Chapter 1410: Don’t Break Him

Ethan didn’t respond. Behind the shield, his hand slowly tightened while his gaze stayed fixed on the clock whipping through the gale.

If he could take control of it, the temporal maelstrom might stop.

It was dangerous, but worth the risk.

As Vesperhart continued closing in, Ethan vanished from Andona’s side.

Noxhart noticed at once. It slammed both front hooves down, and darkness spread from beneath them.

The shadows gathered into a surging river and raced through the void toward the clock.

Ethan had already reached it, but the oncoming black tide forced him to pull back. He slapped the energy sphere into his own body. White light flashed along his outline as his skin, bones, and clothing broke apart into countless black particles that scattered through the air.

The river of darkness swept between them without touching anything solid.

Noxhart looked up at the spot where Ethan had vanished. The energy sphere between its antlers was fully charged, but there was no target to fire at.

"Turning your entire body into black particles..."

It slowly turned its head, searching every inch of the surrounding space.

"Not bad."

Vesperhart and Noxhart had once been the same being. Vesperhart had spent all this time searching through the flow of time for a way to kill Noxhart, while Noxhart had been observing the outside world through it.

Any plan that occurred to one could be sensed by the other.

The black particles drifted with the air currents until they settled above Noxhart’s head. Hidden among them, Ethan held a fully formed energy sphere in his palm, but he didn’t attack.

He still had no idea what power Noxhart truly controlled.

If he revealed himself now, either of them could end up severely injured.

But Andona couldn’t hold out much longer. The temporal maelstrom battered the shield again and again, sending denser and denser ripples across its surface. Vesperhart had lost track of Ethan. The clocks in its eyes spun rapidly as it searched the entire area, yet it never eased the pressure on Andona.

Just as it was about to lose patience, Noxhart closed its eyes.

A silent thought entered Vesperhart’s mind.

Then Noxhart stepped out into the open.

Vesperhart vanished.

When it reappeared, all four hooves stood on the empty air above Noxhart. The energy sphere it had been charging between its antlers didn’t fire at Noxhart. Instead, it shot toward the seemingly empty space over its head.

Straight at Ethan’s hiding place.

Ethan didn’t realize he had been exposed until the attack reached him. Time around him had been slowed, drastically reducing the speed of the black particles, while the energy sphere accelerated under another current of time power.

There was no avoiding it.

Ethan dropped his concealment. The black particles converged and reassembled his body. The instant he appeared, he hurled the energy sphere in his palm down at Noxhart.

If they were going to force him out, then he would find out exactly what Noxhart could do.

Vesperhart’s attack struck first.

The energy sphere hit Ethan in the chest, but didn’t explode. Instead, it poured all of its time power into him. The luster of his skin faded, fine lines appeared at the corners of his eyes, and his bones ground together with a heavy rasp.

Then the changes reversed.

His body raced backward past its current age, becoming younger and younger.

Aging and regression alternated over and over.

His organs were pulled between the two opposing timelines, sending excruciating pain through his chest and abdomen. Ethan gritted his teeth and released every bit of time power he could still control, forcibly locking his body in its current state.

The changes finally stopped.

His appearance stabilized at its original age, and his disordered organs ceased aging and regressing. But he had exhausted all the power he could use to manipulate time. He wouldn’t be able to call on it again anytime soon.

Meanwhile, the energy sphere he had thrown reached Noxhart.

Noxhart glanced up, the corner of its mouth curling.

"That’s awfully weak."

It didn’t raise a shield. It merely took a small step forward. The energy sphere missed its head, but still grazed one antler before sinking into the body behind it.

There was no explosion.

The white energy disappeared inside Noxhart without so much as a ripple.

Ethan was still suppressing the remaining time power inside him when Vesperhart walked through the void and stopped in front of him. With every step its hooves took, the nearby air caved downward. Another sphere formed between its antlers, its cold white light illuminating Ethan’s pale face.

One more attack would be enough.

Ethan had nothing left to defend himself with.

Vesperhart lowered its antlers. The sphere broke free and shot toward Ethan’s chest.

At that moment, Noxhart raised its right front hoof.

The sphere stopped halfway, then reversed along its original path and flew back at Vesperhart. Vesperhart tilted its head, letting the sphere skim past its antlers.

"If you kill him, what are we supposed to play with?"

Noxhart stared at Vesperhart, openly displeased.

"Take your time. Don’t break him."

Vesperhart considered that for a moment, then actually nodded. It walked over to Ethan, raised both front hooves, and brought them down hard.

Bones snapped inside Ethan’s abdomen.

The hooves punched through flesh, leaving a gaping hole in his stomach. Blood poured from the wound, and the impact sent his body dropping through the air.

The smile on Noxhart’s face froze.

"That’s not what I meant!"

It glared at Vesperhart, irritation entering its voice for the first time.

"Fix him! That’s not how you play! I’m telling you!"

Vesperhart reluctantly withdrew its hooves. Time power flowed through Ethan’s wound, reconnecting the torn flesh and returning the broken bones to their original positions. Moments later, the hole in his abdomen had vanished. Only the tears and bloodstains on his clothing remained as proof of what had happened.

Once Noxhart was sure the wound had healed, it turned to Vesperhart.

Without calling on any energy, it walked up to Ethan and placed both front hooves against his abdomen. Then it looked back at Vesperhart, its meaning unmistakable.

Watch closely. Don’t get it wrong again.

Vesperhart turned its head away, ignoring it.

"Watch." Noxhart raised its hooves. "This is how you’re supposed to—"

Before the two hooves could come down, a streak of golden light pierced the temporal maelstrom and wrapped around Ethan.

Andona had arrived.

She hooked one arm around Ethan and dragged him out from under Noxhart’s hooves. Her other hand extended behind her as several golden blades formed between her and Noxhart, all stabbing upward at once.

Noxhart couldn’t pull back its descending hooves in time.

The golden blades pierced them from below and burst out through the top. Their points lifted Noxhart into the air, yet it didn’t make a sound. It merely looked down at the golden light running through its front hooves, its eyes full of contempt.

Then it took a closer look.

The Divine Power inside the blades erupted.

Golden fire spread up Noxhart’s legs, and the blast swept away the surrounding darkness. Andona pulled Ethan close and became a streak of golden light, diving toward the others below.

Noxhart looked away from the fading explosion and watched the two overlapping golden figures in the distance.

"Like that."

It turned to Vesperhart above.

"You have to control your strength."

Vesperhart gave it a contemptuous glance. The time energy gathered between its antlers shot downward, chasing Andona and Ethan.

"So you’re showing off now?"