RE: LORD OF TIME

’It would actually be beneficial for you to disturb this timeline as much as possible.’

William was startled when a voice suddenly echoed inside his mind.

"Junior, is there a problem?"

Abel, who was sitting beside him noticed the change in his expression and asked in confusion.

William calmed his surging thoughts and shook his head.

"Thank you for your concern, Senior. I was just surprised by the scenery outside since it’s my first time leaving the barony."

"I see..." Abel nodded and chuckled lightly. "If you are surprised just by this barren scenery outside, then you will definitely be speechless after seeing the prosperity of the City of Vance."

"I can’t wait to see it," William said with a look of anticipation before turning his head to look out the window again.

However, his mind wasn’t focused on the scenery outside at all.

’You are... the spirit of the White Pearl?’

Once his mind had calmed down slightly, William guessed whom the voice belonged to and asked in an uncertain tone.

’Yes...’ The same voice, which seemed to belong to a young child, echoed inside his mind again.

Hearing the confirmation, William immediately relaxed and asked in confusion.

’What do you mean by saying that it would actually be beneficial for me to disturb this timeline as much as possible?’

’I mean exactly what I said. You should try to cause as much disturbance to this timeline as possible compared to the original one.’

The frown on William’s face deepened at the spirit’s words.

’But wouldn’t causing such a huge commotion attract the attention of the Time Devourers?’

The spirit of the White Pearl remained silent for a moment before speaking again.

’Most of the Time Devourers are already looking for you. They simply cannot find you because I have hidden your existence. Even if you do nothing from now on, as long as you come into the vicinity of a sufficiently powerful Time Devourer, it will notice your presence.’

William’s mouth twitched when he heard this, and his heart skipped a beat.

Recalling what the spirit of white pearl had told him when he encountered the Time Worm, he couldn’t help but feel confused.

’Didn’t you previously tell me that the larger the commotion I caused in this timeline, the more powerful the Time Devourers that would begin searching for me? But until now, I don’t think I have caused any major disturbance. Then why are you saying that most of the Time Devourers are already looking for me?’

Hearing William’s question, the spirit of the White Pearl seemed to organize its thoughts before replying.

’I am not entirely certain myself. But from what I have observed, everything began the moment you killed Lucas. The cracks in time connected to the Vermilion Realm became extremely chaotic the instant he died, indicating that his death caused a significant divergence from the original timeline. This divergence is far from insignificant.’

’Because of Lucas’ death...’ William was stunned upon hearing this, unable to understand how the death of someone as useless as Lucas could cause the time cracks of the Vermilion Realm to become unstable.

Suddenly, another thought crossed his mind and he asked with a frown.

’You said it disturbed the cracks in time of the Vermilion Realm. Does that mean Lucas’ death only affected the future of the Vermilion Realm and not the futures of other realms such as the Abyss Realm, the Era Realm, the Witch Realm, and so on?’

’Correct...’ The spirit of the White Pearl replied. ’Although I currently cannot sense the cracks in time beyond the Vermilion Realm because I lack sufficient energy, I am certain that only the future of the Vermilion Realm has been affected by his death. No disturbances have appeared within the time cracks connected to the other realms.’

’Hmm... something capable of affecting the entire Vermilion Realm...’

As William searched through his memories of the original timeline, the only event that came to mind which could influence the entire Vermilion Realm was the great war against the Abyss Realm.

As this thought surfaced, his eyes gradually narrowed because he suddenly remembered something else.

’During the war, I heard rumors that the reason the Abyss was able to open so many Astral Rifts throughout the Vermilion Realm and launch such a large-scale invasion was because several noble families secretly cooperated with them, allowing countless Astral Rifts to be opened for the Abyss Army to invade through.’

William took a deep breath as a possibility slowly formed in his mind.

’Could it be that the Benlot Family was one of the noble families cooperating with the Abyss? But because of Lucas’ death, something happened that affected their cooperation, thereby causing a divergence from the original timeline.’

As soon as this thought appeared, confusion couldn’t help but arise within him.

’If what I just thought is correct, then how could the death of a completely useless Count’s heir create such a massive disturbance throughout the entire timeline?’

William carefully searched through his memories once more, trying to recall whether there had been anything special about Lucas.

However, apart from his twisted personality, William couldn’t remember anything special about him.

’If it isn’t because of Lucas himself, then the problem is most likely related to the Benlot Family. Lucas’ death must have disrupted one of their plans in some way.’

William reached that conclusion and slowly exhaled.

’Even if my guess is correct and there really is something wrong with the Benlot Family, there’s nothing I can do about it for now because I am simply too weak.’

Putting the matter of the Benlot Family aside for the time being, William asked another question that had been bothering him.

’The cracks in time you mentioned... What exactly are these cracks in time where the Time Devourers live?’

’You can think of the cracks in time as an entirely separate dimension,’ The spirit explained.

’The plane you currently exist in is called the Material Dimension. If you break through the Material Dimension—in other words, if you tear apart space, you can enter the Void Dimension. Just like the Material Dimension and the Void Dimension, the cracks in time are also a separate dimension.’

The spirit paused briefly before continuing.

’However, this dimension is extremely special because it is directly connected to the River of Time. Through this dimension, it is theoretically possible to travel between different time nodes, such as the past or the future. But don’t think that entering this dimension is easy, much less traveling through it. Not to mention the countless Time Devourers that inhabit it, the rules of the River of Time are the strongest there. Even gods would be obliterated the instant they approached it.’

William couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath when he heard that even gods couldn’t survive within the cracks in time.

’Doesn’t that mean I was walking on a tightrope when you brought me back to the past? One mistake, and I would have been completely obliterated.’

’Yes...’ The spirit did not deny it.

’When I brought you back to the past, we traveled through the cracks in time. If it hadn’t been for the power the God of Time left behind, you would have been erased by the laws of the River of Time long before reaching the past.’

William tried his best to keep his expression calm so that Abel wouldn’t notice anything unusual.

However, the twitching of his eyes revealed that he was far less composed than he appeared.

William remained silent for several seconds before finally speaking again.

’You said I should disturb this timeline as much as possible. Is there a special reason for that?’

The White Pearl inside William’s Sea of Consciousness glowed faintly before speaking in an exceptionally serious voice.

’Only by disturbing the timeline can I safely draw power from the cracks in time and continue hiding your existence from the Time Devourers.’