Chapter 572
In her fading vision, she could see Aivina, Adele, and Tara before her, and she felt her sight being inexorably drawn downward, as if an invisible force was pulling her into the ground.
Her vision sank into an endless darkness, her senses of sight, sound, and touch rapidly fading away, until even the sensation of pain vanished. Once again, she found herself engulfed in the same darkness she had experienced during her fusion with the Serpent Chain, a darkness that felt like it had lasted for countless years.
Gradually, chaotic murmurs began to fill Shaer’s mind—meaningless words piled up into a cacophony that turned the darkness before her into a bloody haze. Even Shaer herself began to feel an overwhelming rage.
Before her, a silver light tore through the dark crimson space, and a pocket watch hovered in front of her, its finely engraved silver needle spinning counterclockwise at a dizzying speed.
Shaer felt as if her body was caught in a state of "Temporal Disturbance," rapidly shifting through different conditions, each stored emotion flashing in her mind like a slideshow.
It was as if her body existed in a superposition of all potions, and to her surprise, she was quickly adapting to this process...
The darkness she had absorbed from the "Kiss of Time," the changes she had undergone due to the side effects of "Temporal Disturbance," and the extreme weakness after using the "Exceeding Gear"—all the side effects from using the pocket watch were now manifesting in her once more.
It was as if the purpose of those previous side effects was to prepare Shaer for all of this...
Shaer had no idea how long she had been submerged in this space. Even her emotions had calmed to a tranquil state, and just as she was about to give up on thinking, her body was once again seized by a burning pain.
The sudden agony ignited a primal anger within her, and in the darkness, she roared silently once more. Amidst the shrieks of her soul, as the silver flames flickered before her, all her senses began to return one by one...
She felt her breath again, caught the scent of blood and decay, regained her sight, and saw the grotesque monster before her. In the lingering fury over the pain... she saw the monster extend its right hand toward her.
Almost instinctively, Shaer’s right pupil transformed into a silver dial, the exquisite silver needle emitting a delicate whirring sound. The potion unique to the "Judicator" surged and boiled within her blood.
Thud—
A shadow as dark as night, seemingly capable of swallowing everything around it, emerged from in front of Shaer, reaching out to grasp the monster's right hand.
“Hu... ha...”
Shaer lowered her head, her disheveled red hair obscuring her vision. Her fingers twitched as she felt this unfamiliar, corporeal sensation.
Slowly, she raised her head, scanning her surroundings like a ravenous wolf.
She saw a girl being dragged on the ground, her hands broken and crying out in anguish. She saw a dilapidated house, barely more than a mud hut. She saw the deep, starless sky outside, a sight that sent shivers down her spine. Finally, she lifted her gaze to focus on the monster's face before her.
It was a creature with a twisted human face, multiple eyeballs rolling in panic across its features, and three spiny, circular openings on its neck that could barely be called mouths, exuding a foul stench.
Slime dripped from its mouth onto the coarse cloth wrapped around its body, emitting a scent reminiscent of something corroded and burnt.
“How is this possible... how is this possible!”
A strange language pierced Shaer’s mind, the fearful voice carrying an innate power that affected her psyche, causing her brain to throb painfully.
The terror within the monster’s mind, the overwhelming fear and panic surrounding it, echoed like a chaotic noise in Shaer’s ears, making it nearly impossible for her to think.
“It’s too loud...”
“Shut up...”
A whisper of Ansu language slipped from Shaer’s lips. She raised her left hand to cover her forehead, but the noise and pain in her mind showed no signs of easing.
Instead, the sensation of her heart being squeezed became more pronounced, and her brain felt as if it were on fire.
*Flames, tavern, corpses*
*Flames, square, corpses*
*Flames, darkness, pain...*
All the memories of suffering and flames flashed through Shaer’s mind like a revolving lantern, but in that instant, she slowly lowered her left hand.
A cool sensation flooded her mind, icy flames igniting within her thoughts.
This was anger tempered with restraint...
But she also had the right to unleash it.
Swoosh—
Before Shaer, the shadow’s right hand, sharp as a blade, pierced through the monster’s chest.
At the same time, three shadows surged from different directions, the one engulfed in flames of rage lunging at the humanoid monster. With its screams, it snapped the creature’s limbs, pinning it firmly in place.
“Shut up!”
Shaer stepped forward, the shadow clinging to her right fist igniting. She slightly bent her knees and twisted her hips, her right hand, engulfed in shadow flames, launched a straight punch.
Thud—
The soft eyeball shattered instantly, corrosive, foul liquid splattering onto Shaer’s right fist. The burning sensation on her skin sent her anger soaring to new heights!
Thud—!
Thud—!
Thud—!
One punch! Two punches! Three punches!
Bones and eyeballs mixed with brain matter splattered everywhere!
The terrifying monster’s head was nearly obliterated, revealing the spine at its neck.
Two shadows knelt down, severing the monster’s legs. The creature collapsed before Shaer. She lifted her foot and stepped onto its left shoulder, extending her right hand to grasp its vertebra.
Rip—
With the four shadows pulling in opposite directions, a half-broken ribcage was yanked out by Shaer.
“Hu...”
The irritating noise finally lessened a bit.
Thud—
Shaer released her grip, the vertebra, now sticky with black-red pus, fell to the ground.
She reached into her pocket with her left hand, slowly pulling out her handkerchief to gently wipe the blood from her right hand.
At that moment, a faint sound came from behind her.
Shaer halted her actions, suppressing her anger, and slowly turned with the four shadows to face the wardrobe piled high with disheveled clothes.
...
A girl knelt before Shaer.
Her body bore numerous dark purple bruises, resembling a patchwork of old and new wounds, with some areas of skin raised, fragile enough that a mere scratch could cause them to ooze blood.
Her clothing—if the tattered rags tied to her body could be called clothing—was filthy and stiff, as if never washed, with clotted blood accumulated over time.
This girl appeared to be even smaller than Tara.
“Thank you... Master of Time Binding... thank you...”
The girl trembled as she spoke.
Shaer felt an inexplicable familiarity in her words; it was one of the languages the system had "unlocked" in her mind.
Lurye language... this was the name derived directly from the Ansu language, which, in its original meaning, referred to the language of the Abyss.
After recalling the pronunciation of Lurye language, Shaer looked down at the girl and slowly said, “Get up.”
The girl stood, her hands clasped in front of her, head bowed. Her hair was a tangled mess, so dirty that its original color was unrecognizable.
“Look up.”
Shaer slightly raised her chin.
The girl trembled slightly, as if steeling herself, and slowly lifted her gaze to meet Shaer’s.
Shaer saw the girl’s face, covered in a layer of soot, but her clear eyes remained bright, the emerald green pupils filled with surprise.
She subtly glanced aside and caught sight of the horrific, tortured monster’s corpse on the ground. Then she looked back at Shaer, her eyes now brimming with awe and reverence.
“What’s your name?” Shaer asked, her voice steady.
Shaer knew she was in the Old Days, but she was unaware of any details about this era or what she had just killed. She urgently needed to understand everything around her to avoid a swift end to her first encounter with the Old Days.
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