"Wait, Ethan Zhang."
Yvonne May's voice called out from behind me. I stopped in front of the swirling, multicolored vortex as she approached. I turned to face her.
"What is it, Miss Yvonne?"
"No, you can't go in. If you do, time will tear you to pieces—especially now, when Time itself wants to erase you."
I smiled and shook my head.
"I know my limits, don't worry, Miss Yvonne. I'll find Juchen Realm soon and seal him completely inside this Juchen Stone."
I've more or less figured it out—Juchen Realm must have used the power of time to rewrite the past of everyone I knew, altering the correct timeline so we could never meet, letting them avoid all those tragedies.
Tina Yu only met that scumbag after he'd already racked up debts from gambling. The gambling started because of heartbreak, driving him to a shady underground casino. If we just change the time he went to the casino, he finds it closed, gets disheartened, and moves on. That's when, at another moment, he meets Tina Yu.
With that correction, the scumbag didn't spiral into gambling after his heartbreak. Instead, he confided in Tina Yu. Though they lived poorly and in debt, they were happy, eventually marrying and having a child.
As for Chenshire, Helen Chen didn't suffer a tragic childhood because the villagers never encountered the Immortality Society. Juchen Realm changed all their birth times, so they didn't meet the Society's selection criteria. It was just an ordinary village, and through everyone's efforts, every household eventually lived well.
As for Hugh Thompson, the timing of the robber's crime was changed so he never received the call to respond. Instead, he picked up his son on that rainy day, and his son wasn't dragged under by the Drowned Wraith as a substitute.
I was genuinely happy for these three. Their tragic pasts had been erased—everything changed. But for me, it was all wrong. I hesitated: if I didn't reclaim the time Juchen Realm stole, I'd be erased by Time itself, little by little. I didn't know how long it would take, but eventually, no one would remember me, and I'd vanish completely.
"It's a tough choice!"
I muttered, staring at the vortex ahead. If I did this, Tina Yu would return to her old fate, Helen Chen would be wrapped in tragedy again, and Hugh Thompson would spend his life grieving for his lost son.
Samantha Simons and Evan Zhao had vanished too. They were my friends. I tilted my head back and quietly watched the sky.
"I'm about to die, and I'm still hung up on all this. Will I never change, even in this life?"
I laughed at myself, quietly gazing at the sky.
"Everything that's happened is already in the past, Ethan Zhang. I hope you can survive, just like you said—reach out, shape the future with your own hands. The past is irreversible. Years ago, I struggled with the same dilemma. With this kind of power, Juchen Realm tried to persuade me several times that I could change small parts of the past without affecting Time. My tragedies would disappear as well."
"Is that so!"
I turned and looked quietly at Yvonne May.
"Do you regret it, Miss Yvonne?"
Yvonne May looked at me and gently shook her head.
"John Chou has told me many times that regret belongs to those who fought against themselves and ultimately fell on the way. Those who've never struggled aren't worthy of regret. It's laughable, isn't it? I'm exactly the kind of person John Chou talked about, so..."
I laughed heartily, then turned away.
"I've kept everything from the past deep in my heart. I've never once regretted what I've done. No matter what, everything I've done has stayed true to what it means to be human—right or wrong, people are people."
With a whoosh, I dove headfirst into the vortex before me.
In an instant, I felt a force from all directions trying to tear me apart, as if I'd entered a meat grinder. My body was being pulled by some power, spinning through this dazzling space. I quietly watched everything around me, sensing more and more—these were all things I'd experienced before.
Reckless, impulsive, never thinking about the consequences. I smiled faintly.
"None of this means anything to me anymore."
With a buzz, I straightened up and waved my hand. A crack opened before me, and with a rush, I flew inside. Just like the first time I entered Juchen Realm's domain, everything that ever existed in this world floated chaotically in the air. I'd already located Juchen Realm.
"Are you here to die, Ethan Zhang?"
