RE: LORD OF TIME

’By the way, I have always been curious. Was it Liam who brought you to me? And if so, how did he get his hands on you?’

William had always been curious about how he obtained the God of Time’s inheritance because, as far as he remembered, he had never come into contact with anything related to the God of Time in the original timeline.

So how did this inheritance end up in his hands at the moment of his death?

Because of the strange question Liam had asked him right before he died, William had always felt that it was because of Liam that he had obtained this inheritance.

Previously, the spirit of the pearl had never spoken to him, only transmitting pieces of important information directly into his mind.

But now that it was speaking, he could finally get the answer to this question from it.

’It was indeed your friend Liam who gave you the God of Time’s inheritance...’ The spirit answered without hiding anything.

’After Master’s demise, I fell into the Void. After drifting into the Void for countless years, I finally reached a node that was connected to an Astral Rift. Using a great deal of energy, I broke free from the Void and entered that Astral Rift. Your friend Liam happened to be inside that rift at that moment and accidentally came into possession of me.’

The spirit paused for a second before continuing.

’But because of the restrictions Master left behind, only his chosen heir could use me and trigger the trial he had prepared. Your friend Liam wasn’t suitable for the legacy and couldn’t trigger the trial. However, when he came close to you, the mark Master had left behind immediately reacted. Liam didn’t give me to you right away and tried to use me himself for a year or two, but he never succeeded. In the end, when both of you were lying on your deathbeds, he finally decided to give me to you in the hope of a miracle.’

William remained silent after hearing the spirit’s words, his expression becoming complicated.

He wasn’t angry or disappointed that Liam hadn’t given him the pearl immediately after discovering that William might be able to use it.

After all, if he had been in Liam’s shoes, even if he couldn’t use it himself, he also wouldn’t have given up a god-grade artifact so easily.

The fact that Liam had decided to give it to him in the end was already something that most people wouldn’t have been able to do.

The reason William felt conflicted was because after hearing the spirit’s explanation, the memories of the day when he and Liam were dying on the battlefield suddenly became much clearer in his mind.

The words Liam had spoken to him right before his death and his tragic smile both came rushing back into his mind like a flood.

William took a few deep breaths to calm himself before asking while leaning back.

’Was there a special reason Liam couldn’t trigger the inheritance, but I could?’

’I don’t know...’ The spirit replied honestly. ’I don’t know what kind of restrictions Master left behind or what qualifications were required to inherit his legacy. The trial he left behind simply reacted when I was close to you. As soon as Liam placed me near you, the power Master had left behind activated and brought you back to the past.’

"Hmmm..." William fell into deep thought after hearing the spirit’s answer and couldn’t help but think about the divinity flowing through his blood.

’Is it possible that the reason the trial left behind by the God of Time reacted was because of the divinity in my blood?’

It wasn’t the first time William had considered this possibility. He had thought about it before, but at that time he didn’t even know how he had obtained the inheritance in the first place.

But now that he knew Liam had failed to trigger the inheritance and had ultimately passed it to him, his earlier guess became even stronger.

Because other than the divinity in his blood, he couldn’t think of anything else that made him different from Liam.

’Well, the reason why I was able to trigger the trial doesn’t matter anymore...’ William turned his head to look outside the carriage window once again, and the confusion in his eyes gradually disappeared.

’My current goal is simply to do everything I can to increase my strength and change the tragedies that occurred in the original timeline. As long as I can keep my family and friends safe, then my return to the past will have been worthwhile.’

William didn’t ask the spirit of the pearl anything else, as most of his doubts had already been cleared.

The carriage continued to glide forward without stopping, and despite the uneven road, the journey remained very comfortable because of the shock-absorbing formation engraved into the carriage.

As they traveled farther away from the barony, the air gradually became heavier, and from time to time they could hear the roars and howls of monsters echoing through the wilderness.

Neither William nor Abel reacted to those sounds.

However, the other two children traveling with them couldn’t help but shiver whenever they heard the monsters’ roars.

Sometimes, through the carriage window, they could even see packs of monsters glaring at them from behind the trees as they passed by.

However, none of the monsters dared to approach the carriages.

Not only were all four carriage drivers actually guards sent by Baron Xing to ensure their journey remained safe, and each of them was at the Star Commander Realm, but Richard himself was also a Star Lord.

To keep monsters away, Richard continuously released his aura as the convoy traveled through the wilderness.

Time trickled by, and before anyone realized it, several hours had passed and the sun slowly began to set on the horizon.

They had been traveling since early morning, stopping only occasionally to take care of their physical needs and eat something.

Now that night was approaching, it wasn’t safe to continue traveling, so the convoy stopped some distance away from the foot of a mountain.

Although it was already beginning to grow dark, William and the others could still make out a cave at the foot of the mountain.

It seemed they would be spending the night there.

William looked at the cave in the distance, and memories from the original timeline rushed back into his mind.

Even in the original timeline, they had stayed in this very same cave.

Just as the carriages came to a halt and everyone stepped outside, William’s expression changed slightly as he looked toward a spot not far from the cave.

Richard, who had just stepped out of the front carriage also showed a change in expression as he sensed the surrounding Aether Energy suddenly becoming chaotic.

He carefully examined the turbulent fluctuations, and his eyes widened in shock.

"This phenomenon... A new Astral Rift is opening." He muttered in a shocked voice.

William was equally stunned because, according to his memories from the original timeline, no Astral Rift had appeared while they were staying here.