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A Song Through Time - Chapter 23
🕑 Added 2024-04-16 23:43:02 +0000 UTCOn the borders of Dreghel and Thelwedean, a war camp was set up, ready to fight any incoming demonic elves that came their way. Soldiers, magicians, adventurers, mercenaries, and priests were constantly running around doing different jobs in the camp. Some tended to the injured, while others escorted the escaped elves to a safe environment for rehabilitation.
Not all elves were infected, prompting many to run away from their own country as refugees just so that they could survive.
The camp accepted these individuals because they could determine if they were demonic slaves or not.
The reason behind this was a young boy who had his separate tent; an influx of people could be seen going constantly in and out of it.
After a long day of inspection, the young boy was tired as he rubbed his glabella, pushing away his long brown hair in the process.
The boy was none other than William Virtu. He had entered the war after understanding the drastic changes that were happening. Thus, he came here in the position of a helper who would distinguish the demonic slaves from the ordinary people.
Despite coming here, he was stuck in this small tent because his father was the leader of the expedition, which made him helpless.
He guessed that his meddling with the Thelwedean empire's situation caused a significant deviation in time, thus affecting all upcoming events. One thing he needed clarification on was who caused such events to transpire.
Knowing leaders from both sides, he couldn't comprehend who it was. He knew that behind Baron Max Byrd were Marquis Cameron McKee and Grand Duchess Judy Rothsgomery, but that was all there was to it.
It had already been a month since he had arrived at the war camp, and the situation was becoming worse with each passing day. He had to move out and find the root cause of such a change.
He knew that Sylmare was a shrewd woman who would do anything to get power. She destroyed the whole elven race not as a demonic slave but as a regular elf, dooming them into a fate worse than death by destroying their souls and killing the world tree. She only became one after she made a deal with the devils when the bastion was constructed.
However, things were drastically different now that multiple elves had become demonic slaves.
Deciding that it was time for him to move, he waved his finger to cast a spell, his face instantly becoming paler by a few shades.
The circle was incredibly intricate as if countless spells were weaved into a single powerful spell.
[Tier 2 spell, Elemental Clone]
Finishing the casting, he knelt on the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
His gaze, still unfocused, he looked at the blood swirling as a figure slowly emerged from it, forming a visage similar to his. After a few seconds, a young boy with the same features as William appeared, possessing a vibe and disposition that were the same as the original.
Shaking his head to recover from the dizziness, he couldn't help but grimace at his actions. Since he was stuck, the only way for him to escape was by using spells that were clearly out of his league at the moment.
[Elemental Clone] was a genuine tier 2 spell that required a decent amount of mana, even for a second-stage mage. Casting it now would put him in an unstable position for a few hours. Knowing this, he quickly ordered the clone to continue the job he had been doing until now as he retreated to a hidden space he had dug out a few days ago.
Sitting cross-legged, he focused all his mental energy on recovering, knowing well that the clone would at most last 48 hours.
After four hours of meditation, he had recovered almost 90% of his strength, making him able to continue his plans.
Taking a deep breath, he activated his aspect, with countless green runic patterns covering his body from head to toe.
Pointing his finger, he began creating spells in the air at incredible speeds while at the same time chanting. Since his mana control and capacity were now more than enough to cast spells mid-air, William was satisfied.
[Tier One Spell, Reconnaissance]
[Tier One Spell, Speed Enhancement]
[Tier one spell, Mana Shroud]
[Tier one spell, Silent Step]
In an instant, his mana was depleted by more than half as he cast four spells simultaneously.
Pleased with the results of his casting, William disappeared from the spot, leaving only a small cloud of dust behind.
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Outside the tent, two rough-looking soldiers stood upright, protecting it.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind directly shook them, making them almost stumble and fall. The two looked at each other, baffled by what just happened, as they quickly opened the tent in panic, finding William still sitting on his chair and looking at them with a confused expression.
Scratching their heads, they apologized and returned to their post, feeling confused.
"What the hell was that?"
Asked the one on the right, his face directly portraying his emotions.
