Chapter 3997: Here Goes Nothing!
Chapter 3997: Here Goes Nothing!
-Xyrath, is that even possible?-
Xyrath was silent for a moment before answering. "If it were possible, I would have done that a long time ago. Unfortunately, all the Time Plates have different starting points in time. This mess is what keeps me trapped here."
"You must have thought of something, right?" Kentucky asked. "You have been in this place for a very long time, after all."
"Well..." Xyrath had indeed thought about it. "The only way I could have something working is if there is no possible future for the Time Plate to display."
"No possible future?" Everyone got confused. "What do you mean?"
Rean understood. "No possible future is only possible if something doesn’t exist in the first place. Simply put, Xyrath would have to die. If he is not around, there will be no Time Plates. No Time Plates, no possible futures, no Future Realm."
"Obviously, Xyrath could use the possible futures where he doesn’t die to save himself, since it has nothing to do with him escaping this place. So, Xyrath would need to choose to not use those Time Plates to survive. He truly would have to choose to die of his own volition."
Xyrath confirmed. "That’s the only way I could think of so far."
-Absolutely out of the question!- Laiana didn’t even entertain that idea for a single second. -That’s not freedom. That’s death. I will not let you select that option.-
"Hahaha!" Xyrath laughed in response. "It’s not like you can do anything about it. However, don’t worry. I don’t intend to die, so I won’t do it. I’m a coward, remember? I’m only good at running, so how could I possibly choose to die?"
-That’s good to hear.-
"The problem is that there is no other way," Xyrath added.
"The Storm Wall is what keeps your time plates desynched," Celis suddenly said. "Is there no way to break it?"
"If there is, I don’t know how," Xyrath said. "It’s not like I can go outside to check it."
[Hey, did you forget? Xyrath is inside our Celestial Soul Dimensional Realm. I can totally cut all his connections with the Plates and the Future Realm outside. If I do that, the Realm should collapse. Isn’t that enough?]
"Are you trying to kill me?!" Xyrath felt a chill run through his soul. "Do not try that shit! It already hurt a lot when you guys cut the connection with the Time Plates you had here, alright?!"
"Then maybe capture all Time Plates, bring them into the Celestial Soul Dimensional Realm, and then cut the connection to the Future Realm?" Tanxan thought. "If we do that, the Future Realm will collapse, but Xyrath should be just fine."
That reminded Xyrath of something. "Right! How come you managed to bring me inside your Pocket Dimensional Realm?! With the difference in cultivation between you guys and me, it should have been impossible! Your Pocket Dimension should have collapsed straight away. No, even better, you shouldn’t have even managed to get me to enter this Dimensional Realm."
[This Dimensional Realm is special. Things like cultivation differences don’t provoke any reactions. That’s the same reason why we managed to bring you inside in the first place.] Sister Orb explained. The cultivation difference was indeed a problem in the past, but it was fixed after they upgraded the Dimensional Realm. The trait was kept even after the Soul Gem System changed into the Celestial Soul System.
"Is there such a thing?" Xyrath was surprised to hear all of that. "No, forget it. Seeing is believing. As hard as it is to accept, the fact is that you have me in here right now."
Rean took the chance to ask again. "So, would that work? Can we bring all your Time Plates inside, and then cut your connection with the outside world? That would cause the Future Realm to collapse. In fact, even if nothing happens to the Future Realm, since you will be cut away from its influence, you can work to align your Time Plates again."
Xyrath pondered it. But ultimately, he shook his head. "That won’t work. The Future Realm is also a part of me, and the Storm Wall is simply enveloping it while using its power. Unless you can bring the entire Future Realm into your Dimensional Realm, that won’t work."
Rean immediately gave up. "That definitely won’t happen."
[Indeed. There is a limit to the size of things we can bring into the Dimensional Realm. Let alone the entire Future Realm, we wouldn’t be able to move even a single percent of it.]
"And that wouldn’t be the only problem," Roan added. "With the disappearance of the Time Plates, the experts would notice something was wrong. It wouldn’t take long for the Tombassin Sect to send someone to check what is happening. That Celestial Realm guy might still be outside, and I highly doubt he doesn’t have a way to get inside, even if the realm is closed. It is too risky with no guarantees of success."
’Say...’ At that moment, Tony spoke. ’The problem here is that the times inside the Time Plates are not aligned. They are showing different possible futures that start at different points in time. Are they always showing the same number of days, weeks, months, and years ahead?’
Tony hadn’t spoken in a while, so Foliana was surprised to hear her Werdlem Stone’s Spirit again. "Do you have an idea?"
Tony didn’t answer, waiting for Xyrath’s words.
"Well... yes..." and Xyrath gave him his answer, but he also didn’t know what Tony was thinking. "At the moment, the furthest possible future being shown inside a Time Plate starts 537 years later."
Tony continued. ’And they never change, right? They are always showing that same amount of time in the future, aren’t they? This Time Plate you mentioned, 537 years, is always 537 years, correct?’
"That’s correct," Xyrath confirmed.
Then, Tony spoke about his idea. ’How about letting you catch up?’
Xyrath understood, but disregarded it. "Catch up? That won’t work." He knew that Tony wanted him to catch up to the time inside the Time Plates. But for that, the future shown inside the Time Plates couldn’t move anymore. Eventually, he would catch up to the time of all plates as time passed. Since the Plates couldn’t show the past, he would have them all back at the same point in time. "I can’t stop the time inside the Time Plate. The Werdlem Empire made sure I wouldn’t."
’Exactly,’ Tony knew that. ’The effects of your confinement make it impossible for you to control the futures inside the Time Plates in the Future Realm... but that’s a problem in the Future Realm. Say, everyone, where are we?’
"AH!" Everyone’s eyes lit up. "Sister Orb!"
[R-Right! Right! Xyrath, I will cut the connection of all the Time Plates inside our Dimensional Realm to the Future Realm. Only you will be connected to the outside, so the Future Realm doesn’t collapse, and you don’t die. See if you can control the Time Plates inside our Dimensional Realm.]
"Y-Yes! Go ahead! Just make sure you don’t cut my connection with the Time Plates and the Future Realm outside. Otherwise, I could truly drop dead right here and then." Xyrath said, feeling nervous.
It only took an instant for Sister Orb to do it.
[It’s done!]
And Xyrath felt it instantly. "Okay! Here goes nothing!"