NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 288: Time Crystal
Eden's melodious voice echoed through the concert hall. On the stage, bathed in the spotlight, she was a radiant star, captivating the audience of thousands. The crowd swayed rhythmically, waving their glow sticks, lost in the soothing music.
"Mmm…" In the dimly lit audience, a girl leaning against Himeko let out a soft whimper.
"Waking up?" Himeko asked gently. Kiana slowly opened her eyes, her mind still hazy.
Looking at the blurry figures around her, Kiana felt a sense of disorientation, as if a lifetime had passed. But the memories quickly returned; she was at Eden's concert with Himeko.
Had she fallen asleep?
"Himeko-sensei, I'm sorry, I dozed off."
She smiled apologetically, rubbing her sleepy eyes, but her fingers brushed against warm, wet streaks.
As the song ended, the spotlight shifted, sweeping across the audience. The bright light caught the glisten of tears on her cheeks.
"Are you just tired… Kiana, why are you crying?"
Kiana froze, hearing Himeko's concerned voice.
"Crying?" She touched her face, her fingers coming away wet.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, soaking her sleeves. She hadn't even realized she was crying.
Why? Confusion clouded her eyes.
She should be happy. She had found Himeko; everything was alright. She should be smiling.
She tried to force a smile.
But she couldn't.
Why?
Her eyes were empty, devoid of light, as if even the music couldn't reach her.
"Don't force it." Himeko pulled Kiana into a comforting embrace, gently stroking her hair. "It was just a bad dream. It'll be alright."
"Just a dream…?"
But why did her chest ache so much, the pain constricting her breath?
It felt like a piece of her was missing, like being left behind at a train station, lost and alone.
Like… losing something precious, something irreplaceable.
But what?
She couldn't remember. She only recalled a promise, a promise she had made, a promise she had to keep.
"Ren…"
As the concert neared its end, Wendy's voice finally filled the hall. The girl in the wheelchair, under the gaze of thousands, sang her heart out.
Wendy's dream had come true.
She shone like a bright star, radiant and full of life.
But in a shadowed corner, hidden from the spotlight's reach, Kiana remained shrouded in darkness.
Above the concert hall's dome, barely fifty meters above the audience, Ren floated in mid-air, his eyes closed.
Invisible currents surged within him, the energy of Taixu Sword Qi swirling like a storm, tearing at his consciousness.
The surface of his mind's lake rippled, disturbed. But as a leaf fell, settling in the center, the ripples subsided, the water becoming still and smooth as glass.
The mental vulnerability that had prevented him from mastering Taixu Sword God had quietly healed.
…
The purpose of the illusion had been to experience the memories of 300,000 souls, using their collective consciousness to erase the vulnerability Kiana represented.
Once the plan was complete, the moment the illusion shattered, all his memories of Kiana would vanish, freeing him from the grip of his emotions.
But as the girl bid him farewell, as Kiana faded from his arms, dissolving into nothingness, Ren finally understood.
Perhaps the vulnerability that had plagued him wasn't Kiana but himself.
As the Herrscher of a Thousand, he carried the weight of their sorrows, their despair, destined to die alone.
He didn't want to die, so he had resorted to manipulation, to disguise.
But in his interactions with Kiana, he had been drawn to her light, like a moth to a flame, yearning for warmth yet fearing the burn.
He had deceived himself, justifying his actions, attributing everything to the plan.
But in those twenty days within the illusion, his weary soul had finally found respite.
He had walked through a strange city, a world unlike his own.
He hadn't had to bear the weight of others' despair, hadn't had to calculate his every move. He had lived like an ordinary person, like an ordinary boy, experiencing the simple warmth of companionship.
The conflict between logic and emotion had confused him, the rift between reality and the Theater had tormented him.
It was as if a blazing fire had forged his soul, purifying his heart.
And finally, in the illusion's dying moments, all his suppressed emotions had erupted.
Like a withered puppet discarded in a dark cave, a single ray of sunlight, filtering through a crack in the wall, had sparked the first green sprout of life within him.
The moment the illusion shattered, he had awakened from the dream.
"The way to overcome a vulnerability isn't to forget but to accept."
Looking at the fading fragments of the illusion, trying to take his memories with them, golden threads of Domination spread outwards.
In the vast expanse of imaginary space, amidst the crimson desert, monstrous figures roared, and the gray-haired Herrscher smiled.
He looked towards the Imaginary Tree, its distant form a beacon in the void.
He stood where he had first begun, his journey towards the Tree resetting, returning to its starting point.
No one would know that a proud fool had once broken a crystal branch from the Tree in the hands of a god.
…
The music faded, and the concert ended amidst thunderous applause.
Standing in the cool night air, Ren opened his eyes, the inverted image of the golden Tree slowly dissipating from his vision.
His Herrscher markings faded, and the memories of the illusion flowed through his mind.
He opened his hand, and a small, blue crystal floated above his palm.
The cost?
It no longer mattered.
As the crystal pulsed, the surrounding space distorted, becoming unstable. Ren gazed at it, his eyes softening.
After all, what he had gained was far more precious than anything he had lost.
A Time Crystal.
A fragment of time, perfectly preserved, containing complete memories, a complete existence, and complete emotions.
Everything she had forgotten, everything she cherished, Ren would keep safe for her.
He named this Time Crystal—Timeless Stream.
It held not only Kiana's memories from the illusion but also everything Ren had gained from the Herrscher of Reason core, along with a fragment of the Imaginary Tree's power.
However, Kiana wasn't yet ready for its power.
"When the time is right, I'll tell you everything."
"Just give me a little more time."
The crystal vanished into Ren's mind, embedded deep within his Hive Mind.
The chaotic aura of the Herrscher of a Thousand began to emanate from him.
In the dispersing crowd, the Ink-Dyed Fragrance trembled almost imperceptibly. Li Sushang turned, her gaze drawn towards Ren.