The shadow on the Sacred Time River began as a small spot, but as soon as Daniel’s gaze fell upon it, he noticed that it was expanding at an astonishing speed.
“Wait, this is…”
Before Daniel could react—crack! It was as if something had shattered. No… Daniel wanted to intervene and stop it, but it was already too late.
The shadow had spread over a large area of the Sacred Time River, and then… it broke into fragments, scattering everywhere.
Daniel tried to salvage the Sacred Time River, but all he managed to recover was a single fragment.
“Well, I tried my best. If it can’t be saved, there’s nothing I can do,” he muttered to the fragment in his hand, seemingly forgetting that he himself had caused this state of the Sacred Time River.
Daniel now felt almost certain that whoever erased everything was likely not after his predecessor’s father.
Nor his mother, for that matter. In his memories, his parents had been ordinary mages with no emotional bond; they had married only to fulfill their families’ needs.
Then why would someone go to such lengths, erasing this part of time in the Sacred Time River and setting up traps afterward… Could it be that they were after him?
A glint of murderous intent flashed in Daniel’s eyes.
Whoever it was, he would find and kill them!
After storing away the fragment of the Sacred Time River, Daniel prepared to leave Voidland and return to his world. However, he quickly discovered a problem.
To use the power of “finality,” he had drastically increased his strength. As a result, he could no longer return. In his world, tier-sages were rare but not unheard of.
The last time Daniel had come to Voidland, he had encountered many hidden tier-sages. They avoided public appearances because their very presence created stress on the world.
If they moved freely in the world, even ordinary actions would increase this stress, potentially destabilizing or even destroying it.
This was why tier-sages stayed hidden and disconnected from the outside world.
The world couldn’t endure their presence, nor could it bear the consequences of their actions. In his recent power surge, Daniel had intensified his strength to an extreme, creating a dilemma—he was now too powerful to return.
Even if he merely set foot in the world, it would crack under the pressure.
“What… what am I going to do now?”
…
Outside Mistwood.
Nina sat at the edge of the carriage, staring idly at her surroundings.
This was the fifth day since the headmaster had said he needed to leave temporarily, but he still hadn’t returned.
At first, Nina had been waiting eagerly for Daniel to return and tell her about what had happened, especially after she felt powerful magic waves coming from Mistwood.
But after Daniel had left without a word, she had simply waited for him to share whatever exciting story he had encountered.
But… no one expected the wait to last five days. Nina and Sif were left wondering how much longer they would have to wait.
Thankfully, their storage crystals held enough food to last for ten days or more, but… they couldn’t just stay here forever!
Nina would rather die than spend ten or more days like this.
Over these five days, she had thought about leaving more than once.
But each time, she thought about Sif waiting alone in the carriage, and in the end, she stayed.
After all, if she left, Sif would be bored to death alone, wouldn’t she?
Although every time she asked, Sif insisted it was fine, Nina believed Sif was only comforting her. Sweet Sif, how could she leave her behind?
But if they both left and encountered danger, Nina couldn’t guarantee she could protect Sif. So, it seemed better to wait for Daniel to return. That stubborn headmaster, keeping them waiting for five whole days!
“Headmaster, please come back… I’ve been waiting for five days and thirteen hours now…” Nina muttered as she lay on the carriage, bored out of her mind. Sif, having witnessed this scene countless times in the past few days, merely smiled without saying anything. She, too, could do nothing but wait.
Outside the World.
Daniel was at his wit’s end. Over the past few days, he had tried countless ways to return, but nothing worked.
Even after depleting all his mana, each attempt to step into the world resulted in immediate destabilization.
The world would begin to collapse, forcing him to retreat. Then, the world would start to repair itself.
“This isn’t working; I can’t go back at all!” He remembered that he had left Nina and Sif waiting for him outside Mistwood. It had already been several days; if they didn’t see him soon, what if they left the magic array to search for him? Mistwood was full of dangers. Though Nina could escape with spatial magic, Sif had no such power.
And then there was his daughter… if she discovered he had vanished, how heartbroken Rose would be!
Anxious to return, Daniel’s strength was simply too great. Even without magic, his physical power alone was enough to destabilize the world.
He needed a better solution. Searching his mind, he thought of various ways to solve this problem.
Then, an idea struck him. Since his immense power was the issue, why not become one with the world itself?
He reasoned that because he was an “external” entity, the world’s immune system rejected him, much like the human body rejects foreign organs. In such cases, measures are taken to trick the immune system into accepting the transplant.
Daniel wanted to achieve a similar effect—to become the world’s strongest “organ.” Metaphorically, of course, but that was the general idea.
He decided to try. Taking out the forge he had received from Dragonscale Bank, he used a magic array crystal to refine it into its final form: a colorless, transparent forge.
According to Dragonscale Bank, the final drops from this forge might contain essence-level power.
It was precisely what he needed! One forge alone wouldn’t be enough, so Daniel created thousands. Working quickly, he refined countless droplets and collected them.
Using his mind power, he shaped the droplets into a ring, which he named the Ring of Origin.
“Let’s hope this works,” Daniel murmured, slipping on the Ring of Origin.
He then attempted to enter the world again.
This time, as his hand passed through the world’s barrier, there were no disturbances, and his hand slipped inside.
Of course, this was only his hand—the one wearing the Ring of Origin.
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Now the real test: could the rest of him enter as well?
With cautious optimism, Daniel attempted again.
This time, his entire body entered the world.
Sighing in relief, Daniel hurried toward Mistwood.