Lord Shadow

The large island is surrounded by sea water on its four corners. There are birds flying around the island and large fishes jumping out the water every few seconds.

The white sandy beaches and the breezy wind of the sea welcomes any visitors.

Then the space around the land of the island distorted.

The space around this figure contracted, distorted and then it fizzles out before the area was calm again.

A person had appeared on the island as he wipes some of the Time Dust on his sleeve.

‘There is something in this island that even disturb my Time Laws’ the man muttered to himself

He is wearing blue robe, and his eyes has a pointer that moves slowly before his eyes become normal again.

This person is none other than Jean the Time Monarch. He frowned a bit after arriving here.

He could see the person he wanted to seek. But he was surprised that he did not immediately arrived at the exact location of that person.

Instead he was forced a few hundred feet from that person. His Time Law was even disturbed.

‘Interesting’ he muttered to himself. 

He took another step and the Time and Space around him changed as Jean finally arrived in front of that person. 

There is only four feet distance between him and that person

That person is a woman. 

Jean narrowed his eyes as he looks at this woman. This is not the first time he saw this woman. But each time he is in front of this woman, he always felt unease.

That feeling is even more stronger now. 

After all, it has been years since they meet with each other. This woman had long been silent with some even thinking that she was already dead.

It wasn’t until the Multiversal Convergence happens and he became a Divine Comprehension leveler that he could sense her. 

And after following the trails of Time, he concludes that this woman ids the catalyst for what happens today.

But he is not blaming her. He just wanted to understand. And also he just wants to see an old friend

As such, there is a complicated expression on his face. 

Jean knows half the story of why Death Monarch wanted to see the future. He knew that Death Monarch and Will went to future.

But why they wanted to see the future is something that Jean still did not know. Knowing Death Monarch there must be a very compelling reason for him to go to see his own future

Jean knows that Death Monarch must have known the risk he had taken by trying to pierce through Time and Space.

After following the trails of time, he believes he had known the full story of the matter. To be more accurate, he believes he know how the story started.

‘This woman is the cause’ that is his thoughts. 

He come closer but then he stops as he could finally trace where the trace of time he had felt before come from

The woman that he had seek is still closing her eyes. Jean could see that the woman realizes that he is there not far away from her

But he still did not open her eyes. There is a trace of Time around her. To Jean eyes, it is very obvious. It swirls all around her body, coiling against her like a chain. 

It is like Time is pulling her. At times, it tries to push the woman. The burden of every Seers, he thought to himself.

the Time Traces around the woman is weird. 

It is not chaotic and it is not calm. It is just weird. It looks like it unifies the contradiction between the chaos and order yet at the same time it is not.

Jean had never seen anything like. 

‘There must be a reason’ he thought to himself. 

Jean only took a few moments before he understood why he felt that the time around that woman is weird.

The Time around that woman seems to be connected and yet at the same time disconnected and it is not in order.

Like a puzzle pieces that needs to be solved or a page taken out of a book and one had to put it back according to the page number.

This woman sits below a tree. 

And Jean could sense the source of the reason why the Time flows around that woman is very different had something to do with this tree

This tree is large and it is tall.  The diameters of the base of the tree exceed the width of many city streets and its height reaches the clouds.

Jean look up and he could see some gigantic flying creature made a nest on top of the large branches of this tree.

It is unlike any trees he had seen. It reminded Jean of the trees in Socotra, where most of the trees looks like it appears in some sci-fi movies

This tree had many weird characteristics. The tree itself emanated the Laws of Time. 

Around the trees, there is an effect of Time that have different effects on different sector of the area around the tree. 

On the north area of the tree, time seems to accelerate. The grass on the north area of the tree grows, wilted, die and round and round it goes

On the south side, time slowed. 

Everything around that southern area of the tree slowed down. 

Whether it be a droplet of water dripping down from the edges of the leaves or the movement of a worm or a bird, everything was slowed down around that area

On the western area of the tree, time stand still. 

Wind could not move even one dust from that area and even the wind went still. As for the eastern area of the tree, time went into disorder. At times, it slow down. 

Other times it accelerated. 

At times it went still. These four phenomenon around the tree made Jean look at it with wonder. 

He wonders if he carves a clock from this tree, what would be the effect would be for him. The Room of Clocks have many function. 

One of the effect is that it amplifies his Time powers. He did not know that such a tree exists in this world

This kind of tree could channel his Time energy. One could only wonder what kind of effect it would show if he uses it to create one of his clock.

‘Remarkable’ he exclaims.

‘I really should travel the world more’ he thought to himself. 

But he also wonders how this woman could be free from the effect of the tree and even uses the tree to strengthen herself.

The woman still did not open her eyes. Jean take a step closer. The woman ears twitched. Still closing her eyes, she smiles.

‘Jean, meeting an old friend?’ the woman said. Jean only smiles bitterly and simply said

‘Could you see me?’

There is a smile on the woman face and she simply said

‘Just because I close my eyes, do not mean that I could not see. One could say, that I see even better now’

Jean frowns

‘Omens. Signs. Vague words and mysticism. That is your shtick, Erika’ The woman is none other than the Great Oracle Erika

She laughed and nodded.

‘You are not wrong’ she said. Jean frowned. 

Right now, Jean was everywhere, relaying the current news to many factions so that they could do what is best for Earth right now.

As of now, it is very important to centralize the power, to unite against a common enemy. 

Jean even met with Narleod and advises him and tell him the news. He abhors the man. But, that is not important right now. 

What is important right now being the stability of the world

Jean must separate his consciousness to make sure that he did not mess up. His main body is at the Hill, maintaining that Time Flow around the portal to the Seresian world.

This Time Avatar that he had sent to meet Erika is simply because he wanted to know more. He also wanted to know the intention of the Oracle and what she is planning to do.

This woman did not possess an army, did not possess lands, is not one of the high echelon members of the Great Powers but her influence extends all over. 

Seers Acolytes worships her, and there is Paladin Order that is formed entirely to serve her. 

The devotion of these people towards her is remarkable and fanatical.

If they know she had resurfaced, many would come to her, offering her all kinds of things. Jena, even until today never understood the reason for her sudden disappearance from the stage of the world

Boris had even sent investigators to seek her before.

She had good reputation among the community that she lived with, and great and powerful men would ask for her advice as they would ask her to divine their fates

This is a time of chaos. 

With the new and sudden change of the world, Erika coming out and roaming the world is just another uncertainty factor in the world

She had disappeared all of a sudden and no one knows whether she would go to the Republic or the World Government or create her own independent force.

She had once allied with the World Government. But then she allied with the Republic. Then she disappeared for years with no one knows where she is.

Now, he knows. And it would not be long before the whole world knows.

Jean had come not only as an old friend; he had also come as the Left Chancellor of the Republic. He wanted to know her stance, and her plans among other things.

In other words, he has question and he wanted answers from the Oracle. 

What an ordinary tale in the life of the Oracle!

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