Soon after, Aqua teleported into the academy courtyard. In front of her was the Azure, her sword strapped to her back, yet the sword looked different in her eyes.
She could tell it was not an original.
A slight ethereal bronze shimmer emanated from it.
She walked up to Azure, making the champion step back out of instinct. Aqua's eyes narrowed, and her fists clenched. "Aqua?"
"Azu, give me your sword. Immediately," Aqua demanded.
She blinked.
Azure nodded and complied with the demand. She then handed it to Aqua."Why?"
Aqua smiled. She couldn't help but feel happy at the fact that Azure trusted her enough not to question her too much.
Her eyes landed on the false [Mortal Hope]. Her fingers dragged over its broad side. For all intents and purposes, the sword looked and behaved the same as the original.
This means the enemy stole her original blade. Why did it become a paradox?
Either the Lord's fix of the timeline was imperfect, or the original sword was in the same location as the White Hand.
Of course, using a paradox blade would not be overly dangerous by itself. However, if it had connected with the original, it would have erased Azure and who knew what else.
Aqua was not willing to let that happen ever again.
She grabbed the paradox blade. "That thing is a Paradox; you must not use it."
Azure tilted her head and opened her mouth to speak, yet Aqua did not listen.
Aqua stared at the blade. Let's see if I can use those statements properly.
"I state now, before Truth of Time," Aqua said, her voice booming, carrying infinity within. The very moment she stated the truth, a crushing gaze fell upon her. The flow of time opened before her.
She gazed into infinity, and a terrible pain descended upon her whole being. However, she had expected this. The Lord had told her that she needed to practice and to let go of her fear.
Only those who trusted their wielding of time would be worthy of freely using the statements.
"The Paradox in my grasp has never been and will never be again."
The threads of time forming the paradox of the sword unraveled. Her knees were about to buckle, yet she forced herself to stand tall.
This is so much more difficult to do by myself.
Her heart beat faster. Her head throbbed.
The threads of time forming the blade unraveled and weaved themselves into the fabric of the timeline.
Of course, she could have had an easier time by using [Altered Time] to get rid of the paradox, yet the Lord's technique was a new territory that she needed to practice lest her grasp over time remained stagnant.
For her beloved, she needed to be ready to manipulate time and, in the necessary case, reverse it.
Yet her heart felt as if it were about to explode. She gasped for air before the false blade was finally removed from the timeline.
Her vision spun, and her breathing became difficult. Lord made this look so effortless. She stumbled forward, falling face-first into Azure.
Everyone present stared at the now-erased sword, most wearing a confused face, yet Azure did not care about the sword. She noticed Aqua struggling to breathe and rushed to hug her. "Aqua! Are you okay?" Azure asked softly.
Aqua gulped, catching her breath. This is worse than when I first tried to use black flame.
She rubbed her head against Azure before pushing herself back, the pain finally lifting. "Sorry about that. That sword was not worth the risk of using; it was not supposed to exist."
Azure sighed. A slight pout formed. The champion tapped her fingers together awkwardly. "What will I do now, my star?"
For a moment, Aqua plunged into her thoughts. Azure needed a weapon, and since her original [Mortal Hope] had been stolen, Aqua had a duty as her life partner to provide her a new one.
Tracking the original can come later.
Pale blue mana formed within her hand. "I would not leave you without a weapon, of course."
Aqua debated for a moment whether she should provide Azure with one of her more powerful black flame-imbued weapons, yet she quickly dismissed the idea.
I will not put her at unnecessary risk.
The mana coalesced and soon formed a beautiful black blade; its edges resembled silver, and the guard was of gold.
Aqua then moved her fingers over its spine, enchanting it with Crimson and Black flame just as she had done with the [Mortal Hope], yet unlike the [Mortal Hope], this blade comfortably contained both enchantments; thus Aqua decided to empower the crimson flame within even further beyond.
The black spine cracked, the veins of crimson spreading from the guard to the tip.
Aqua swiped her fingers, and the veins formed into an inscription. "I call this blade, [Sun's Vengeance]."
The inscription settled, and the sword shone brightly. Aqua nodded and handed the blade to Azure. "For you, Azu."
Azure stepped forward, her eyes sparkling at the sight, gently taking the sword and giving it a couple of test swings.
Aqua then turned to Aurora and produced a small gem from her dimensional storage.
She grabbed Aurora's palm and placed the small gemstone in it. "Aurora, I will teach you aether when this is done, but if mana exhaustion creeps up on you, just swallow this gem; it will relieve it."
Aqua had expected present elves to be curious about her act of creation, including Mia, who had already experienced it. However, they did not have time; each moment that passed, the sinners lived.
She ignored Mia's thirsty gaze before taking distance away from the group. "We will have time for questions later. Now is the time to crush the savages, avenge your future selves!"
The group stood silent, their attention fixed on Aqua.
"Once you are ready, I will teleport you near the camp," she said, her gaze moving to Azure. "Azure will deal with the soldiers of the beast while Sheira and I observe from above. The rest will deal with the savages."
Azure was the first one to salute. "We trust you, my Star! With you watching over us, the savages will never stand a chance."
Aqua's lips widened into a line. "Good, let us go then."
With a flick of the wrist, the group disappeared.
***
As another corpse was absorbed, the pool of darkness bubbled. The two days of feeding it elven corpses were finally over. What once was a mere puddle was now a rather large lake of darkness.
The rotting stench reached his nose, making him wince each time he dared get close. The other tribes should be successful with their task too.
"Tis time. Da Destiny manifest," Um'Am said, grinning. He reached for his horn and brought it to his mouth.
The piercing sound of his horn echoed through the forest.
The purpose of the pools eluded him; the benefactor had never failed them. His leadership was and would be instrumental in the coming reconquest of their lands.
Yet the pools did not respond to the horn as he had expected; instead, it was as still as the clam sea. He snarled. This only meant that it was not the time yet; perhaps the army needed to arrive first.
"May Lady Laleyn guide our claws toward the elven throats," He prayed.
Disappointed, he headed over to his camp; the forest around it was cleared, leaving enough space for a large force to arrive.
Instead of meeting the benefactor as he had expected, a group of cattle stood before him. One was armed with a wand, and the second carried a strange tube that he assumed was a flimsy ranged weapon.
What was strange was the male elf who carried nothing, yet despite being empty-handed, he seemed confident, too confident for a cattle animal.
The elves were dressed in cloth. It disgusted him. Yet, he was peckish. These elves would be a great meal before the coming war.
"Cattle! What are you doing here?!" He roared.
The trio of cattle did not deign to answer him. Yet, that did not matter. He would slaughter the sapient livestock and feast.
He stepped to the side and grabbed his axe. "Warriors! To my side!"
At his order, his berserkers rushed to surround the cattle. The presence of the elves was likely the reason the benefactor had not arrived with the army. He was testing them once again.
He raised his axe and roared.
The elegant pale elf stepped forward. "Um'Am! We are here to put you down like a rabid animal, you are!"
He did not care. He gripped his axe, and his tail swayed. His eyes glanced at his warriors, and a cruel smile adorned his face.
"Kill them all!"
Um'Am raised his axe high, ready to slash at the enemy with the mighty artifact. However, his face was quickly struck by a massive lightning bolt.