Law of Space and Time

Right as Erwin was struggling to collect his own thoughts, Onean also returned to the room.

He heaved a faint sigh as he heard her enter the room.

"If you have something to say, then say it. Don't just lie there and mope," Onean said in a cold voice.

Erwin didn't know what to say, so he could only remain silent, and thus, neither of them were saying anything. Funnily enough, both of them were lying on their beds and leaning against the headboards of their beds in the same posture, except they were separated by the floorboards, and neither of them was looking at the other.

He couldn't hear any sound coming from Onean's bed, so he thought that she had to have gone to sleep. However, he wasn't feeling sleepy at all. His body was already extremely exhausted, but his mind was in a state of extreme excitement, and it was refusing to allow him to fall asleep.

"Are you really just planning to not say anything?" Onean suddenly asked.

"I thought you already fell asleep."

"I can't sleep."

"Then what do you want me to say? Do you want me to discuss with you the magic that I can't even understand myself?"

"For an instant back there, I felt like I didn't know who you were. It was like looking at a complete stranger."

"I don't know what came over me at the time, either, but I just couldn't accept any pity or sympathy."

Onean hesitated momentarily, then continued, "How about..."

"I know what you want to say, but I can't give up on my time and space magic right now," Erwin replied in an implacable voice.

"You know, you really are a conceited piece of work! It's like you don't want to listen to any advice from the people around you!" Onean was starting to get a little angry. "If you're not going to give up on that dangerous magic that you're using, then don't bother to save me next time. I'm not as vulnerable as you think I am, and I could've dealt with those Skycourt Kingdom mercenaries on my own just fine."

"Alright, then it looks like I’m the one at fault here," Erwin replied in a cold voice.

It was clear that the conversation wasn't leading to any positive outcomes, and both of them fell silent again.

A short while later, Onean heaved a faint sigh as she got up from her bed, then descended down the wooden ladder to reach Erwin's bedroom. The lighting on the bottom level wasn't as good as that of the top level, but it was a dark night with no moon anyway, so it made no difference. The Nightglow Stone lamps in the room had also been put away by Erwin because their light was hurting his eyes.

"What are you so angry about?" Onean asked as she sat down on the side of his bed.

"I don't know, perhaps it's just the feeling of being unable to control myself," Erwin replied with his arm draped over his own eyes. "If I hadn't managed to retain just a shred of mental clarity back there, I would've killed everyone."

Before Onean had a chance to say anything, Erwin continued, "And that includes you. It also includes Larwood and everyone else. The most scary part about this is that even now, when I think back to what I almost did, I don't feel any guilt at all. Do you understand why I'm so angry now?"

After getting all of that off his own chest, Erwin's anger had finally abated slightly.

"That last spell that you used really was very scary," Onean said as she recalled back to the scenes that had just unfolded outside the airship. "If I had been struck by those things, I would be dead as well."

"Of course it was scary. Whatever those things were, they managed to slice through even space and time. How could it not be scary?" Erwin said in a cold voice.

"They sliced through space and time?" Onean was rather perplexed to hear this, and her brows furrowed slightly as she asked, "Was Professor Hawk the one who taught you time and space magic?"

"No. Professor Hawk only introduced me to that branch of magic," Erwin replied in a calm voice.

"Then how did you learn it?" Onean asked.

Erwin pulled out the copy of "Laws of Time and Space" from under his pillow before waving it in front of Onean. Onean was worried that Erwin's eyes wouldn't be able to stand the light of Nightglow Stone lamps, so she conjured up a small flame on her fingertip, which gave off just enough light for her to see the cover of the book.

If someone were to see them speaking with one another under such dim light in such a dark setting, they could easily be forgiven for thinking that the two of them were up to no good.

"Can I open the book and take a look?" Onean asked as she cast her gaze toward Erwin, but Erwin's eyes were still concealed under his own arm, so no eye contact could be established.

He hesitated momentarily, then replied, "I'd advise you not to."

"Alright." Onean didn't force the issue. This was an expected response, and she continued, "If you die from using the spells in this book, I'll visit your grave and lament how much of an idiot you were."

Erwin couldn't help but be amused upon hearing this, and he replied, "Alright, then I'll pass the book onto you once I'm dead."

"Let me take a look at your eyes," Onean said as she moved Erwin's arm away from his eyes.

Aside from his brain, Erwin was too tired to move any part of his body anyway, so he allowed her to do as she pleased. It was quite a pleasant experience to feel Onean's delicate and fragrant fingers gently drifting over his face. Unfortunately, he was too exhausted to take full advantage of the situation.

"You had such a violent rush of blood to your head that it seeped directly out of the corners of your eyes. Just how angry were you back then?" Onean inspected Erwin's red and swollen eyes with tightly furrowed brows, then chuckled, "If I look at you like that again next time, will your eyes pop straight out of their sockets?"

