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Regressor, a title that Bing Xue had never heard about, but that she quickly guessed what it was once Seth explained he had come from the future, exactly ten years from now! But how was that possible?
Through her many years of comprehending the power of Time, she had never seen a power capable of regressing time itself for so long. And ten years later, it seemed utterly ridiculous.
And she thought that even by comprehending the Dao 100%, it was utterly impossible.
Although she could regress time, it was only within a small frame of time, within a small domain, that to revert something for many years seemed ridiculous.
But through the power of Divinities, which she had just discovered, maybe once combined with the Dao of Time at 100% comprehension, it could be truly possible.
However, if it was really a possibility, why hasn't the Grandfather of Time done that to screw her over?
She doubted Seth for a moment, but after analyzing his soul, she found out he was not lying.
"You're not lying this time... But how is it possible? How did you even regress back in time? and ten years? That's ridiculous."
"It's not that I traveled back in time myself, but my memories came back to the past." Seth said. "I honestly have no idea how it exactly worked. But I do remember how it happened. I think my memories were sent back to the past by the power of... Earth itself."
"What?" Bing Xue muttered. "Earth itself? That's not possible; Earth is merely a planet. It possesses no consciousness or a soul."
"I-I don't know, it just happened, okay?" Seth asked, sighing. "It's not like I had any way to resist either... It was a mission she gave me; Earth itself did this. I can tell; I can feel her will within me."
"But that's…"
Bing Xue thought about it deeply. Since the moment she had arrived back home, she would have already been able to tell if the planet had a soul or consciousness of its own. Her senses could feel it all.
This world was, without a doubt, just a planet. There was no living being there; it wasn't secretly a giant alien being or something. It was just a rocky planet with vegetation and seas on top of it.
However, as she walked out of her bathroom in her real body, she decided to give it a go, spreading out her will and intent into a thin and sharp spear and piercing the ground with it.
FLASH!
Like a needle that nobody could feel at all, her intent will pierce the world's surface, reaching its deepest, boiling core.
She continued spreading her senses down there, calling for something.
Yet there was nothing.
"No, nothing at all... Could it be that in ten years from now, the planet will... Maybe it could become a god itself? A whole planet becoming a god... It could happen if enough people and energy exist. The faith of humanity to save their own world, and all the mana... It could probably replicate a similar phenomenon, where the planet would awaken as a god itself," Bing Xue commented in front of Seth, who barely understood what she was talking about.
"What? Wait, so… Maybe that happened, yeah?" Seth nodded.
As the two talked, however, Bing Xue felt something, her eyes widening.
It wasn't ever-present or all-encompassing, but it felt like the tiny beating of a heart.
Her presence was quickly directed toward it.
Something that almost completely hid right in front of her senses.
Deep within the boiling, molten core of the planet.
There was a small, faint, glowing sphere of light.
It was smaller than an apple.
It was so tiny; it was obviously hard to find at all!
But it was there, slowly growing larger.
"T-That's…" Bing Xue finally realized the process had already begun.
Earth was slowly beginning to form a "soul" and become a god itself.
It was the same image she saw in the memories of the Gods of Eclipse; however, this process is supposed to take hundreds of years of "gestation" before the God is fully created.
"I can see it now. It's unbelievable."
"Wait, what? So it's real! See? I wasn't lying!"
Seth smiled, feeling a bit happier knowing that the "goddess" that sent his memories to the past was still there, although much younger.
"The thing is, a process like this would usually take hundreds of years," said Bing Xue. "This means that the goddess of ten years from now was still pretty much a baby, yet even then, she used all she had to send your memories back... Impressive; she probably died after that."
"Oh…" Seth sighed, looking down. "But she's alive again, right? This is the past after all... Right?"
"…"
Bing Xue thought about something; the revelation of the Parallel Timelines of Earth struck her as something that might actually be related to Seth's origins. Perhaps time was never actually reversed at all.
And the memories the Seth of this world inherited were the ones from a parallel Earth that was already destroyed in the future. He had already told her that she didn't appear in the past, so this might also make more sense.
"Seth, I think the world whose memories you inherited are already long gone," she said.
"What?!" Seth muttered. "No, wait, where are you basing this!?"
"It's simple; the existence of Parallel Earths, the Grandfather of Time's powers are what opened pathways to them," Bing Xue explained. "And your power is a fragment of him, right? You said that this Goddess used this fragment of his divinity, which you were growing as his avatar, to send you to the past… But what if she actually sent you to a parallel world, one ten years in the past compared to yours? It would also explain why your original world was absent from my existence. It was simply a parallel version with a few variables."
"N-No, that can't be true…" muttered Seth. "T-That's a lie! That's bullshit! My world… You're saying it's already gone?!"
"…I am not confirming it, but I am not denying the possibility," said Bing Xue. "However, we must also take into consideration something else. The tower of the future—how different was it from the one of the present? Perhaps that tower could either be a parallel version of our own or actually a completely different one. Or the same. But if it were the same, we would eventually encounter people that come from the exact same planet, but the future amongst the players climbing the tower hasn't happened. So we'll scratch that possibility."
"So you're saying... That there's a good possibility of either way?" Seth wondered.
"Yes, it could either be a parallel timeline that has already met its end, with a parallel tower completely separated from our own, which even includes the same gods, floors, and everything... Or it could truly be the future," Bing Xue said. "To confirm this, we would need to first assess something. The Grandfather of Time."
