Chapter 720 Tempora
At first, Rey didn't get it.
He expected a more overt 'path' to open up before him, so when the entire war was over, he began to wonder if he missed any obvious signs that would lead to his grand goal. However, he soon realized—with a bit of introspection—that he already had the tools he needed all along.
Firstly, the [Time Stop] Skill that he obtained from Feralia, which was now upgraded to [Perfect Time Stop] as a result of his [Perfect Divine Growth], was a key component in the task he was about to undertake.
However, that was only one side of the coin.
The other side was the most recent Skill that he obtained from the Dragon General, [Time Dilation]—or rather, [Perfect Time Dilation].
With these two distinct but somewhat similar Skills under his control, Rey could find a way to get out of the current situation he was trapped in regarding the Dark Elf before him.
'[Perfect Time Stop] stops the time of the target, while [Perfect Time Dilation] slows or speeds it up. Both of them combined should be able to control the time of the target with far greater liberties…'
That was his hunch, and all of his instincts seemed to be hinting in that direction.
As a result, he decided to take the chance.
'I'll use [Merger] to combine the Skills together, creating a much better Skill that'll increase my chances here…'
He still wasn't sure if this would even work, so the best way to achieve the desired result would be to make the Skill at least SS-Tier. 'If it still doesn't work out, I'll just assume [Wish Fulfillment] is the way to go about it… though I'm reluctant to use it since it's a one-time use only Skill.' He thought to himself in all determination, ready to use any means possible to crack The Oracle's code.
He hadn't come this far for nothing, after all.
"Now then… let us begin."
Just as he purposed, Rey utilized [Merger] to combine [Perfect Time Stop] and [Perfect Time Dilation], allowing the two S-Tier Skills to vanish from his catalog of Skills. Replacing them both was a new Skill… just as he had predicted.
"Skill details." He whispered under bated breath.
[Tempora]
Tier: SS
Ability: Grants the user access to the flow of time of whatever they touch (whether directly or by extension).
{Limitation: Depending on the target, more Mana will be consumed for the Skill's execution. Can not be used on the dead.}
[End Of Information]
Upon seeing the details of the new ability he possessed, Rey could not stop the broad smile that formed on his face.
'So simple, and yet… perfect!' Now that he had completed the first hurdle—creating a means to achieve his goals—the second thing remained.
He had to do the deed.
'Using [Perfect Domain Of The Divine], I can expand my reach with [Tempora], but… just to be safe…' Rey reached out his hand and touched the Dark Elf on her head.
He could feel the dry and rough state of her dark hair, but that didn't bother him in the slightest.
Now wasn't the time to be bothered with superficial things. "Huu…" He took a deep breath, exhaling with the same veracity, as he prepared his mind for what would happen.
'I still don't know if this is what I'm supposed to do, but… I've taken all the steps necessary.' His thoughts trailed as his mind teemed with uncertainty. Still…
'It's time I followed my gut.'
Without leaving much room for any further thoughts, including the doubts that would inevitably come with it, Rey activated the Skill.
"[Tempora]."
At that very moment, a brilliant light shone in the room—drowning everything inside in its brilliant multifaceted light.
A clock-like structure appeared underneath both Rey and Ciela, with a miniature version of the circle manifesting around his hand as well—almost as if telling him that he had control over the time of the person he was currently touching.
'Whew! It worked!'
The major worry Rey had when activating this Skill was that the Skill's Limitation would surface, and he would be prevented from using [Tempora] on the cursed Ciela as a result of her current cursed state.
Thankfully, though… he shouldn't have worried.
'Let's start with one day…' He focused his energy, and the Skill did as he instructed, turning the hands on the energy-constructed clock around his hand.
Within a moment, the target's age was reversed by a day.
'She doesn't look any different—as expected. Then, what of my Mana?' He checked his Status Window and realized that it had barely even moved from its position,
Even the little decrease was eventually supplemented by his Mana Recovery Skill, so he was back on track for the most part.
'It would take too much time to do this one day at a time. Why don't we try one year next?'
Rey's thoughts manifested through the Skill, and the light that brimmed from the Skill's activation shone even brighter than before.
The result?
'Not much has changed still. She does look healthier than before, though…' His senses could also pick up the covert changes in her Mana signature.
A lot more had changed on the inside than the outside.
'And my Mana has decreased quite a bit, but the Mana Recovery is working well. Plus, I have Emil's additional Stats to help me out here, so it's still going rather smoothly.'
With that in his mind, Rey smiled to himself, inhaled deeply, and then decided to take the big step of not taking any more breaks or moments of experimentation.
"Let's do this quickly, shall we? [[Divine Power Ascension]..."
~VWUUUUUUUSHH!!!~
That very moment, his energy exploded within the vast space, causing everything around him to tremble. Not only had his Stats increased to an unfathomable amount, including his Mana Level, his senses and proficiency over the Skill seemed to rise in all facets as well.
His timidness vanished almost instantly, and replacing that was confidence.
There was nothing to fear… nothing holding him back in the slightest. Right now, Rey felt invincible, and so he took the massive leap he never would have prior to this point.
"Go back 16 years."