I lifted my head in surprise. All around me, black and white humanoid figures appeared—some sitting, some lying down. Their hollow black and white eyes stared at me.
I kept smiling and shook my head.
"I'm just here to take back the time you stole from me. If I get my time back, all the changes you made will be corrected by Time itself."
A wave of sharp, piercing laughter crashed down on me. Suddenly, Juchen Realm appeared before me, raising a hand.
"Here, you don't stand a chance..."
With a boom, I punched Juchen Realm in the chest. He flew backward, smashing through countless objects. Black streams of energy began to leak from my body, with faint traces of green swirling around me.
(Chapter not finished ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!)
"I'll crush you! I'll crush you, Ethan Zhang!"
Juchen Realm screamed, but I was already in front of him, fist raised. I punched down, and with a boom, everything around us instantly turned to dust.
Juchen Realm's body had turned to mush, still whimpering as I watched him in silence. All around, massive black pillars surged toward me—he planned to use the force of an explosion to drag me into an even deeper current of time.
I sneered coldly, raising one hand. It crackled with energy as a cluster of black, twisted matter appeared; from the warped space, I drew out Endbringer.
"Every power has its end."
Black lightning bolts shot out from Endbringer, instantly reducing the black pillars to scattered dust. I glanced around, willed myself to Juchen Realm's location, and swung Endbringer at him.
With a sharp sound, Juchen Realm's body appeared, split cleanly in two.
"You can actually..."
With a snap, I seized Juchen Realm's head in my grip.
"Give me back my time."
I stared wide-eyed as Juchen Realm's mouth opened in a piercing, shrill scream. Wisps of faint white energy flowed into my nose.
"How dare you..."
I said nothing. Endbringer stood behind Juchen Realm, crackling ominously, while my other hand held the Juchen Stone.
"Get inside, or I'll destroy you and return you to nothingness."
Juchen Realm struggled, trying to break free. I had already reclaimed my time from him—everything would be corrected, the true past I knew restored.
"Damn you, Zhang Qingyuan..."
The space around us began to contract; I felt as if I were sinking into the ocean. Juchen Realm grinned, bursting into crazed laughter.
"Be crushed—die in the vortex of time!"
My body began to twist and distort, even the hand gripping Juchen Realm's head warped. I stared wide-eyed.
A buzzing sound rang out as white light burst from within me, rippling outward in waves. Instantly, the distortion vanished. I released my grip, and behind Juchen Realm, Endbringer unleashed a thunderous black lightning. Everything stilled; in my hands, the Sword of Baleful Energy shifted from black to a grayish blue.
"I'll say it again—get inside the Juchen Stone."
I roared. Juchen Realm turned to flee. I closed my eyes, memories of the Soul Guesthouse flashing through my mind as I gasped for breath.
Please, Juchen Realm—return to the stone.
A fierce cry erupted from deep within me; if I truly destroyed Juchen Realm, Yunmei would die.
I loosened my grip slightly—the gray-blue Sword of Baleful Energy vanished. I watched as Juchen Realm fled into the distance.
"You'll never catch me again, Zhang Qingyuan. You absolutely—"
With a snap, my eyes widened. Juchen Realm was seized by a hand and instantly dragged before me, his body shrinking into a mass of black and white. The hand shoved him directly into the Juchen Stone.
"Take it, Zhang Qingyuan."
I stared in disbelief—it was Future Zhang Qingyuan.
"Well done, Zhang Qingyuan. In all the past I know, I never once merged with those two. Maybe you really can change the worst future."
I took the Juchen Stone from Future Zhang Qingyuan. It was done—Juchen Realm was sealed inside. I had awakened him before, but now, he was sealed again.
"Are you leaving?"
I watched Future Zhang Qingyuan turn away, smiling at me.
"Ah, I can't stay long. Treasure this moment, Zhang Qingyuan—the future is yours, and no one can take it or decide it for you."