Return of the Fallen Volume 12 Chapter 11
Kazuki was shocked as he did some quick calculations and came to the realization that the small area of time energy was beyond normal.
(In this small space, the time difference is around a billion seconds. Compared to the one second that passes in the real world, over three decades of time would pass in this small pocket of time energy. This…This is fucking insane.)
Greedy thoughts began to flood Kazuki’s mind. Very quickly though, Kazuki noticed the time energy within his soul world was fading away like before. If he did not focus nearly everything he had on this time magic, it would slip through his fingers and vanish.
He found this very reasonable considering this was basically a cheat. If he could focus on his own soul and all of these energies for well over three decades inside and one second outside, he couldn’t even fathom what he could accomplish.
(Arc what do you think the best approach to this is?)
Kazuki called out whilst still in his soul world and to his surprise, there was no response. He tried again but again there was only silence from Arc. Kazuki left his soul world and became aggravated.
(Arc why are you ignoring me?)
Arc was visibly annoyed at this sudden accusation.
(Brat what nonsense are you talking about now? I’ve done no such thing.)
Kazuki found this to be bizarre but he knew Arc was not lying.
(You weren’t ignoring me. Then…)
Kazuki quickly reentered his soul world and spoke a few harsh words.
(Arc is the biggest asshole known to man!)
He waited for a response but found none. His mind returned to the real world and he half expected some rage but Arc was just confused.
(Kazuki what are you doing?)
This basically confirmed his suspicion but he needed to be sure.
(Arc, could you not hear my thoughts just now?)
(Stop speaking in stupid riddles, I can clearly hear you right now. Are you pulling a stupid human prank or maybe you’ve finally lost it.)
Kazuki was stunned.
(You can no longer hear my thoughts while I am inside my soul world…Fascinating.)
This time it was Arc who was dumbfounded.
(What. This isn’t a joke is it?)
Kazuki shook his head.
(See for yourself.)
Kazuki entered his soul world and again spoke a few insults but again there was no response. When Kazuki came back to the real world he found that Arc and Codex were dumbfounded and were in mid-conversation.
(Arc it must be the fusion he underwent. That is the only thing that seems plausible. For neither you nor I to be able to enter his soul world, it must be the influence of the Artifact fragment. There is something within us that recognized that Kazuki is no longer fully human and that fragment is denying our entry. Maybe if we had more Origin energy we could brute force into his soul world but as it currently stands, Kauzki’s soul world and his mind, it is an impenetrable vault. Only he can grant us permission to enter.)
Kazuki was caught off guard by this.
(None of you can enter my soul world anymore. Does this mean you can no longer hear my inner thoughts.)
Codex seemed to nod.
(The Artifact fragment has great influence. I guess continuing to call it a fragment is pointless seeing as how it is fully a part of you. It is you who are keeping us out. Now, it is only you who can let us in. This is very intriguing. I’m sure there will be many more firsts as you continue to explore your abilities but this has become a nice advantage for you.)
(How so?)
Codex was slightly surprised Kazuki did not know but it was understandable as he had only just now come to realize a part of his newfound power.
(Well, for one thing, your thoughts shall be your own. Meaning we can’t simply interrupt said thoughts so you will have more peace and quiet. Though knowing Arc, you will be bombarded with irrational thought until it becomes an annoyance and you let Arc in, to badger you with petty thought.)
(Just who would badger who? If Kazuki wishes to keep his thoughts to himself, why would I care? Isn’t it you who has the useless degrading thoughts? While I have my own opinions you seem to try and lower his confidence at every turn and belittle his plans.)
(I do no such thing. I simply present reality and nothing more. It’s not my fault if Kazuki doesn’t wish to see reason.)
Kazuki found this conversation drifting into an irritating path and decided to leave this trifle to the squabblers. His mind sank back into his soul world as many ideas began to sprout. For now, he ignored Arc and Codex and concentrated back on the grey time magic. Materializing it was difficult…truly difficult. It took much focus and a great sense to bring it forth. He could not take it out of his soul world nor could he take it too far from his core.
He had many thoughts and ideas. If he could get this energy to his soul tree, he felt like his growth could become unlimited. Moving it though was something impossible. He could form it a bit away from his core but any more than that and it would fade away. If he forcefully tried to move it, it felt as if all of his energy was sapped away. Manipulating time was strenuous and he even felt it on his soul.
Tiny threads of time energy connecting from his core to some unknown place were so far the only way he could interact with it. Moving one thread pulled at another, stretched one more, and bent another. As he did this, time as well was stretched and slowed, and so on.
Kazuki took 99% of his focus and put it into materializing the time energy and with the last percent, he activated the spinning void at the base of his soul tree. His thought was if he could devour this time energy, it could lead to a new development. The spinning void began to churn and swirl and the time energy slowly began to be pulled toward this devouring void but just like before, the moment it moved a little away from his core, it seemed to fade out of existence.
He tried this many times but each time after the first became more and more exhausting and only stacked failures. He learned nothing from this repetitive nature and instead was left drained.
(Expecting a different result from the same repetition is foolish. I need to stop trying this method. Firstly, before anything else, I need to try and learn how to use this power and make it my own. Once I’ve gotten a better grasp of it, I can use it for training. Using this time dilation, my training over the other energies will improve rapidly. Once my understanding of these energies is considerate, I may be able to find a way to escape Chaotic space once and for all.)
Kazuki could not rely on Arc or the others. They had already given in and did not seem to care and why would they? To them, waiting a few trillion years here or there was nothing in the grand scheme of things. Even in Chaotic space so long as they were careful, their existence was immortal. When they finally fall through a tear and out of this place, they still had trust that their Godly master would not perish and Arc’s missing piece would still be out there somewhere.
For them, there was no need to rush. If Kazuki died it would be a burden to them. With Arc’s current power, it could keep Kazuki from harm for a few million years. They all hoped to fall out of Chaotic space and return to one of the three Higher Realms but even if they did not and Kazuki died, it would just mean it would take that a little while longer to accomplish their goals.
This was how things worked for them. They were ready and willing to let things play out. Kazuki on the other hand could not wait to randomly be shit out of this hell hole. He needed to escape as fast as possible and return to Mei and Kosaru and the other’s side. Kazuki was not one for prayer but he held onto hope deep in his heart that they would remain safe and sound.
In the meantime, he focused on time magic. In between that, he learned everything he could about all the other energies. The majority of his attention went into manipulating and understanding time magic and the rest for the other energies.
As he did this, he continued to devour the outside energies of Chaotic space and continued to grow. Though now his growth slowed drastically.
Time flowed and his mind expanded again and again as he trained. Every now and again he would bounce ideas off of Arc and Codex before going back to his training. Like this, more time passed.
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