"Right, I guess we will never be able to tell for sure until we confront him," sighed Seth. "Hah, this is a headache to think about... Dammit."
Bing Xue felt a bit of pity for the young man, patting his head as if he were her child.
"Calm down, child. It is fine," she said, giving him a gentle, motherly smile. "For now, we should concentrate on the present. Seth, do you have any family members?"
"I don't, my mom and my dad... They died when everything began; I've been alone my whole life," Seth sighed. "I'm not saying it for you to pity me or something; a lot of people out there have experienced a similar life. Most of the young hunters of today are all orphaned."
"Hmm." Bing Xue nodded. "Even then, I'm sorry for your loss. You're a brave and strong young man, someone who strives forward despite being alone. But have you thought that your path is the correct one? Were you planning on taking the weight of the future of our world completely, all on your own?"
"I…" Seth muttered. "Who else could have helped? I thought I simply couldn't share the truth with anybody; nobody would ever believe me, or they would try to use me for their own benefits."
"Your lack of trust in people is justified, I suppose." Bing Xue nodded. "However, the path you chose was not the correct one at the end; it led to your death."
After hearing her words, Seth couldn't help but sigh, and he nodded.
"You're right… I guess… I've been looking at things the wrong way. I was desperate to grow stronger and to make a change. I ended up getting involved in that fight because I thought I could do it even without prior preparation, but I died. It's my fault," Seth accepted it. "Bing Xue, I wonder though, why weren't you there in the future I came from?"
"I don't really know," said Bing Xue. "But the chances are many... One of them might be that... The eleven thousand years I spent in Murim also passed on Earth, meaning that countless Earths died before I came back, arriving at one of the many parallels."
"W-What…?!" Seth gasped, and the theory that Bing Xue had was utterly terrifying.
Thousands of parallel Earths had already died, and when she was finally able to return, her original world was long gone.
And so was her family.
"But of course, that is a very crazy theory; don't take it seriously," Bing Xue said. "I want to stay optimistic right now. Not drown in the sorrow of just "possibilities" or self-loathing. We're here to protect our world and save it, right?"
"Bing Xue…" Seth muttered, looking down.
Somehow, he felt much more connected to her; perhaps it was a similar feeling; both shared the same sensation, their wills to save the world were the same, and the responsibility they carried with them was genuine.
Above all, one came back to Earth without even knowing if it was even her own planet or if her world was already long gone.
The other came from the future, without knowing if it was actually the real future and not a parallel world that had already been destroyed.
"I know we started things the wrong way... After getting to know you better, I feel slightly bad after having kicked you now," Bing Xue sighed. "I am sorry for that, Seth."
"N-No, you don't need to apologize, Bing Xue," he said. "I also shouldn't have acted like that. After my memories of the future came back, I realized how stupid and reckless I acted back in those days. The trauma of the death of my parents was still weighing me down. I can only blame my horrible attitude for all the unfortunate things that happened to me."
"I understand how you feel; it's alright." Bing Xue had more patience and a much softer and kinder side than Seth imagined. "Seth, I think your help would be tremendous for my future endeavors. If possible, I would like us to work together."
"Together?" he muttered. "But even with my knowledge, you're so strong; do you even need it?"
"I sure do. Strength sometimes... Is not always everything you need," Bing Xue sighed. "Knowledge and insight are also very important things."
"O-Oh, I understand," Seth nodded.
He was still processing what had just happened; he never imagined he would have such a deep conversation with this woman and end up making a friend.
"Then, of course, let's... work together, Bing Xue," Seth smiled. "It's not like I have another option anyway."
"Fufu, you sure don't!" laughed Bing Xue, although her laughter was a bit menacing to Seth. "Oh right, I guess I might as well make you my disciple too. Won't you like to learn how to cultivate your inner strength and free yourself from the system's parasitic powers, Seth?"
"I-Is there such a thing?" Seth wondered. "Wait, the energy of this place—right! What is this place?"
"This is my Inner Realm," Bing Xue explained. "Your impurities were already cleansed by the air, so you're more than ready to start. So? Will you become my disciple? It will be the only way for you to become stronger."
"…"
Seth wanted to think about it a bit more deeply, but he didn't have an option either.
If he dared to offend Bing Xue by rejecting her, he would be missing a great ally.
And he knew that, for what had to come in the future, he'd need as much help as possible.
If Bing Xue could have been there when all these terrible things happened...
Maybe the future can be truly changed.
"Okay, I… I will become your disciple if that makes you happy," he nodded.
"Excellent! Now stay right there!" Bing Xue smiled.
"Huh, for what-"
BAAAM!
Bing Xue punched him in the chest.
"Ugh?!"
However, instead of the pain Seth imagined to have felt, he actually felt a surge of tremendous power as an endless sea of energies rushed from his chest all the way to the rest of his body.
Rapidly, something inside his chest began to crystalize!
"W-What is this?!"
"You're talented, so I decided to be a bit rougher with you, Seth!"
Bing Xue then moved her fingers rapidly, striking Seth at every Meridian and Pressure Point.
Rapidly, she freed all his internal energies and mixed them with the ones she donated to him.
Within seconds, Seth's entire body started to change and evolve.
The Regressor had gotten an incredible master, it seemed.
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