"You can try it if you're not afraid of being killed," Erwin replied in an indifferent voice.

"Oh? Is that supposed to be a threat? You think you're a big shot now, do you?" Onean began to pinch Erwin's cheeks in retaliation.

"Hey, why are you getting all handsy all of a sudden?" Erwin complained as he swatted at her hands with a painful wince.

"That's what you get for saying you didn't feel guilty for almost killing everyone," Onean said with a displeased pout.

"To be honest, I've been constantly thinking about that ever since I got back. I feel like many of my emotions have suddenly gone missing, and they still haven't all returned to me yet."

Onean was silent for a moment before asking, "Is this the only time that this has happened?"

"I... think so," Erwin replied in a rather ambiguous manner.

"It looks like I should stay far away from you in the future," Onean said as she took a glance at her.

"Why is that?" Erwin asked in a puzzled voice.

"If I don't stay away from you, I may end up dead before I get a chance to visit your grave," Onean chuckled.

"That's true." Erwin couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"Oh, by the way, here's your staff," Onean said as she pulled his Shaved Purple Gem staff out of her sleeve. "Going back to what I was saying before, it was like you had turned into an entirely different person. You were looking at your staff with a disgusted expression, then you threw it at me like it was a piece of rubbish or something."

"I remember that, but I don't know why I felt that," Erwin replied with a perplexed expression as he accepted his staff from Onean. "At the time, I felt extremely embarrassed and humiliated that I had to rely on an object to cast my spells. What kind of stupid idea is that?"

"Who knows? You'll have to ask yourself that question."

"I have been, but I'm not coming up with any answers."

...

Meanwhile, outside the airship's deck, Larwood, Kaiba, and Chase were sharing a quiet conversation while looking out at the night sky. There was no one else on the deck aside from them. Having already endured two grueling battles earlier today, everyone was extremely exhausted, and they had already returned to the cabin on the lower floor to sleep.

"That magic that he's using is downright terrifying. You guys saw what happened as well, right? Those Skycourt Kingdom mercenaries were sliced in half before being sucked into that black hole," Chase said in a low voice with a fearful look on his face.

"I wonder what Professor Hawk has been teaching Erwin. Why is it that his magic is becoming more and more dangerous?" Kaiba mused with tightly furrowed brows.

In contrast, Larwood wore a calm expression as he said, "It's not that surprising. I heard my father once mention that Count Friar's wife also studied time and space magic in the past."

"So you're saying that time and space magic can be passed down genetically?" Chase was rather amused by the idea. "Wasn't it Professor Hawk who taught him this magic?"

"I've always felt like there are some hidden circumstances behind this. Erwin told us himself that his magic concerns time and space. If you ask me, there's nothing that Professor Hawk can teach him in this area. I feel like the magic that he's dabbling in now is something that his mother left behind," Larwood analyzed. "Think about it: how many people throughout history have tried to study time and space magic? How many of them have succeeded and made a name for themselves? Then take a look at Erwin and how much progress he's made in time and space magic in just the past few months. Do you really think genetics has nothing to do with this?"

"No wonder there are fewer and fewer people studying time and space magic. For most people, studying this branch of magic is nothing more than a waste of time, so it's a much more worthwhile use of their time to work on improving their magic power instead," Kaiba said with a nod.

"That's true. Some people are born into wealth and status, while others are born with exceptional talent. Envy isn't going to get us anywhere," Chase sighed. "Then again, there are also people who are born into poverty and misfortune, so we should be thankful for what we have."

"If you ask me, it's best not to take those things too seriously. Take a look at Jeff Lazaar. He was also an exceptional talent with looks to match, but he was still disfigured by Her Highness in the end, wasn't he?" Larwood said with a smile. It appeared that he was merely indulging in schadenfreude, but upon closer contemplation, one would discover that there was some profound meaning behind his words.

Chase and Kaiba had also identified what Larwood was implying. There was no limit to how talented or privileged one could be, but life was the ultimate equalizer.

...

"You're a bunch of thieves! Give our airship back to us!" The sound of a scuffle was ringing out from the deck of the airship.

Erwin was still sound asleep when he was woken up by the loud commotion outside. He had gone to sleep very late the night before, and he was very annoyed to have been woken up after so little sleep.

"What's going on?" Erwin groaned with a frustrated expression as he hurled his blankets aside.

"Christine's father woke up, and he's currently arguing with Larwood over the airship's ownership rights," Onean replied from the room above Erwin's.

"What are they arguing about? It's not like we're going to take their airship from them," Erwin said as he massaged his own eyes. Onean had applied some ointment to his eyes the night before, so they were no longer as sore and swollen, but they were still feeling very dry from sleep deprivation.