[Vol. 8] Chapter 85: The Evil in the Origin Realm
The most interesting part was this: when she froze the flow of time around herself, she could actually share that effect with others just by keeping physical contact.
For example, she had used this time-freezing mode before, with her dragon by her side, to silently take down the five people who were following Ayla, controlling them one by one without being noticed. Then, without revealing her identity, she boldly walked into the heavily guarded dungeon of the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild and threw the unconscious men inside.
Like she always said, no matter how much she seemed to get done, as long as the [Anchor of Time] was active, all of it would only take a moment in real time.
After that, she left Xiao Guang, who couldn’t show up in front of Ayla just yet, back in the guest room. Then she followed the two girls alone into the secret passage under the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild, where she met "Mr. Shui."
That person, of course, was none other than Ming Lan.
Ever since Violet left Austre Empire’s Layla city, she hadn’t been involved with the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild much, so she was genuinely surprised to see Ming Lan show up here.
Ayla might have thought that the priestess had somehow arrived earlier and was already waiting in that courtyard. But in truth, Violet wasn’t that good at predicting the future. What actually happened was that the moment Ming Lan turned and saw them, she instantly activated the [Anchor of Time], pulling him into the [Still Flow of Time].
In that frozen space, she carefully questioned him about everything and told him about Ayla’s current situation. Together, they made a plan for what to do next.
All of this happened in the split second when Mr. Shui turned around, so his first sentence when time resumed was, “I already know the situation.”
Sounds funny, doesn’t it? The world is full of mysterious powers, but once you understand how they work, you’ll often realize, they’re much simpler than they seem.
The dragon girl’s Space-Time Rift ability could create a similar effect. But the way it froze time was completely different. It used her body, pushed beyond all limits, to move millions of times faster than normal. This was a special skill unique to the Diamond Crystal Dragon half of her bloodline. It was a kind of "fake time-stop" and didn’t actually involve the Law of Time. The Primordial Flame simply helped power it up more, allowing her to stay in that ultra-speed state a little longer.
While she could share that ability with the priestess through a contract, it wasn’t nearly as convenient as the [Anchor of Time], which only needed body contact to work, lasted longer, used less power, and could be used anytime, anywhere. So, when it came to freezing time, the Anchor clearly had the advantage.
That’s what people mean when they say every skill has its specialty.
With the dragon god by her side, Violet gently pushed open the door of the room, still made of those glowing particles, and calmly walked out.
She had already explained everything clearly to Ming Lan earlier. He would handle the rest. Violet didn’t plan to get too involved with the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild under her current identity, so it was best to leave quietly, without anyone noticing.
Inside the [Still Flow of Time], even though everything looked completely frozen and made of particles, the world wasn’t dull or lifeless. The colors and depths of things were still very different.
From what Violet could tell, the color of each object seemed to match its elemental nature. For example, things linked to fire looked red, and those related to light looked silvery white. Of course, there were also some very strange things that were rainbow-colored or had all sorts of mixed-up elements. So, this frozen world wasn’t plain at all.
Also, items filled with magic power or people with strong abilities showed up as being made of deeper, denser particles. It was an easy and clear way to tell how powerful something, or someone, was in this space.
The Primordial Artifact really had endless uses.
Of course, if you asked whether there were any exceptions to how it worked. Yes, there were.
For example, when Violet once entered the [Still Flow of Time] alone to observe Xiao Guang, she discovered something strange. The dragon god didn’t turn into particles like everything else. Instead, she appeared as a blazing flame of bright red-gold fire. That flame kept burning and jumping even though time was frozen around it. It looked completely out of place in that world of stillness.
Aside from that case, though, the priestess hadn’t found any other exceptions so far. Even someone like Ming Lan, whose true strength had reached the level of a Demigod, still only appeared as a vague figure of light, so deep and dense that you could barely see the shape of the particles. In other words, to truly go beyond the normal rules of the world, you probably had to become an actual god, or at least possess a god’s core.
…That’s the kind of difference that comes from a creature’s fundamental nature.
They walked down the steps, returned to the main hall of the merchant guild, and then went out through the front gate. Before long, the two girls were standing back on the streets of the Angel City.
Without showing it on her face, the priestess quietly spread her SP outward to check their surroundings. But even inside the [Still Flow of Time], she didn’t find any strange or unusual energy. It seemed that their enemies hadn’t sent more people to investigate, even after Ayla’s situation had changed… They were being very cautious.
In truth, Ayla wasn’t wrong when she sensed that something other than the five stalkers was watching her.
Back then, Violet had noticed a presence far more dangerous and harder to detect than those five. Because of her connection with the girl, and her concern for her safety, she had delayed her original plans to follow behind Ayla and keep an eye on her for a while.
However, the thing spying on Ayla wasn’t a normal creature. If the priestess wasn’t mistaken, it was some kind of mysterious spirit being, made entirely of soul energy or something else intangible.
It was similar to how the Four Nations of the Ancient Spirit Realm once raised evil spirits to power their [Heaven’s Eye], magical tools used to watch over different regions. Beings like that are born to be spies, and without special senses like SP, most ordinary people could never notice them.
The fact that Ayla could barely sense its presence already showed how sharp her instincts were.
Calling it “stalker” her wasn’t quite right, either. It was more accurate to say that this thing had latched onto her, like a hidden camera secretly attached to her body, or like a plant putting one of its small roots onto an animal to form a kind of parasitic connection.
The priestess still didn’t know where it came from or what its goal was. But one thing was clear, it was part of a bigger plan that was just getting started. And it definitely wasn’t targeting only Ayla.
Because that energy…
That was the presence of an Evil Spirit.
Or to put it more precisely, it was the aura of a strange, unnatural lifeform, created from the power of the World Sustainers like the beast Taotie. Although this type of evil spirit was slightly different from the ones found in the Ancient Spirit Realm, the core energy it gave off was nearly the same.
To sense that kind of aura in the Angel City… along with the black dragon that recently tried to assassinate Lilya, and the warning from Hen, these were all signs.
Clear signs that the World Sustainers were once again stepping into the Origin Realm.
And when the Trial of the Chosen Heroes begins soon…
There's a high probability they'll make their move.