NOVEL NEXT Chapter377-Back to the Beginning
Daniel furrowed his brow in deep thought.
Although he was unable to make an accurate deduction, one thing was obvious: Laeve's death had no direct connection to Aurelia. The problem lay in Laeve's journey to the ruins to obtain the Life Core. Could the Life Core be the issue?
No, perhaps the ruins themselves contained some kind of danger!
According to Faer's theory, to enhance domain god power, one must find "scales" related to their domain. The Life Core was the scale that Laeve had set for herself.
Though unable to use [Mental Deduction], Daniel could still piece together clues from his knowledge gained in the Royal Museum to make some educated guesses.
A month later, Daniel opened his eyes again.
After a period of deduction, Daniel realized that, theoretically, there was no inherent problem. After all, Faer had already completed a similar trial and achieved tremendous growth, even able to easily accommodate a second divine position. So, the problem must lie elsewhere.
With this in mind, Daniel immediately activated [Time Stream]!
This time, he returned to the moment when he had first obtained [Mental Deduction].
Daniel immediately activated [Mental Deduction] and began running simulations. Based on the deductions, Laeve should be able to integrate the Life Core, and it would bring unexpected benefits to her.
So… where was the problem?
Daniel attempted to resurrect Laeve using Resurrection Magic, but failed.
Daniel used [Time Stream] again.
This was already the third cycle.
This time, Daniel approached the issue differently.
He used [Gift of the Veiled Goddess] to disguise himself as Laeve. Then, Daniel entered the ruins and took her place to obtain the scale.
However, the awkward part was that the Laeve he had created through disguise could only exert about a third of the original's strength. As a result, he couldn't even pass the first trial in the ruins!
But if Daniel reverted to his true form, he would be rejected by the ruins. So, he was entirely uncertain about what had happened in the ruins.
What had caused Laeve's death?
The fourth cycle:
Daniel decided to try changing other key events.
This time, he proactively suggested rescuing Aurelia and took action before she was severely injured.
However, to Daniel's surprise, their mission encountered a large number of Fake God-level enemies.
In the end, they managed to kill two Fake Gods, but at a heavy cost.
Although Aurelia was saved, Luck Goddess Luke suffered severe injuries, and even her luck value was taken from her.
Daniel couldn't accept this outcome, so he triggered the fifth cycle.
In this attempt, Daniel warned Aurelia about the coming danger in advance.
Aurelia believed him and followed his advice to avoid the danger.
This time, Aurelia wasn't chased by the Fake Gods but was cursed while exploring other ruins.
Daniel used Resurrection Magic to save Aurelia.
Eight years later, Laeve felt ready to pursue the Life Core and set off for the ruins.
Despite Daniel's attempts to dissuade her, Laeve remained determined.
On one fateful night, Laeve left.
Each of them had a strong will.
The 19th cycle:
Daniel had already tried many different approaches at various time points.
He even went so far as to seal Laeve away, but this only led to battles breaking out inside the castle.
The result of the battle was that Daniel was still unable to stop Laeve.
The 27th cycle:
This time, Daniel chose to use [Psychic Perception], giving Laeve and Aurelia ten years of psychological suggestion. Finally, he managed to dissuade Laeve from seeking the Life Core.
At the same time, he also warned Aurelia in advance.
Everything seemed to be progressing in a positive direction.
However, Daniel didn't expect that five years later, a peak Fake God appeared near the castle.
Though Daniel used [Flashback] to escape with everyone, Laeve was severely injured in the process.
Afterward, they were pursued and attacked by the Fake God-level enemy.
Ultimately, Faer and Aurelia perished in battle, while Laeve and Luke were severely wounded.
Because of the constant fighting, Faer and the others had already surpassed level 700 when they died.
Despite Daniel's mastery of Resurrection Magic, he was unable to resurrect all of them.
This timeline underwent massive changes!
By the end of the cycle, Daniel was deeply confused.
He had no idea what to do next.
After countless attempts at [Mental Deduction], all the results seemed to point back to the original timeline.
Daniel was on the verge of giving up, but he still couldn't let go, so he decided to try once more to see if there were other possibilities.
The 181st cycle:
Daniel had fully realized the terrifying nature of determinism. No matter how he tried to change things, the end result would remain the same.
At some point in the future, everything that had happened would happen again.
So… was Laeve doomed to die?
Daniel continued the cycles.
He couldn't even remember which cycle it was anymore. Was it the 500th, or the 700th?
For Daniel, these numbers no longer held any meaning. They had become nothing but empty figures.
Eventually, Daniel realized that the original timeline was actually the best outcome.
Upon reaching this conclusion, Daniel sighed softly.
He had once believed he could control time, but in reality, he couldn't escape determinism.
So… perhaps everything was simply meant to be.
The only consolation Daniel found was that, in the future, Laeve did manage to leave the ruins and reach the god level.
So... perhaps there was nothing he needed to change after all.
Since that was the case...
When Laeve again expressed her intention to leave, Daniel chose to support her.
And, as he stood by her side, he noticed a slender young girl.
The girl was beautiful, but her appearance was forgettable.
Yet, Daniel suddenly realized… perhaps this was the Mist!
Finally, I've found you, Mist.
Daniel used [Time Stream] once more, returning to the original timeline.
On the other side, Kartora, upon seeing Daniel awaken, spoke softly.
"Crossbridge, you've worked hard."
Daniel nodded. He knew that after using [Time Stream] so many times, Kartora would have noticed.
"The Time Square Mirror is complete. It's time to set out."