Descending Into A Novel-Chapter 84:Rayleigh Von Mez (14)

By the time Rayleigh returned to the battlefield, it was already over.

The sun had only begun to set a while ago, causing the sky to darken slightly with tingies of orange. Something which wasn’t an issue for Rayleigh.

The human army had won, marching over the corpses of fallen elves and humans alike as they continued their conquest.

They hadn’t even bothered to bury any bodies here. Letting the blood soak into the dirt, and the flesh and bones rot.

At least that meant he was alone. There was no one here now that could bother him.

He walked across the battlefield. His boots crunching and slashing through the mud made with blood. Occasionally, he would step on a corpse which had been buried into the mud or under other corpses.

He tried his best not to look at any of the faces. His memory let him remember too much.

But it was hard, every once in a while. Without meaning to—he would make eye contact with one. Their open eyes gazing at him as he trudged through.

A few faces even seemed familiar, he spotted several fallen elven soldiers who eerily resembled Sophia. Several bloodied corpses of humans that looked too young.

He could spot a few squires and knights as well. Their armour was shinier, flashier and more elegant compared to the regular one provided to the soldiers. A few still remained seated on their mounts, both slumped over slightly. Their blades still locked in combat with dead opponents.

As he got further and further, the corpses under his feet slowly changed from primarily human to primarily elves. Their fair skin tainted by the mud and blood.

But he kept walking, walking and walking towards his own nightmare. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Finally, he reached his location. A massive crater in the middle of the battlefield. So large it stood out even among the other craters. Countless tree branches and roots the size of buildings warped out of the ground, leaves littering the entire crater.

And a lone body lying in the middle.

He struggled to descend, slipping slightly due to the nearly straight walls. By the time he did, his clothes were now completely covered. Adding on to the previous mess.

Quietly, he approached the centre of the crater. A corpse split in half at the waist lay there, a pool of blood around it. Her long pristine hair dyed red.

On her forearm, written in blood.

’I Love You, Thank you, Rayleigh.’

Rayleigh got down on his knees, gasping for air. His hands clutching his head—to the point he nearly ripped his hair off.

He broke down, wailing loudly, tears streaming down his face as he clutched his trembling hands. Shoulders heaving as he continued looking.

He couldn’t breathe, he struggled just to inhale. As if he was trapped under water—every movement felt difficult. Body shaking uncontrollably.

He wiped his hands on his clothes, closing her eyes—once a brilliant blue that resembled sapphires. Now dull as he held her body in his arms. The only warmth coming from his tears.

Her face was still as beautiful as ever, despite the blood and dirt covering her. Rayleigh still thought she was the most perfect woman be had ever met in his life. His heart ached for her, wishing she would open her eyes, and tell him it she was perfectly fine. Everything was just a bad dream.

Inside of him, a fire quietly burned. It had been put out, extinguished and had grown dim over centuries. But it had always remained burning.

"Kill...I’ll kill him..."

He...wanted to kill his father. The desire had always been there. But he never had the ability to do so.

Even now, he still trembled at the thought of fighting his father. If he tried it, he would die. Not doubt about it. He might injure him at best. But killing him was out of the question.

That was fine. He could wait.

His fathers death wasn’t important anyways. Even if he died, his father wouldn’t care. As long as he had accomplished his goal of conquering the continent. He wouldn’t care about what happened next. His only regret would be not conquering the entire world.

That was where Rayleigh needed to strike.

The war between the Virex Empire and the coalition of races had been raging on for barely two years now. At this rate, the Empire would conquer the continent within another two years. His father would accomplish his goals and Rayleigh could do nothing except reach the fifteenth level and then kill him—which was worthless.

His breathing gradually stabilized. His rationality taking over again.

It was difficult, but Rayleigh had never stopped looking for ways to turn back the clock. Small successes here and there showing him that it was indeed possible.

Yet he never committed fully. He was scared of altering the past too much, what if he erased himself from existence?

The main difficulty was the Punishment. But right now, Rayleigh didn’t care whether the Punishment killed him or not. He just needed to stop his father.

He closed Sophia’s eyes, his hand tightly gripped around his wand.

Splitting his mind into two halves, he utilized his time-attuned mana with one and his dimension-attuned mana with the other.

Countless gold and purple spell circles appeared around him. Dozens, hundreds, then thousands. All accumulating together as he prepared himself.

Each spell circle had a different purpose, making sure the timeline stayed stable enough for him to travel back was the most important. But he also had to make sure he himself could survive the trip.

