Elina didn't know what to say to that. Slowly, the ever-present smile on her face turned into seriousness as she looked at the young man before her.
When Alex arrived to make the temporal domain, Elina could tell something was bothering him despite his calm demeanour.
Who knew he was carrying such a heavy burden? Scratch that, she knew.
Alexander had always spearheaded everything, willing to carry the weight of everyone on his shoulders. He made it look so easy that it was hard to tell he was having a hard time himself.
'Even a Being as powerful as he is needs someone to talk to…' Elina realised with a heavy heart. 'We took his calmness for invincibility…'
Without adding anything else, the Oracle could tell what Alex meant through his words. There was only one thing leading the charge to destroy reality, and whatever he learnt must have really shaken him.
'Speeding up time at this point is a desperate attempt on his part to make us as strong as possible…' The Oracle pondered. 'True Chaos will be on us soon…'
"Alexander…" Elina called out with a gentle gaze. "I may not know the full details, but I believe in you… We all do. Whatever it is that is troubling you, I'm sure things will turn out okay."
"You don't understand, Elina." Alex lifted his head, releasing a heavy sigh to recompose himself. "Veilwalkers aren't enough to stop what's to come. Even the most powerful among us isn't strong enough to get close to that monster.
"How am I supposed to protect this universe if the strongest isn't enough?" He added in a softer tone, lowering his head once more. "Even with my unique essence, I can't see a way forward."
Despite what his main body told Cassandra, Alex had not been able to begin his cultivation. The knowledge he carried continued to haunt him without rest. Whenever he closed his eyes, he couldn't help but imagine what could happen to his people, his universe.
"..."
Elina remained quiet as she listened to Alex pour his heart out. More than anything, she wished she could offer something more than just empty words, as there was no one in their universe more knowledgeable than Alex.
The only thing she could offer was an ear, and that was what she did — she listened.
"I can count the number of times I've faced real danger…" Alex continued. "Even then, I was never this afraid, because… because…" He swallowed hard.
"Because you faced it alone…" Elina completed his words.
"Mm," Alex nodded. "What is coming is not just a little swarm of reality destroying creatures… Those things have the power to wipe universes out of existence with but a swipe of their limbs. One mishap, or a split fraction of a second, and everything could be over…"
Gulp.
Elina swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. She couldn't imagine that level of power and destructiveness — no one who wasn't a Veilwalker, God or Demi-God could imagine it.
"Sorry, Elina. I didn't realise…" Alex apologised, realising his words had shaken the Oracle.
"It's okay…" Elina shook her head and took a deep breath, calming her beating heart. "You need someone to tell these things to, and I offered a shoulder."
"Still…"
Alex insisted and guided his Nexis Radiant to infuse a soothing wave of energy into her Being. Within seconds, the Oracle felt her heart and spirit calmed to an unbelievable degree.
This was a degree of calmness and peace in spirit she had never felt before, leaving her astonished. "Thank you." She mouthed with a beaming smile.
"Of course…" Alex nodded as he released a final sigh to clear his own spirit. "And thank you for listening to me, Elina. You were right, I needed this…"
"You're welcome, Alexander." The Oracle's smile deepened, feeling a rare sense of accomplishment for being able to help Alex get his head straight.
"So what now…?" Elina asked.
"I will continue what I originally set out to do." Alex said. "Things may look bad, and feeling dejected won't solve the problem."
"That's right. I've known you for only a short while, Lord Alexander. And in that time, I can tell that you are one of a kind. Whatever it is that you plan to do, I'm sure you will succeed. This universe is lucky to have you, Lord Alexander.
"Do what you must, and leave the rest to us." Elina said with determination. "We will not let you down."
"I know…" Alex lifted his cup and took a sip, this time savouring the sweet flavour. He placed the cult down and then focused his gaze on the Oracle. "Inform your hunters to use the temporal field to their hearts' content."
With those words, he got to his feet, prompting Elina to do the same. "You can reach out in case you need anything…"
"Of course." The Oracle nodded, watching as Alex turned around and his body dissipated, leaving Elina alone in her receiving chamber.
'You'll be fine, Alexander.' Elina thought as she sat back down. 'You always have, and you always will be…'
….
Like Alexander had planned, he got all his vassals — old and new into the sped up training program.
While the temporal domains looked spherical on the outside, they were actually spacious on the inside, each with separate domains housing the designed trials to help his vassals.
Time slowly passed as he monitored the progress of his friends and vassals. Alexander would often pay them visits to check on their progress, offering more tips in areas some found challenging.
Additionally, with each breakthrough they made, Alex would send over void creatures of that level to allow everyone to test their improved prowess and techniques.
In the span of seven months in real time, that was equivalent to 700 months or approximately 58 years; his friends were already at the mid-ranks of the Immortal stage, while the vassals were in the early ranks.
It was at this point in time that Alexander, who was accompanying Ross and Julia, opened his eyes and said:
"It's time…"