Artemia: Journey To The Thirtieth Floor

44. Loop of Time

A large explosion could be heard coming from up the sky, and I realized that things were getting serious up there. I lifted my eyes to the sky to see how Yuki was holding up as I tucked the book away inside my clothes. They could uncover the crystals if they were left out in the open, so I buried them in the ground once again. But his time, with a barrier around them to keep their presence hidden.

I began channeling my elemental power to Yuki through the thread after making assured that no one would be able to intercept it. "I'm begging, please make it..." I murmured as I felt like I was becoming more dizzy and fatigued.

Yuki appeared to be losing mana at an alarming pace, so I need to come up with a plan to keep her mana levels supplied at all times. If we keep going this way, we may be able to subdue Leon. Given that Leon is still alive at the present time...I have my doubts that we will be able to pull this off. At the very least, we should be able to inflict significant damage on him, right? After all, if we are unable to do so...then for what exact reason are they fighting?

I sighed as I approached the twins, who had stopped fighting by this point. They seemed to be relieved upon seeing that I was safe. They're keeping a close eye on Yuki in the hopes that she will be able to bring Leon down. When I saw Leon was trying to escape, I maintained a neutral and indifferent expression. Well, I kind of expected that already. This jerk...has absolutely no shame at all. I was fully aware that Yuki had enough ability to kill him on the spot, but I was also certain that Leon would not play fair.

"I'll bring Yuki back as soon as I discover out what Leon has up his sleeves," I told the twins as I continued looking up at the sky.

I heard Enkai, who had furrowed his brows, sigh heavily. "What exactly are you talking about? It's time for Princess Yuki to put a stop to his reign of terror. We can all see that Leon is being pushed to one side!"

"Exactly," I replied as I looked at him with an indifferent expression. "You're naïve if you think he doesn't have something up his sleeve."

"That's not Leon's full power..." Kasai drawled as he continued staring at Yuki and Leon.

"Figures."

I'll be completely honest right now...none of them is using their powers to their maximum. Yuki has been handicapped from the beginning because Shirayuki is still lying dormant inside her. It's not that Yuki doesn't put out her best effort, but it's the contrary. She's physically unable to do so. For Leon, it's likely that he has intentions to seize Yuki or something like that after she has been incapacitated, which is something the three of us to prevent at all costs right now.

If we look at it that way, it would only make sense that the kings would want to abduct Yuki and absorb her power, which is to their advantage, of course. Right! Leon will not be able to ascend to the position of Artemia's deity until he has obtained the core from Yuki. The latter's condition will deteriorate to the point that she will submit to them, and we will be unable to free her from her predicament...and the war will come to an end. So would Artemia...

Shit!

I quickly made the twins build a defensive barrier around the island that would be powerful enough to keep the kings away. The moment I realized it, I pulled Yuki away from Leon by using the thread that I had placed earlier while trying to go back to the island. Oh my God, it was really dangerous! Leon and Yuki were taken aback by what we did, but I knew it was the only option available to me. Because Artemia would not remain safe otherwise.

Leon had attempted to detain us, and my eyes widened as I grasped what was going on. This is turning out to be a lot more dangerous than I first imagined! Taking advantage of the adrenaline rush, I was able to strengthen the barrier while also pinning Yuki to the ground. The fact that she had gone beyond her own limit seems to have made her lose her mind. She may entirely devastate the island if she continues in this way...

"He's going to get past it!" Kai warned me as he tried to attack him.

"It's not working!"

"Yuki, stay still!" I begged because I felt like I'd die early!

Ah, I can't take this anymore!

Shirayuki...

The stress became too much for me to bear, and I had to call her for help. Because she is so well revered on this island, I began to trust that she should be able to hear my pleas. Please, just wake up and help us out! Yuki is in severe need of your help today, more than ever, so you should hurry up and get your ass here. We can't let Yuki perish in this place, can we? We have to do something! Our chances of saving Artemia from certain obliteration are slim if you don't respond right away. So, please answer us...

The strain of trying to keep the barrier up while also stopping Yuki from going on a rampage started to weigh heavily on my shoulders, and I began to slowly sink to the ground. Because I was completely at a loss for what to do, my body started to give up. I could hear the twins screaming my name, but my vision began to get blurry, so I could not respond. My consciousness was starting to fade away little by little...

Just as I began to fall into the ground, I saw a similar shade of blue light radiating from a different direction. We were still on the verge of getting killed by Leon, so I glanced through my cloudy eyelids to see whether that was still the case. But it seemed like Yuki was progressively working her way closer to the shore. Her eyes had become blue, and her hair had restored to its former whiteness. Then that means that the white tigress has awakened now!

Shirayuki actually heard my cries for help. Heh, that's good to know. Perhaps I can sleep now...

"What happened?" I asked as soon as I woke up, holding my head due to the stinging pain that I felt there. I couldn't help but let out whimpers because of it.

Yuki was grasping my hand, her eyes welling up with tears as she looked at me. "Thank you very much..."

"For what, exactly?" I asked as I closed my eyes, hoping to lessen the ache.

"Shirayuki awoke as soon as you called her by name. We can defeat the three kings now!" Yuki exclaimed, her voice filled with enthusiasm.

"I see..." I muttered under my breath as I smiled out of satisfaction. "That's good enough for me."

"Wait a minute, let's leave this to the side for the time being. How do you feel right now? Is there any discomfort? Does your body hurt?"

