she could perceive his simulations.

And now it seemed—

she had not noticed at all that he had already performed two separate simulations.

As for what would happen here...

he had already seen it completely.

Lomo used the Ritual of Flesh-Spirit Mutation to transform the entire population of Earth into monsters.

The cause and process were that simple.

And before Earth—

there had already been many other living planets transported into the Abyssal Sea.

Lomo had conducted the same ritual on those worlds as well.

But on most planets, the lifeforms failed to endure the transformation, causing the ritual to collapse.

During those failed rituals, the creatures exploded directly into pools of blood.

Only a tiny number of worlds managed to survive the process.

Earth was one of them.

The Phase Traverse corridor opened once more.

"We’re really leaving?"

"You’re not planning to do anything?"

Kanzaki Rei replied,

"I am planning to do something."

BOOM!

Space split open again.

Within only a few brief instants—

Kanzaki Rei appeared directly before Lomo!

At that very moment, Lomo was deep within the Abyssal Sea.

The distance between them had originally been unimaginably vast—so vast that Lomo could not sense Kanzaki Rei’s existence at all.

But Kanzaki Rei opened a Phase corridor and crossed it in a single instant!

A direct point-blank intrusion.

Following immediately behind Kanzaki Rei—

came Aehkator.

Lomo was stunned!

Why had a human suddenly appeared right in front of his face?!

Where had he come from?

Why was there absolutely no warning?!

Before Lomo could react at all—

brilliant elemental radiance exploded outward instantly!

Elemental Primogenesis!

Release: Elemental Kaleidoscope!

At the same time, the flow of time slowed by ten thousand times in an instant.

Ninth-Tier elemental magic descended upon Lomo like an apocalyptic storm from all directions!

"So in the end, killing you really is the most satisfying option!"

"Before any of this ever happens!"

Whether time itself could truly be changed or not—

this grudge still had to be settled. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

And the Kanzaki Rei of today—

was no longer the same as the Kanzaki Rei of the past.

...

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