CHAPTER 58: THE END OF DESERT ARC.

"Yuki..." Rhys murmured.

"Yes. Her. And also you..." Elder Solon stopped.

"Me?" A mocking arc formed on Rhys’s lips. "Don’t tell me it was because of my talent in formations, oh great master of mine."

The Elder’s voice in his mind softened. It was full of a sad, gentle feeling, like a father saying goodbye.

’The audacity to sound pitiful.’

"I had planned to use you, child of the outside. You were a tool, a key to free me and my people from their endless cycle," Elder Solon shook his head.

"Even still, I never regret that plan of mine. It was foolproof, except for a few anomalies which happened to be at the wrong time."

His eyes wandered towards Yuki again.

Rhys frowned, peeking at Yuki. Why wasn’t she attacking when he could clearly see the hateful look she was giving the Elder, a look which screamed murder?

’Is she also trapped like me?’

"Then how did I become one of your reasons to abandon your master plan? No, wait, it seems the plan has not failed yet, as I can see I am still in danger. After all, how much longer can you trap it?"

Rhys motioned at the tyrant.

"You could have clearly succeeded if not for this current intervention of yours. Why did you do that? Don’t tell me it’s because of Yuki.

I am sure since Yuki has learned your evil plan, she will come back and kill you. So what is it... the real reason for you to change your plan?"

Elder Solon lowered his head, his hands raising as he clicked his fingers.

[This... he’s using the time element. Not only his Trait, but he has also bonded with the time element!]

’Is that special?’

Sure, Time was one of the conceptual elements and pretty rare, but how does it matter now?

"Do you know what I see in time?" Elder Solon locked his eyes with Rhys.

"Ease.. The ease of knowing I can live as long as my soul is alive. But here, this ease turned to despair.

Watching those who were dear to me dying and turning into wandering ghosts without a way to be at peace, I found time is nothing but despair.

But you proved me wrong.

You taught me what time really is.

It’s not ease, nor despair. Rather, it’s fear.

The fear of the known, and the fear of the unknown. And the only way to escape it was the void.

So, boy, the reason I changed my mind is this.

The true meaning of time... Fear.

I fear even if I escaped from here, I would reach a place more horrible than this. I will be trapped there just like I am trapped here.

And that fear gave me a salvation.

Void."

Elder Solon finished, turning around. His empty gaze was not on Rhys. It was on Yuki. His lipless mouth moved, forming a single word Rhys perfectly heard.

"Yuki..." Yuki moved her hand; a dark object rushed from her and entered the Elder’s body.

[System analysing...]

Rhys ignored the system as the Malevolent Spirit shrieked loudly. The crimson spear slammed into the Elder like a storm of red sand, pouring into his shrivelled body like a river of pure malice.

The frail body began to convulse violently, glowing with a terrible, crimson light.

’The evil spirit entered his body... what’s going on?’

An overwhelming coldness spread through the surroundings. It was so cold that the air itself seemed to freeze into tiny, glittering crystals.

Rhys looked towards Yuki in surprise.

She could move? And she could attack!

A single, beautiful shard of black ice, as dark as the void, appeared in her hand. With a movement too fast for the eye to see, it shot forward. It pierced the heart of the Elder.

Boom.

A loud bang sounded. The ground beneath Rhys exploded. His formation activated on its own as a powerful force pulled him backwards with incredible speed.

He flew through the air, away from the immediate danger. He landed hard on the sand, hundreds of metres away. He looked up just in time to see the Titan Golem arrive.

It did not seem to notice the small figures on the ground as its movement never wavered. Rhys watched in silence as its big, stone foot came down upon the Elder, who was frozen by Yuki’s ice, his body now a prison for the evil spirit.

’Boom.’

The body of Elder Solon, and the evil spirit trapped inside it, were crushed into a fine, grey dust. The moment his Master was stomped, something rushed towards Rhys.

[Eggy, eat that!]

But Rhys was no longer hearing the System. In his eyes, everything started to shatter. The world broke apart like a giant mirror. The desert was disappearing, along with everyone else.

The Titan Golem faded into nothing. Yuki’s form, standing tall amidst the chaos, became transparent and then started to vanish.

His consciousness felt like it was moving backwards at an incredible speed. He flew through the broken pieces of the Labyrinth.

He saw the familiar faces of the Wanderers.

He saw Bael, Zara, and the others. They all had calm and peaceful expressions on their faces. They had found their salvation.

His gaze landed on Lena. She was standing where the workshop used to be, surrounded by her scrolls. Her eyes were crescent in a beautiful smile.

Her mouth moved, and even through the chaos, he could read her final, silent words.

’Thank you... Rhys.’

His consciousness faded as his body fell onto a hard floor. Without him knowing, his body started to glow as an egg floated out of it.

[Burning 10 billion years of lifespan to help Eggy absorb the empty Titan core...]

The thing that rushed from Elder Solon was a Titan core.

[Empty Core: Sand Striker]

[Rank: Titan]

[About: This Titan-grade core embodies the dormant power of a legendary Sand Striker.]

The dark core was pulled towards Eggy. The two objects touched. The blue egg pulsed with a brilliant light as it began to absorb the energy of the core.

It was a violent process as the core resisted hard, but it eventually started to yield. Cracks started to form on the eggshell.

The cracks spread quickly, like a spiderweb. Finally, the egg shattered, and from inside, a small amount of thick and dark viscous liquid fell upon Rhys.

The liquid convulsed and climbed onto Rhys’s face, where a small pair of pupils that mirrored Rhys’s own opened in it.

For a moment, it shapeshifted into a tiny, shadowy leviathan, then it turned to look like a small silver fox. It shifted through a dozen different forms.

Finally, the liquid stopped moving. It coalesced into the form of a small child. The child had pale white skin and long, silver-white hair. It opened its eyes.

They were pitch-black, just like Rhys’s. Then, its eyes landed on the unconscious face of Rhys. It patted his face, trying to wake him up.

Then, in a clear, female child-like voice, it spoke its first word.

"Papa?"

Detached from everything happening outside, Rhys looked at the set of notifications that had appeared in his mind.

[Host has fallen into a deep slumber to integrate a new bloodline...]

[Bloodline: Ashen Sovereign.]

[Bloodline Ability 1: Ashen Marionettes. By burning lifespan, the Host can resurrect the echoes of slain creatures from their remains (ash, bone, dust, etc.) to serve him as loyal puppets. Once summoned, they can be revived as long as the Host has lifespan.]

[Bloodline Ability 2: Voidheart Flame. Host has acquired Eggy’s innate talent. A black and silver flame that burns both physical and spiritual matter. It is fuelled by lifespan.]