Lord Shadow

Even though Azief knows the conclusion of this battle, he still looks at it. By now, he firmly entrenched himself as an observer.

And like he had expected after Arial massacre that vanguard unit, the Demon Army sent more soldiers.

Arial fought with all of his might but in the end he was alone. And he only practices a few years. It is not like he had practiced it all of his life. 

He fled toward the palace and run inside, the demon soldiers following at his trail. 

Even as he was running toward the palace, the demon soldiers, throws spears, spells and shoot arrows at him

They broke into the castle with him, blood-hungry and enraged. Azief saw that Arial knew if he wants to survive he need to restrict their movement and not let them to have the space.

For an hour Arial evaded them using the secret passages and trap doors he had uncovered during his solitary years in the Empire. 

Through the labyrinth of tunnels, he eventually found himself at a back door, and panting for breath he hurried out of the palace and back to the library. 

'For now, he had bought some time' Azief thought to himself. He is still hovering near Arial. This is the moment, he thought. 

The moment where Arial would go back into the past. And at the same time, Azief instinct began to go haywire, like a premonition of something big is going to happen. 

This premonition is not related to Arial that is about to jump back to the past. This premonition had something to do with his own fortune and luck, and fate and destiny.

He frowned. 

He believes this opportunity or danger lies in following Arial back to the past. What he didn't know that right now, the Creator in that secluded dimension opens His eyes and look at him, smiling.

'It is time' He mutters and the entire Universe seems to hums because of the undulation of his voice. 

Azief while he did not notice the Creator looking at him, he could sense that something is about to happen. 

Those who walk the Perfection Path is not someone to be scoffed at. Even though, he felt weird for a few seconds, he then continues paying attention to Arial 

Arial enters the library with a limp. The effects of the battle dragging him down. He had been cut on many places on his body, blood dripping from the tears of his clothes and he struggled to keep himself upright. 

All over his body is traces of the battle and he is in pain, yet, he gritted his teeth trying to endure that pain. This Arial…. this is the Arial he knew.

A determined person. It seems that while Arial in the beginning shows some kind of cowardness, now, at the end of his life, he is brave and fearless.

Azief always thought that you do not know a person, not until at the very last end, when everything is put down on the ground. 

People have a way of surprising you when such time come.  But for Arial? Azief always sees that bravery hidden underneath that heart.

Because he had seen it. And Arial did not disappoint him. In the last moment of his life, he fought as fiercely as a War God, even if he could not win.

It is stupid. But sometimes, even it is a stupid act, it did not stop people from admiring it. Arial could tell that he did not have long now.

Arial stumbled and fell against the desk where his old research lay, with the magic circle activator. Azief look at the book and he frowned

'It couldn't be, right?' Azief had a weird thought suddenly and he thinks he could deduce how Arial could activate the magic circle

But it is not something that he is sure yet. So, he still has to look at the matter. Arial is already on the verge of taking his last breath

He is looking up at the ceiling, his hand on his stomach, trying to stop the bleeding. He smiles sadly. 

He coughed up blood and then in these few last moments before his death, he closes his eyes and he seems to be praying. 

Azief is looking at all of this, waiting for something to happen. It could not be that Arial just die like this. 

After all he had determined this is the Arial he knew and that this world is really Earth X.

Since that is the case, Arial should be going back to the past right about now. Azief eyes look at the book on the desk and he shakes his head

'I think I am right?' he become a bit uncertain on his thought but then as he was thinking of this, he saw that Arial fortune and luck is slowly burning and his eyes widened

'Arial fortune is breaking out!' he thought to himself. And at the same moment suddenly a gust of wind blew into the dark room, and Arial shivered violently from the cold. 

Outside the room, the demon soldiers are coming. Azief also narrowed his eyes

'That wind is not normal' he thought to himself. Arial might not be able to sense it but Azief could easily sense that magic is stimulated by some magic power

'Amara!' he thought to himself. He then uses his Divine Sense and confirmed that outside the door, there is demonic soldiers that is rushing to the library. 

Arial body itself is weakening showing the signs of death. Yet, it is at this moment that his fortune and luck is breaking out.

The wind coming from out of nowhere in the room became more forceful, and from the desk a book fell to the floor. 

Azief had seen this before. At that time, he already expected something along this line to happen.

The book on the desk is a dictionary. 

It is the dictionary for the Old Tongue, the Demon language. 

Azief had been thinking of how to activate the magic circle for a long time. 

But it wasn't until today, when he looks at the book on the desk, that he found out why he could not figure out how to activate the magic circle.

And now, Arial would realize it

The dictionary for the Old Tongue, Demon language, sprawled backwards across the floor.  Azief saw how Arial look at the book and saw how his eyes widened.

'He realized it' And there is a bitter smile on Azief face.

  The answer to the words that could activate the magic circle is the same word for open. Only in backwards. Demon Language is complicated not only because of the meaning contained in one word but because it could also be made to be a riddle

The Demonkind like the Elves in the ancient past have great connection with the rules and Laws of the world and their ancient tongue could bring about great phenomenon 

It is even mentioned in many lore of the Demon King that the Demon King in ancient past rarely speaks with their Old Language for it could bring about wind, thunder and fire upon the world

And the Archmage had been using the words of the Old Tongue as the activation word for his magic circle. 

The book fell down from the desk, the wind blows and moves the pages, right where it was supposed to show Arial the hint. There is no doubt that there is a trace of Amara in this. 

But even though right now, Arial had found out about the meaning and the way to use the magic circle, there is still one problem.

Time suddenly stood still and regresses back. 

The problem that Azief is thinking about is about the magic circle not having enough energy.

Azief knows that the Archmage attempt to go back through time failed. 

He had deduced it. 

And the reason why it failed is because there is not enough energy. And the energy that the Archmage had done is to harvest the lives of the people of the Empire

Of course, if he actually succeeds in going back to the past, it means these people would never die.

  But what the Archmage doesn't know was that even if he goes back to the past, it might not necessarily the past he is thinking of as one could create another different diverged timeline entirely and create another parallel universe.

The reason why Arial might not create such divergent timeline and world is probably because the help of Divine beings like Amara. 

And the Archmage doesn't know how to harvest souls. 

If he did, he knows that sometimes a pure soul is enough to power his magic circle. How long back to the past he could go with that soul is anybody guess. 

Instead, he had sacrificed almost al citizens of the Empire and still failed.

'Or, maybe it was never his destiny to open the door to the past; Azief thought to himself as he looks at Arial who is sitting still looking at the book.

But Azief had to make sure of it

Time is regressing a bit as everything is moving backwards. He is using the rewind function of the helmet. 

Because he believes that right at this moment, someone must be helping Arial. Even as time is rewinding, Azief himself is not affected with this and he flew out from the secret library and passes through walls like some ghost 

In just a few second he is on the edges of the magic circle.

  When he tries to use his Divine Sense to envelop the entire area of the magic circle, he found out that his Divine Sense is on the fritz

He frowned. 

'Interference like this preludes a burst of powerful energy' he mutters to himself. 

The scene then began moving normally again.

  And then he took a step toward a difference direction and he is now on the north side of the magic circle. 

And then he saw someone.

The moment he saw that being, he knew

'I should have expected this. Now, I know. Now, it makes sense' he thought to himself as he looks at that being floating in the sky, looking at the magic circle

The being that is floating up there in the sky is none other than Amara the goddess that rules everything in this world

He smiles a bit

'Heh. So, that is how it is' he thought to himself

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