Jack had a terrible expression on his face.
Confronted like this, even he could not keep smiling.
“Look, I’m not from this timeline. I’ll have to leave one day, so—”
“Yes or no.”
He gritted his teeth, and his jaw tightened visibly.
Seeing his struggling expression made Emma’s heart flutter strangely.
She felt something weird awakening inside her, but she suppressed it. This wasn’t the time or place for it.
“You are my ancestor,” Jack finally admitted the truth he had been hiding for decades. “The closeness you felt when you saw me was because of our bloodline resonance.
“You asked why I could use multiple phylacteries like you, right? It’s because it’s the ability I inherited from—”
“Yes or no.”
Her voice cut through his confusion like a blade.
Emma wasn’t stupid enough not to understand Jack had her bloodline after seeing how similar his abilities were to hers.
The emotions she felt at first might have been due to bloodline resonance, but everything after was not.
She stared into his eyes, seeing the turmoil within, and she decided to push ahead.
“You know, Jack…” she whispered. “There are mostly two types of Darkness users. The first ones are like me, who have their emotions suppressed.
“The others are like you. They have chaotic emotions, and they give in to their desires easily. It’s the second type who are common, and they are the reason why Darkness users are seen as evil.”
Jack struggled to break free from the chains of Darkness.
His expression faltered when he heard Emma’s voice, which sounded like the temptation of a devil.
‘Is she using some kind of spell?’ he thought, his mind muddled by an unseen force.
“What are you….. doing?” he asked as his breathings started to turn heavy.
“Don’t worry. It’s a spell that lowers others’ guards and makes them more honest,” she replied.
She continued, stepping closer.
“As I was saying, it’s common for Darkness users like you to lose control of your emotions,” she said. “The world is already ending. No one will blame you if you let go of your duties now and indulge in your fantasies.”
Her voice was alluring, like honey dripping with venom.
The same Emma who had been angry at Apollo for skipping his duties was now telling Jack to do the same.
However, she couldn’t be blamed for it.
Forty years!
She had been trying to court Jack for forty years!
The damned bastard had not given her a straight answer even once.
He neither agreed nor denied her.
It was clear he liked her but couldn’t say yes.
Continue your journey with empire
That’s why Emma, knowing today might be the last day of the world, decided to become a hypocrite and force an answer out of Jack.
“W-wait, Emma. This isn’t the time for these things….” He spoke in between ragged breaths, his eyes darting nervously.
Whatever spell Emma was using made it hard for him to think straight.
Her beautiful eyes and red lips were starting to look enticing.
He gulped.
“Jack, isn’t it weird? My family name is Cater, but yours is Hanma even though you are my descendant.”
“Y-yeah.”
Jack nodded with a muddled gaze.
“But if we get together, my family name would become Hanma too. Doesn’t that answer the problem?”
“It does?” he answered, confused.
“It does,” she nodded, as a soft smirk tugged at her lips.
Jack held her shoulders, using her as support, and opened his mouth.
“You sound right,” he spoke slowly. “Maybe it should be okay—”
Knowing what Jack would say, Emma didn’t wait any longer.
She pulled him down by his tie and locked lips with him.
….
B-6, Basement, Awakener Association Headquarters (New), Turkey
Neo felt a chill crawl up his spine.
He looked around with furrowed brows.
“What’s wrong?” Gaia asked.
“Nothing. I just felt disgusted. for a second”
“…?”
While the two were talking, the metallic door hissed open, and Kronos entered. H
e moved with a deliberate slowness.
Exhaustion was clear on his face.
Without a word, he sat next to Neo and massaged his brows.
The tension was visible in the lines of his face.
“Since you’re here, I guess the Titans were successful in closing the portals in the Bermuda Triangle?” Gaia asked, her tone clipped and professional.
Before Neo knew, she was wearing a formal attire.
“Yes. We were successful. Only barely though,” Kronos replied, his voice heavy with fatigue.
“How are the preparations for the World-Time Spell?” she questioned.
“I’ve run the final check. It should work as intended.”
The World-Time Spell had to be upgraded twenty years ago due to foundational complications.
Other than the two giant magic circles on the North and South Poles, a new magic circle had been drawn in the space of a line running over the equator.
If today they failed to save the world, they would activate the World-Time Project and send all the top-ranked awakeners into the past.
It was a desperate and risky project that could earn them the wrath of Time and Fate.
But they had no other choice.
“Only 18 hours are left,” Neo muttered.
He stood up and left the room.
“I’ll meditate a bit. You two should get your battle gears ready too. We might have to join battles suddenly.”
Currently, they had no idea how the world would be destroyed.
Neo knew the Angel of the Outers would attack.
But from where would it strike?
Nothing had entered the solar system yet. It didn’t seem like they would come from space.
Spatial Gates? There was no wormhole about to be formed on Earth.
No matter how much they searched, they couldn’t find an answer.
“Dammit.” Neo clicked his tongue and entered the first basement floor.
He stepped into the third door to the stairs.
His surroundings changed instantly, replaced by an ethereal realm filled with clouds that glowed faintly in the dim light.
A soft, dreamlike haze enveloped the area.
Countless people were sleeping inside those clouds.
Their expressions were peaceful yet hauntingly still.
They were dreaming.
“I guess you’re still alive,” Neo said with a smirk as he stood beside the sleeping Kane. “And here you were thinking you would die soon.”
Anomaly #79 had been a headache.
It still was.
For the first nine months, it kept appearing daily, and every time it did, its strength and numbers increased sharply.
From the tenth month to the twelfth month, it appeared once a week, and its numbers and strength increased tremendously each time.
After the twelfth month, it appeared once a month.
After the fifth year, it appeared once a year.
After the twentieth year, it appeared once a decade.
Each time it came back, it’s strength and numbers had a significant increase.
According to Gaia’s analysis, the delay in appearance was due to the “preparation time” the Anomaly #79 needed.
It couldn’t gather minions endlessly and make them stronger without limits.
“Isn’t it surprising, Kane?” Neo muttered. “Back when we first encountered Anomaly #79, everyone feared it. But now? No one even bats an eye.”
He paced slowly around the sleeping figure.
His steps made no sound on the ethereal floor.
“These days, the Association provides complete protection against Anomaly #79. It’s become one of the easiest anomalies to deal with. They’re even considering removing its name from the official list of anomalies.”