"Thales, I need you to lend me a hand."
Inside the Black Tortoise, Thales stared blankly at Zoran, who had returned as suddenly as he had left.
Recovering quickly, he arched his expressive eyebrows with a grin and drummed his chest with a resonant thud. "Say no more! If you need something, there isn't anything Thales can't handle!"
"Excellent." Zoran eyed him. "Your Hetero-Energy is unique; it possesses the power to reverse time and space. I need you to do me a favor: turn back the clock."
"This…" Thales hesitated, his expression fraught with uncertainty. "It's not that I don't want to help you, Uncle, but I don't even know how to do that myself."
"Reverse time?"
Master Wyatt, currently in his retirement phase, murmured to himself from the side. He spoke up instinctively, offering a word of caution:
"Though the little guy's Hetero-Energy does indeed possess the potential for temporal reversal, he can only go back a few moments at most. To reverse ten thousand years? Unless…"
Master Wyatt trailed off as if struck by a sudden realization, finishing the thought before he could stop himself: "Unless there is an external power source capable of providing him with sufficient Hetero-Energy."
Zoran nodded with a smile. "Precisely. I wonder if a Nebula Body-level output would be enough?"
Master Wyatt froze. "That… should be enough."
He had almost forgotten, standing right before him was a being with more than enough power. If a Nebula Body wasn't enough, then there wasn't a single person in the seven parallel universes who could qualify.
"Alright!" Thales, having grasped the intent behind Zoran and Master Wyatt's words, looked resolute. "Don't judge me by my size, every pound of fat on me is proof of my intelligence and courage! Uncle, let's do this!"
"Good. You are worth teaching." Zoran nodded in satisfaction.
Thales was a decent lad; he was a good ally to have.
"Wait, what about us?" Kino interjected.
If Thales, the captain, left to manage this, who would pilot the Black Tortoise and provide them with support? Who would man the core?
Ahem.
Master Wyatt cleared his throat, leaning on his staff as he walked toward the control console. His intention was clear.
Having only just decided to retire, his mind had yet to fully settle into a relaxed state, and now, in the next second, he was back at the helm. At the very least, the responsibilities were perfectly redistributed.
Without hesitation, Zoran extended a finger and tapped the Energy Locker on Thales's wrist.
In an instant, a torrent of Hetero-Energy, like a surging flood, poured into Thales's body. Thales's once composed face was instantly masked by panic as his entire frame began to tremble.
Simultaneously, the Black Tortoise's AI, Lisa, chimed in with a timely warning: "Warning: Hetero-Energy levels in the subject exceeding safety parameters. Potential for self-detonation detected. Self-detonation imminent…"
Thales clutched his head, groaning in pain. "What do I do? I'm going to explode!"
Zoran, however, remained unruffled. "The raw power of your Hetero-Energy is a rarity, even among the strong who cycle through this world."
"It simply lacks offensive capability, bear with it. I will help you expand your capacity to contain this energy." Zoran's expression did not waver as he continued to channel his power.
"What do we do, Master? Thales might not be the most lovable guy, but we can't just let him blow up!" Kino looked toward Master Wyatt.
"Patience, Kino." Master Wyatt waved his hand, his eyes fixed on Zoran and Thales as he let out a soft sigh. "Consider this his fortuitous opportunity."
"Opportunity?" Kino blinked.
"Indeed. After this ordeal, Thales will be able to contain significantly more Hetero-Energy. Perhaps he will even be able to traverse space-time across greater scales on his own."
Inside the ship, the look of agony on Thales's face gradually softened.
He could feel Zoran's immense energy surging within him, and it felt as though something within his very being had been unlocked. This colossal power was bestowing a massive upgrade upon him. For a fleeting moment, his soul felt as though it were floating upward; he felt like a giant, looking down at the world as if everything had become infinitesimally small.
He hadn't been blown apart; instead, he was beginning to adapt.
Watching Thales, even Zoran couldn't help but feel a twinge of admiration. It was often said that the protagonist, Kino, was the true genius, breaking through ten thousand years in a mere seven days. But, in truth, the most cunning of them all was this little guy, Thales.
With a portly frame and an ocean of hidden potential, his "Temporal Reversal" technique lacked offensive power, but it was the one skill that could always turn the tides. Damage dealers might come and go, but the support stays.
The value of this guy went without saying.
"I can feel it!" After a moment, Thales looked at his own hands. Supported by Zoran and overflowing with energy, his body began to radiate a vivid, emerald light.
He moved his arms in a fluid, Taiji-like motion and declared in a low, resonant voice: "Temporal Reversal!"
In an instant, the world froze like a canvas. Everything turned a dull, grayish hue in his vision.
Normally, the furthest he could revert time was a few dozen seconds. But with the full support of a Nebula Body powerhouse like Zoran, and the latent potential Zoran had just unlocked within him, the dimension he could reverse expanded exponentially.
He looked up and found Zoran watching him calmly. Perhaps because the man had provided the power, Zoran was able to move freely within the space-time bubble he had created.
"Uncle, what do we do now?" Thales asked.
"Grab onto my sleeve." Zoran smiled faintly.
Thales hurried over and gripped Zoran's sleeve. To be honest, he was happy to be of service to his savior. Besides, he knew his own situation; he was the one benefiting the most from this.
Sure enough, follow a powerhouse with a Nebula Body, and even if you don't get the meat, you'll at least get some broth. Thales might not look like much, but he was certainly an intelligent little guy.
"Time is about to start flowing," Zoran said softly.
In the next second, to Thales's eyes, he and Zoran were rapidly retreating. The Black Tortoise, Master Wyatt, Kino… everything faded from his view. The speed was extreme, akin to riding a high-speed express train.
Everything around them stretched into long, distant threads of light as they flowed backward into the past.
Zoran lowered his gaze, quietly observing Thales beside him. He had devised this plan back when he decided to use the Second Parallel Universe as his testing ground.
The last time he had engaged in a temporal reversal, it was alongside Shendu to defeat He Xiangu and Lü Dongbin. It was only in such a high-tier world that he could pull off a second reversal. But the two instances were different.
The difficulty last time lay in Shendu having to bring the powers recognized by his original world back into the past. This time, the challenge lay in crossing the dimensional chasm of ten thousand years.
Zoran let out a breath that sounded almost like a sigh of nostalgia.
Without realizing it, he too was walking a path toward greater power. As an immortal being, a demon's perception of time differed from that of a mortal, yet even he felt a sudden sense of length when he looked back.
The two reversals felt as though they had been separated by an eternity.
Ten thousand years was too long, Thales drifted in a daze, his eyes tightly shut.
Ten thousand years was too short, before he could even regain his bearings, it felt as if only a single instant had passed. Zoran's voice echoed in his ears:
"We have arrived."
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