Everyone looked at each other. No one had any intention of backing down.
If anything, they were relieved to finally be able to enter the door and see what was inside...
HUMMM—
Ripples spread out one after another.
The great door, which they hadn’t been able to open no matter how hard they tried, now seemed to melt away and disintegrate.
Lu Cang gradually began to see the scene behind the door.
WHOOSH—
But as he looked...
He saw more than just the figure of the young woman.
Lu Cang even saw the back of his own figure.
He saw An Su.
These images weren’t physical entities, merely blurry apparitions. And there was more than just one.
"This is not the first time we’ve spoken."
The young woman with long, ivory-white hair stood serenely in the very center of the space.
He could feel that even though she was just standing there, her very presence represented the flow of Time.
But the last time he’d seen her, it was only a fleeting glimpse through a portal An Su had shattered.
He hadn’t been able to see more, to see deeper.
This time, however, he had been invited inside.
His gaze could finally see past the door, into the distance.
Looking past Aikator into the distance, he saw that in this utterly tranquil Space, multiple different streams of Time were flowing simultaneously.
Faintly, he could also see several different versions of her wandering about.
And her existence...
Lu Cang’s Perception and Talent gave him a strange feeling.
The feedback from his Talent, [Divine Level - Deepest Truth], indicated that she was a false, non-existent life form.
Yet it was different from typical unreality.
If he had to describe it...
The person before him gave Lu Cang an unprecedented feeling. She was semi-real.
Generally speaking, something was either real or false.
’Where did this concept of "semi-real" even come from?’
"Has your wish been granted, visitor?" Aikator asked calmly.
Iz’s expression was one of pleasant surprise. "Oh! So this is what it’s like in here."
Multiple different timelines were unfolding here simultaneously.
Lu Cang saw An Su.
Izparut, too, saw reflections of her other selves in this place.
It took them almost no time to understand the situation.
"So you’re saying you believe you’re not real?" Lu Cang asked directly.
At these words, Chi Cheng, who was standing to the side, winced.
’Damn, does he have to be so blunt?’
’Isn’t he just rubbing salt in her wounds?’
In response to Lu Cang’s question, the young woman with long, ivory-white hair simply replied, "What else would I be?"
"It’s just as you see. Right now, multiple different streams of Time are unfolding simultaneously."
"In the end, only one can be confirmed as real."
"All my other selves are non-existent, false. Once a single timeline is established, all my other selves will disappear."
"The self that disappears... could very well be this one."
’I think I understand what she means by ’disappear’.’
"Why is that?" Lu Cang asked again.
He had a feeling this question might touch upon the secrets of a bygone era.
"Why..."
"Because this is the price I must bear."
Aikator suddenly asked, "Do you know the essence of Time?"
Lu Cang replied, "Perhaps. I understand a little."
Things like the theory of temporal invariance, the theory of irreversibility, and the relationship between Time and matter.
He had read a great deal on the subject.
Plus, he had already comprehended the Original Forbidden Magic—Time.
So he had, more or less, already glimpsed a sliver of Time’s true essence.
"You’re not wrong, but your understanding is far too superficial."
"Time is indeed singular. At least, it is now. It is for you."
"In the very beginning, Time was indeed like that—a single, solitary stream, with no other complex variations."
"So back then, I found Time to be far too monotonous."
"I tried to change the nature of Time... I thought it would be an incredibly difficult task, but I suddenly discovered something. With just a slight intervention, a small bit of meddling with Time..."
"Time, which should have been stable, unchanging, and consistent, suddenly split into countless divergent streams."
"In that instant, Time fractured into multiple, uncertain branches."
"Each timeline exists independently, yet some influence one another."
"And in every timeline that branched off, there would ultimately be a convergence toward a single outcome."
"That outcome was the complete and utter destruction of that entire timeline."
"I immediately realized something was wrong, so I acted at once to create a Seal."
"I sealed away all the extra timelines that had been created."
"This ultimately formed the state of Time you see in this place now."
WHOOSH—
Utterly chaotic.
Radically disordered.
"And trapped here along with them... were the ’me’ from each and every one of those timelines."
After she finished speaking,
Lu Cang finally understood why his Talent had indicated she was semi-real, not wholly real or wholly false.
It wasn’t that she was false.
Rather, she was a *potential* existence.
"Once the main world’s timeline is established, my selves in the vast number of branch timelines will disappear along with it."
"In fact, the ’me’ speaking to you right now is also meaningless."
A faint tremor entered her voice. "In any case, in the time it takes to have this conversation, I will likely disappear."
Lu Cang’s eyes met Aikator’s.
He could see timelines collapsing, one after another, reflected in her eyes.
Her reason for remaining wasn’t entirely for atonement.
It was also for correction.
To correct all the other branched timelines.
Until only the original one remained.
"Uh, I’m a little lost," Chi Cheng said, scratching his head.
"Why can’t the other timelines just exist?"
Aikator shook her head. "If that were to happen, uniqueness could no longer be established."
"Multiple timelines would become entangled. Powerful individuals could even influence their other selves across different timelines."
"If anything and everything is possible, you could even have the course of another timeline cause the main timeline to collapse."
"Furthermore, all Divination in the world would become useless."
"One might mistake a result divined from another timeline as being correct for their own."
"The consequences... there are many more."
"One of the most troublesome issues is that of uniqueness."
"Suppose a Level Eight Reincarnator wishes to ascend to godhood. If a version of themselves in another timeline has already ascended..."
"...then they would lose their eligibility for godhood, forfeiting the chance to obtain that divine position."
"This is the principle of temporal uniqueness."
"If Time were not singular, the path to godhood in this world would become immeasurably more difficult."