"My head hurts," I replied as I heaved a heavy sigh.

She tapped my forehead with her index finger lightly. It took a few seconds for me to understand what I was doing after feeling a cold breeze pass by. Voila! My headache has entirely disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place. I have no idea what just happened. Is this the peak of the deity of Artemia's strength, or is it simply the beginning of her rise to dominance? Even the residual exhaustion that I had been feeling throughout my whole body had vanished completely.

I looked at Yuki with my eyes were wide open with amazement, finally realizing what she was capable of doing. And then I saw that she seemed to be looking a little different. Her hair became much whiter than it had previously been, and her eyes became sapphire blue. Her eyes were already blue in the first place, but they weren't that evident before. Even though I've always thought white tigers were beautiful, I'm starting to feel like I might actually...worship them.

"Can you tell me what happened after I passed out?" I inquired when I realized that we were still on Fuyu island.

"Despite my best efforts to keep up with Leon...I realized that if we had made it to the castle, it would have been very dangerous, and he was trying to lure me there on purpose."

When I looked around, I saw that the book had gone missing. "Right. I'm happy you were able to figure out what Leon had planned," I replied as I tried to see if the book was in my clothes, but they weren't! "Have you, by any chance...seen a book with me?"

We were staying in what seemed to be a little house at the time. There was no roof since it had most certainly been destroyed by fire, but some of the furnishings in the house were still in their original placements. In fact, I was lying on a bed that had survived the tragedy. That, on the other hand, is not my concern at all! I need to find out what the book has to say about the crystals as quickly as possible!

After she realized I was panicking so hard, Yuki looked bewildered, but she swiftly reached behind her and gave me the book that I was looking for. Because I had completely recovered already, I got to my feet and began searching for the gems. I almost tripped because I wasn't looking at where I was walking. I kept frantically flipping through the pages of the book, looking for anything that may tell me what the hell these things were.

"Ivory?"

"Wait!"

Even though I could hear them calling my name, I was more interested in discovering what these items were than anything else at the time. When I found the site where I had buried them, I dug them out and placed them in front of the monument of the white tigress. They had retained their brilliance, and the crystals in its eyes were even more bright than they had been previously. Because it seemed to be reacting to Yuki's presence, it's likely that this has something to do with her. Alternatively, is it retaliating against Shirayuki?

"After realizing that the eternity she had believed in was about to come to an end, the goddess's eyes welled up. As a result of her intense yearning for eternity and the end of time, the goddess turned her tears into crystals, each of which contained a small portion of her power. The desire for immortality that the goddess has for herself is contained within the aforementioned stones, and it bestows a great amount of life force on whoever wields it, allowing them to live forever."

Oh, I get what it's trying to say now. It seems that there is no unique name for them, and they are just referred to as crystals in most cases. Based on the fact that it names a certain goddess, it's probable that it's talking about Shirayuki. After seeing how a certain someone's presence causes the crystals to respond, I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be Shirayuki's tears that sparked the reaction in the first place! But I wonder if it's real...

Yuki, on the other hand, seemed to be entirely clueless about what was going on. Because she was not raised on this island, it is possible that she has little awareness of the crystals. In any case, I want to speak with her about it as soon as I possibly can. Though several theories have already formed in my head, I'm not sure how we will be able to make use of these things. It's not as if we can instantly restore someone's life to their previous state if we give them this...

"Yuki..." I trailed off as I eyed the crystals. Her eyes also drifted to them. "Do you know what these are?"

She shook her head profusely, but she did not say anything. So, I waited for her to say anything, but it seemed like she was communicating with the white tigress. To be completely honest, I'm not sure whether looking into them would be of any use to us, but I do want to examine them thoroughly. Their indestructibility and the fact that they have the ability to produce a vast quantity of life power suggest that we may be able to use them as weapons.

My decision is impetuous, and it may have an influence on the future, but I feel like it is worthwhile to give it a chance. Given that it has just destroyed my tridents, no matter how strong they were, it is likely that changing them into weapons will be very advantageous to both the soldiers and us in the future. But I'm predicting that Yuki won't approve of this...

This has the potential to produce a severe disturbance in the loop of time that has been established. A victory against the three kings would assure that there would be no dimension-traveling incident in the near future. If that didn't happen, I wouldn't be here to aid in the rebellion against the three kings' army and awaken Shirayuki. In conclusion, there's a huge possibility that Artemia would be destroyed in the end!

No, absolutely not. This is too risky...

Yuki took a few long breaths as she got closer to me. "This is something I'd want the two of us to talk about in private."

She already knows what I'm planning to tell her, huh? I'm guessing Shirayuki already stated what the possibilities are. I followed her quietly so that the twins wouldn't hear the two of us. She appeared to be frustrated by the fact that my proposal appeared to be functional but that we were not permitted to test it. I believe she is already aware of the options available to her.

"Is there any connection between this and the time loop?" I asked hesitantly. Although I already knew what her answer would be, I still waited.

She nodded as she cast her eyes towards the sky. "We have a plethora of possibilities available to us, Ivory. I've finished investigating each of them in order to determine which would enable us to keep Artemia's destruction. Believe me when I say that this is the only path that seems to be promising for Artemia's long-term survival...so it is the one I have chosen to take. I hope you forgive me for what I'm about to say...but please refrain from doing anything that might cause a disturbance in the future..."