Chapter 1417: What Time Cannot Restore

Vesperhart reached the edge of the cliff.

Its trapped companions waited ahead. Behind it lay the freedom to keep living. The abyss below felt more like a chance at redemption that had come far too late.

Time energy flowed from beneath its hooves.

A level path extended across the chasm, connecting the cliff to the broken ground on the other side. Vesperhart stepped onto the path of time and walked toward the companions waiting for it.

It had once believed time could restore anything that had been lost.

Instead, it had brought nothing but endless torment.

Several clouds drifted in from the distance, moving slowly alongside Vesperhart. The sight reminded it of long ago, when it had controlled the clouds and played beneath the open sky with its companions.

This time, it didn’t stop.

I’m coming to play with you.

Vesperhart reached them.

Its body began fading from the hooves upward, followed by its torso, antlers, and eyes. The animals around it, the grassland, the blue sky, and the white clouds all lost their color as well, dissolving into scattered mist.

Vesperhart vanished.

In the real world, its body gave out and quietly collapsed.

Ethan emerged from the lingering mist and walked over. He looked down at the motionless body, his expression barely changing. After a long silence, he let out a soft sigh.

He couldn’t make a different choice for Vesperhart.

And he couldn’t undo what had already happened.

In the distance, Noxhart was suddenly gripped by a profound emptiness.

It raised its head and stared blankly down at itself. The power that had filled its limbs and antlers was draining away at an alarming rate. Even maintaining its physical form was becoming difficult.

What was happening?

Was it disappearing?

No.

Could it be...

Was Vesperhart dead?

Seraphine noticed the change in the smoke at the same time.

The dark green cloud surrounding them was losing its color. The smoke nearest the ground turned pale green first, then the haze overhead began to fade as well until it was almost pure white.

Its corrosive effect on their bodies and energy was weakening just as quickly.

Within the smoke, Seraphina slowly opened her dragon eyes.

Dragons were naturally resistant to abnormal forces. As long as the corrosion didn’t overwhelm them all at once, their bodies could gradually adapt. She shook her head, spread her wings, and pushed the remaining smoke away from her scales.

The first thought that came to her after regaining consciousness had nothing to do with the battle.

She wanted to eat that giant octopus again.

The smoke continued to disperse.

Seraphine lowered the gray shield, and the others emerged one after another. Andona tried to stand straight, but her legs still had no strength. In the end, she had to lean on Elira as they joined Seraphine.

Catheryn returned through the darkness with the others.

Every eye turned toward the center of the battlefield.

Noxhart was still lying there.

It no longer cared about the enemies surrounding it. All its fury was aimed at its other self.

It had told Vesperhart to stay alive.

How had that idiot managed to die first?

It couldn’t even beat Ethan.

How useless could it be?

But Noxhart and Vesperhart were the same being. The more viciously it cursed Vesperhart, the more it sounded like it was berating itself.

Even after realizing that, its anger didn’t subside.

Then Noxhart sensed a deeper change.

Its body went rigid.

All the strength supporting its limbs vanished, and its black deer body went limp against the ground. No one approached immediately. They watched from a distance until they were sure it wasn’t preparing another attack, then slowly closed in.

It wasn’t long before Noxhart’s body began to break apart.

Its fur, antlers, and limbs dissolved into wisps of black smoke. Soon, even its outline could no longer hold together, and it vanished completely into the air.

With Noxhart’s "death," the other side of the battlefield fell silent as well.

Emerald Castle’s army had just destroyed another legion of shadow soldiers and was preparing to face the next wave. Instead, the misshapen shadows all froze at once. Their weapons slipped from their hands, and their bodies dissolved into black smoke.

The soldiers’ surging momentum died on the spot.

Still poised to attack, they stared in confusion at the suddenly empty battlefield.

Catheryn didn’t relax.

She turned toward an empty stretch of blackened ground, a cold smile touching her lips.

"And here I thought you were really dead."

She raised one hand, dark energy slowly revolving in her palm.

"What’s wrong? Trying to run?"

Her voice immediately drew everyone’s attention.

The others focused on the darkness she was watching. Only then did they detect the faintest trace of a soul still lingering there.

Noxhart’s body was gone.

Its soul remained.

Elowen raised a hand and fired a chunk of ice along the edge of the darkness, forcing a fleeing soul out of hiding. Crystal wings of ice spread from her back, and she flew after it.

Noxhart knew it had been exposed and stopped hiding.

Its intact soul split apart.

Tens of millions of tiny souls erupted from the darkness and scattered in every direction. Each carried the exact same presence, making it impossible to identify the real one on such short notice.

No one knew what Noxhart intended to do.

But it couldn’t be anything good.

Blue flames ignited in Elowen’s eyes.

The temperature plummeted. An enormous slab of ice crashed down from above, sealing the space over the swarm. Several massive pillars of ice rose around them at the same time, and crystalline walls extended between the pillars, forming a vast frozen prison.

Seraphine immediately raised a shield around the group.

Bitter cold erupted from the ice pillars, frosting the moisture in the air. Namyanna flew overhead and poured a deluge into the frozen prison.

The raindrops turned into dense hail the moment they left her hands.

Countless chunks of ice rained down, striking the tiny souls attempting to escape. Most were frozen in place, then shattered and dispersed under the power released by the pillars.

Dozens of faster souls still managed to break out.

Rather than fleeing in different directions, they changed course and flew toward the same destination.

Catheryn had remained outside the prison.

She clenched her fingers. Darkness formed into chains that rapidly bound the swarm of tiny souls. Even after being caught, they continued struggling desperately toward the same destination.

Catheryn followed the direction of their movement.

The pattern was obvious now.

"That way."

She pointed.

Seraphina immediately lowered herself so everyone could climb onto her back. Her wings spread, blasting powerful currents across the ground, and she carried them in the direction Catheryn had indicated.

No one noticed the tiny fragment of soul clinging to one of Seraphina’s claws.

It suppressed every trace of its presence and left with her.