Even as he casted spell circle after spell circle, he continuously replenished his mana by absorbing it at the same time. Causing a burning feeling throughout his body. Forcefully speeding up the process of conversion like this was causing an intense strain on his body.

Luckily, he could still handle it for several hours at least. With how high his level was and his constitution as the perfect human, something like this was difficult but not impossible.

He activated several of his skills at the same time.

’Force Replenish, Desperate Last Stand, Indomitable Human Spirit, Cloak of Time, Dimensional Armour.’

A purple glowing, mystical suit of armour manifested on his body. Followed by a golden, slightly translucent cloak. The mana around him surging as all his stats nearly doubled.

Shatter

The wand in his hand shattered, unable to bear the intense strain. That was fine, he didn’t need it.

Gritting his teeth, he continued casting his spell circles. Thousands upon thousands, layering on top of each other. Spreading throughout the entire dimension.

A blazing golden meteor soared through the sky. Leaving behind a line in the now midnight sky. Heading straight towards Rayleigh.

Despite him concentrating fully on his current spell. He grinned, he already knew his father would have definitely detected him. He wouldn’t know what he was doing exactly but he could definitely tell it wasn’t good for him.

And he couldn’t allow something too unexpected to happen. Not when he was so close to winning the war. For such a goal, even killing his own son was nothing.

But it didn’t matter. He was already finished anyways.

He opened his eyes, seeing the shooting star fly towards him. An expression of victory on his face.

"Too late father."

Even as the beam of mana approached him, threatening to eviscerate his body. Rayleigh held no fear.

Activating the thousands and thousands of spell circles, throughout the dimension—across the sky, land, sea and underground.

Everyone, everywhere, all at once. Millions and millions of individuals stopped in their tracks. Hearts beating fast as they reacted to Rayleigh’s magic.

In the south of the continent, countless dwarves paused. Hammers stopped mid-swing, fires left unnatended. As they gazed at the lights that seemed to be everywhere.

In the north, amidst intense blizzards and snowfall. Thousands and thousands of vampires shrieked at the lights. Beastkin howling and roaring at the phenomenon.

In the east, elves—bloodied and battered. With all hope lost stared at the lights. Replacing the night stars, so bright many had to squint or cover their eyes.

In the west, markets went silent. The hustle and bustle gone as the humans stared at the never before seen lights. Birds stopped flying, dogs stopped barking and horses went silent.

In the oceans surrounding the continent, the merfolk gazed curiously at the lights. With how deep they were, it was impossible for something so bright. Their fish-like body swaying carefully as they analyzed the lights.

3.2.1

The silence barely lasted a few seconds.

Tick. Tock.

Somewhere, somehow. An invisible clock ticked. A sound heard by every living individual. Its hands moving backwards. Alligning onto the midnight time.

Everyone, everywhere cried out in pain.

The world, the sun and the moon collapsing in on themselves as time stopped moving forward. Paused in its tracks. All by one individual.

The very fabric of reality folding in on itself, the very present being erased from existence as everything returned to the past. History being unwritten, the annals of the world disappearing.

A bright light flooded everywhere, filling the world with nothingness. Leaving only one individual, garbed in purple armour and an amber cloak. His white hair fluttering wildly.

Rayleigh felt his body get thrown backwards at a speed he couldn’t even comprehend. Faster then sound, faster then light. Faster then everything.

Visions slipped through him so fast they resembled smeared paintings, visions he recognized—however blurry they were. Each an event that occurred in the time which was now gone.

Just as fast as nothingness appeared. Something appeared.

Unfolding from a single point, reality, existence spread throughout the dimension. The world of Erde unfurling, the sun and moon following suit. Expanding from an infinitely small point to their original sizes.

Tick. Tock

The same clock ticked once more. It’s hands moving from the midnight hour as time resumed. Free from Rayleigh’s temporary shackles.

The dimension itself roared as everyone and everything returned to its place. Exactly as it was two years ago.

The only trace of the existence of the time being in the memory of one man.

Outside of time, space and reality. A lone figure watched the white-haired man. Its expression completely undecipherable. Merely raising a limb as it decided on his Punishment.

With a final roar from the dimension. Rayleigh’s body was flung again. His existence being ejected as it returned to Erde.

His purple translucent armour dimmed before fading away. His amber cloak following as well. Leaving him dressed only in his bloody, muddy clothes.

Staring at the morning sky, he turned his head left and right.

Nothing.

There was no army, no corpses, no blood, no fallen weapons or armour, no craters. Just plains as far as he could see. Completely untouched.

He had done it.