Everything seemed to pause, Fang Yuan was ragged and was worse for wear.
Edward raised a brow but put the pieces together with relative speed.
"Oh! So this is your disciple. If that's the case then don't worry, I will do what I promised." Chambers' killing intent dispersed as he turned to Cain.
The hourglass's changed, glowing from green to yellow.
"Your lucky child, I would've been able to procure enough time for my killer move. Well, it doesn't change anything, wait a moment while I fix you."
Cain's eyes widened. 'Fix? What did Fang Yuan do, what is this man going to do to me?!'
Inching away, he tried to leave.
'Damn it, this person has control over time, not only that but he's a Fusion stage! I can't unleash everything yet, I must wait! Patience! But what will he do, I've not prepared for someone like him!'
Countermeasures to time were few and far between, how was Cain to know of Edward Chambers?
All his planning was about to go up in smoke, he wasn't willing to risk everything just yet, he needed to see his prize first and then strike!
Yet chances that aren't taken are chances never used! It was too late for Cain!
The hourglasses emitted a yellow light as grains and wisps gathered and circled the red-eyed youth like a typhoon. His skin was shredded as the power of time took effect. This was needed to not affect his body, but his soul, and therefore, his mind!
"ARRRGHH!"
Cain's screams echoed, his head was a mess, and everything he built was crumbling.
"Lord!" Inside the mindscape, Leon came to the side of Cain's figure, of his soul.
"I....I....Get out, Leon, take the others and leave, I can't stop this!" Cain's voice was fragmented and panicked, even his form was blurry.
Leon was worried, but a command was a command, and a proper servant followed what a master ordered. He acted without hesitation and left with a majority of the mist ghosts.
Everything was out the window, hundreds of red figures exploded from Cain's body and broke through the sands of time, they escaped and flew deep into the Marble City, hiding and waiting.
"Interesting...what were those?" Chambers wasn't fazed and continued to use his powers with precision, this continued for a few minutes.
The Lord of the Hourglass frowned. "I still haven't reached the point of the takeover? How long has this child been like this, how has he even lived this long?"
Cain was still screaming, his flesh in a state of destruction and regression. Layers of skin would reveal muscle but then time would regress to before he was injured. This could only be done due to of Chambers's evolvement, he was controlling everything so he didn't turn Cain back into a child, removing his cultivation in the process.
Regressing the body didn't regress spirits and mystical creatures trapped in it. If Cain lost his sigils, the souls inside him would kill him.
Back inside the mindscape, a cage crumbled apart in the chaos, and a shadowy figure that made one's desires explode hopped with joy.
"Hahaha! This is my chance, if I can make him my vessel I can easily take over the Seven Provinces! I can let the Ancestors into the real world! Hehe! Time to find this bastard and influence him while I have the chance!"
The Demon of Desire was a demon, one of the few who remembered where it came from. They had the ritual to open a way to chaos, but not to communicate with their ancestors. It was left in the dark but still loyal.
Even deeper in the land of the mind, two souls were dragging ever closer. One green, the other red, their worlds colliding.
"Damn it! No! I worked so hard, I won't regress into that failure, I won't regain my faults, and I can't return to my origin, where my weaknesses lie! No!"
On the other side, the green light was even more frightened. "Why is this happening, I don't want to become one with this bastard! Never! I can't let go of Luna, I can't let him change my beliefs!"
The two were indignant, but the power of time was absolute, more so than imagination or the power of distortion. Under its effects, even the cores were suppressed. A temporary suppression that is.
The world shook, and the two merged, but the connection was unstable, both were Cains refusing the change, there was still some aversion.
Outside, the sands stopped, Chambers barely went to the point where the two split, he could feel if he went any further he would mess with Cain's soul in a major way.
"I can't use time to regress memories, but that's good. Affecting only the soul on a general level still shows my mastery!" He praised himself.
Fang Yuan stood at the side, his eyes shining. In the crowd far away, everyone was hopeful. Turning the Imperial Demon righteous would be a perfect tool to suppress the Demonic and Loner factions!
But expectations are only expectations. Cain's body exploded in clashes of green and red, power was gushing like a storm, causing the sky to stir. The natural elements were agitated!
Before Cain was two, even if one-half primarily held the cores, they could only be fully unlocked when there was a "full" soul present. If before Cain could only use 70 percent, now he could use all 100 percent!
Yet...unleashing everything now wasn't a decision of his own. Cain had told his other half they were one, two halves that equal a whole. But to be whole required one, not two.
Merging both Cains would not result in a jumble but organization. The finished product would be one mind again! It was the rebirth of Cain, the original Cain!
The situation was similar to someone returning home and finding their house being used by squatters!
Cain wasn't the two, but one, the green and red were born from him! He was the real one, the true Cain! The other two were just using his identity, his body, and his soul!
Looking down at his palm, red mist shrouded his fingertips.
'What...what has happened? My head....is jumbled...why do I have so many images of strange things in my head....'
First came confusion, then understanding, and finally, rage. Cain had summarized everything quickly, gaining an understanding of what was happening.
'Who messed with me, why has this happened?! These two...these two rats! They've caused me to lose myself, they dare declare themselves me?! I am Kain! Heir of Manus!'
Memories were recovered, more so for the Real Cain than the other two ever got.
"Kain" was from another territory, sent away by its ruler out of fear. He held a pure bloodline of Manus, and with the help of time, memories of his childhood awakened, but only his identity and pride were recovered, the real memories were still forgotten.
With the owner returning, the two Cain's remnants were suppressed further, and they would have to work together if they wished to survive.
"So, how do you feel?" Chambers came to Cain's side, proud of his work.
Cain played along, "Hmm, fine, great even. I've learned and remembered much. My anger has yet to simmer. So die, can't have you turning me back to before, to killing me again!"
Green and red erupted. The sky was dyed in its light as the emergence of a bonified Gatherer was unleashed, everything, 100%!
He wasn't either of his other selves, Kain was someone who stuck to his early memories of Netherane and his past which was only unlocked slightly. Because of this, he was smart but not too smart, cunning but dull, a child growing rapidly to regain what belonged to him.
Far away, Leon watched this change, he had a connection to Cain, he and the rest of the ghosts felt everything that happened
'Lord....what do I do, this is bad! How can you return if you get overwritten by yourself!?'
Chambers laughed at Kain, "Oh? Kill me? I've heard that before!"
"It will be the last time you have!" Red covered the air around him while green gleamed like aurora lights.
Flames, cracks, webs, everything. Not only that but in the crowd, marks spread across many cultivators' bodies as they were filled with strength.
"Hahaha! Kill!"
"Serve the master!"
The Marked were hidden, and hundreds of higher-ups died in moments.
"What is this!"
"Their with the enemy, kill them!"
Far away, Zoe chattered her teeth while biting her nails.
'This is worst, the absolute worst, I have to run!'
Everything plunged into chaos.