"Man, I don't even know. Ever since I got this post, all sorts of weird things have happened. Didn't you hear some sort of digging at night the last few days? I could have sworn that it came from inside this tent. I even told Lord Malcolm about this, so a group of people was sent in to investigate the tent but found nothing."
Said the other guard, still holding a bit of a grudge. He was feeling wronged since he was confident that something was going on inside the tent when they weren't looking.
At that moment, a young man walked by them and clicked his tongue.
The young man had long brown hair, with two bundles of it being much more prolonged and dangling from the sides of his face. Small black writings that resembled scars could be seen on the right side of his face.
"Eddie, why are you here again? Didn't the Lord say that you aren't allowed inside the young master's room unless it's either dinner time or he asks you to?"
Said the right guard, feeling irritated after going through the earlier event.
Eddie clicked his tongue again, looking at the two guards as if he were looking at a pair of idiots. He could already tell that his master had long disappeared from the room, and only a fake was left inside.
This young man was Eddie Kelley, the thief William had recruited.
After William returned to his house, he released Eddie from his shadow and asked Manuel to train him as a personal servant. Of course, Manuel agreed, quite liking the young man's temperament. He was given a servant's residence inside the estate, just like every servant, and was strictly trained to be one of the best, from serving to information gathering to assassination.
Although Eddie was just a servant and not a butler, since that role was already occupied by Jerome, who was still in training, in the months he was training with Manuel, he had already become stronger than before.
After William and Malcolm had departed for the war, William took him along as an information agent since his role was potent in such situations.
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William was currently rushing through a forest of giant trees, his figure flashing from place to place, making one unable to follow with their eyes unless they were far more powerful than him.
[Mana Shroud] allowed him to blend his figure with the surroundings, creating a mirage, essentially making him invisible to the naked eye, while [Silent Step] was sound magic that completely erased any sound made while walking.
Combined with his [Speed Enhancement] spell and [Chronomancer] aspect, his speed could rival that of a grand knight using all his strength.
The [Reconnaissance] spell allowed him to scan things within a kilometer radius, making it an excellent spell for infiltration. It didn't need to be cast repeatedly since it would function like a passive spell after being cast until the mana input stopped.
Knowing that it would take at least four hours for him to reach the capital, even at his top speed, he couldn't help but inspect the surrounding forest.
The trees here weren't actual trees but rather the roots of the World Tree, being copies of the original on a much smaller scale.
Even from where he was standing, he could see the gigantic tree in the distance, even though it was so far away. He couldn't help but be amazed since by the time he was able to roam the world, the World Tree had already been reduced to nothing but timber for the demons to use.
He could tell that a similar situation was already happening at the moment from the black corruption that seemed to be eating the trees he was passing by.
'This is a worst-case scenario to think that my interference would cause such a drastic change. It's starting to piss me off.'
Thought William, feeling irritated at the unpredictability of it.
For some unknown reason, all of the future events were connected with the fate of his family, making him feel distressed and uncomfortable. He felt a strange itch as if he knew the reason, but he couldn't scratch it.
He had already altered the timeline by saving his family, and now the corruption of the world tree was spreading faster than it should have.
He had always known that messing with time could have disastrous consequences, but he had thought that he could control it. Now, he wasn't so sure.
He reached the outskirts of the capital just as the sun was setting. The world tree was already in a horrid state, with more than half of it consumed by corruption.
William knew that the consciousness of the World Tree was forced into a hibernating state, making it unable to do anything to stop the corruption. The majestic capital that was the epitome of nature had transformed into nothing more than a hell zone in a short period after the World Tree was damaged.
The city was bustling with activity, so he had to use his [Mana Shroud] to avoid being spotted by anyone. He made his way toward the ruined palace, his senses on full alert, already noticing countless demonic apparitions in the area.
A scowl couldn't help but appear on his still immature face as he felt a familiar presence.
He could see a woman standing on top of the palace entrance, ordering hundreds of corrupt elven soldiers to head out. Not even having to look at her face, he recognized her voice and vibe alone.
'Oh, Sylmare, to think you've become a demonic slave so soon...'
He couldn't help but mutter as his green eyes became chillingly cold.
