Chương 106: The Endless Loop

Xia conjured purple flames in her hands and hurled them at Lancelot. The explosion that followed was devastating. The shockwave made even the air tremble. Lancelot sighed, then slowly drew his blade.

"I'm afraid there's no other choice". Xia lowered her gaze to her wrist. The blue bracelet was gone. Her heart raced, but her mind remained perfectly clear.

"He's rewound time. I'm certain of it. The bracelet is gone, and I prepared this test before we even arrived in Nevorak. I suspected his sword might not only be able to stop time, but also rewind it. Now I have confirmation". She paused for a brief moment.

"The real question is another…why does he keep rewinding time instead of stopping it?" Her thoughts raced at an astonishing speed.

"Maybe rewinding time by a few minutes requires far less energy than stopping time completely…" Then her gaze fell upon her wrist. The number 1 was engraved on it. For a moment, she remained motionless.

"Of course…I'd left myself a mark immune to temporal changes so I could keep track of how many times time had been rewound". With a quick spell, she turned the 1 into a 2. Lancelot watched her in silence. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"That mage is dangerous", he thought.

"She's already killed me twice…if I hadn't rewound time, I'd be dead by now. The others can wait. I have to eliminate her first". Xia glanced at Leah.

"Give me your blue bracelet".

"Why?" Leah asked, confused.

"Please. Just do it". Leah slipped it off and handed it to her. Without wasting a second, Xia put it on, then conjured new spheres of purple energy and hurled them at Lancelot. Lancelot sighed. He slowly drew his sword.

"I'm afraid there's no other choice". Xia immediately looked at her wrist. The bracelet had disappeared. She then lowered her gaze to her arm. The number 2 was still there. Her pupils widened.

"Two…" The confirmation was absolute.

"The mark immune to temporal changes…we've already gone back twice". She took a slow breath.

"He keeps rewinding time instead of stopping it. It seems rewinding time consumes less energy than stopping it…otherwise, he would've already done so". Her expression grew serious.

"But at this rate, we'll end up trapped in an endless loop". She closed her eyes for a brief moment. Her mind ran through dozens of different strategies. None of them would work. As long as Lancelot could rewind time, every attempt would simply be erased. Perhaps there was a limit to his power. But she couldn't afford to base everything on a mere assumption. Retreating wasn't a solution either. She didn't know if she would ever have another chance to obtain that sword. Right now, Lancelot stood before her.

She had to succeed. At last, she reached a single conclusion.

"There is one way to win…" She lowered her gaze to her hands.

"…but if I use it, I'll consume almost all of my magical energy. I could be left without powers for months". She looked at her companions. Ethan. Leah. Felicity. Agnes.

"Can I afford it?" After a few moments, she raised her head again. There wasn't a trace of hesitation left in her eyes.

"I've already waited too long. This timeline is useless now. I can't allow this loop to repeat a third time". She fixed her gaze on Lancelot.

"I'll create a new one". Her hands began to glow.

"A timeline immune to the power of his Legendary Sword". The sky itself seemed to tremble.

"This is the most powerful spell that exists in this world. Almost no one can cast it without dying…I can". She took a deep breath.

"But the price will be enormous". She brought her hands together in prayer. Then, with her left hand, she slowly traced a symbol through the air. A gigantic purple gate opened before the group. Space itself began to distort. Reality itself seemed to bend. The entire universe trembled. Something ancient, incomprehensible and cosmic was about to manifest.