Chapter 44: The End of Time

Chapter 44: The End of Time

“Puah!”

With a sharp scream, Aierjisi fell into the desert in a perfect Suzumura landing stance.

“What the heck… where is this place? By the way, Yake! Ailin! Weirafiya! Where are you guys?”

Scrambling up from the sand, Aierjisi looked around, utterly clueless about her surroundings. Even the sky was filled with bizarre things, as if clouds didn’t even exist, revealing the vast universe above.

“Aier! I’m right here!”

“Yake! That voice… it’s coming from above!”

At the sound of Yake’s voice, Aierjisi looked up, and sure enough, Yake was falling down from above, landing right in her path!

“Isn’t this a bit off? Should I be moving out of the way, like, right now?”

Feeling a hint of danger, Aierjisi quickly dashed aside to avoid being squished by Yake’s descent.

“Ah!”

Just like her, Yake let out a yell as he hit the ground, but it was probably no biggie for him.

“You okay, Yake? Can you still tell how many fingers I’m holding up?”

Rushing over to Yake, Aierjisi held out her fingers so he could see.

“Three fingers.”

“Not bad! At least your brain’s still functioning normally, not mistaking three for five or something. Get up already; that kind of injury shouldn’t be a big deal for you.”

“Can you just let me lie here for a sec? Falling from that high, I really can’t handle it. My body’s still recovering. By the way, what is this place anyway?”

Yake grimaced, still feeling the pain from the fall. He had taken quite a hit when he was thrown down from above.

“I have no clue what this place is either. But this should be the training ground that guy mentioned. Why don’t you stay here and rest a bit more? Once you recover, use your Contract to get in touch with me. I’ll check out the surroundings; Ailin and the others might be nearby.”

“There’s no need for that.”

Just as Aierjisi was about to explore the area in search of Ailin, that strange guy suddenly reappeared before her.

“Hey, what did you mean by that? What do you mean it’s unnecessary?”

“Just what it sounds like—you don’t need to look for them. Ailin and the others are not in this world right now; it’s just you two here.”

“What? It’s just me and Yake? Then why are you suddenly here? Are you planning to take us out one by one?”

Aierjisi tensed up; this guy had the power to split them all up. If he wanted to eliminate them individually, they would be in serious trouble!

“Of course not! As I mentioned before, I’m just here to take you for special training. Since you’re going for training, I would naturally bring you to the most suitable place for it, and that place is right here.”

“Here? There’s nothing but sand around!”

Aierjisi glanced down at the ground and around, realizing there was nothing but sand in sight.

“Are you sure? Look closely; there might be something there.”

The man pointed to the distance and urged her to take a good look in that direction. Aierjisi focused her mind on what he indicated and, almost mysteriously, she thought she saw something.

“Over there… there does seem to be something.”

“See? I’ll let you know, that’s a ship.”

“A ship? Why is there a ship in the desert?”

In Aierjisi’s mind, ships and deserts were complete opposites; who would even think to bring a ship into such a place?

“You think this is an ordinary desert?”

“Isn’t it?”

“Of course not. This is the end of time, where the history of the world is recorded. Occasionally, some significant historical items will reappear here, just like that ship. It’s the very first ship in the world, holding great commemorative significance, so it’s preserved here at the end of time.”

“The end of time? What are we supposed to do here?”

Aierjisi contemplated for a moment. Her abilities were indeed related to time, so the guy tossing her here matched her powers. She just didn’t know what her ‘training’ would entail.

“Very simple—you need to practice your abilities continuously until they become as natural and effortless as breathing and drinking.”

“Huh? How could I possibly manage that?”

“Before you’ve even started, you’ve already decided you can’t do it? If you keep that mindset, you really will never be able to. Have a little confidence, Aierjisi. You’re stronger than you think—you’re a member of the Blood Clan chosen by me. I never make mistakes.”

“Alright, enough with the pep talk. Even if I don’t want to undergo special training, I can’t really refuse now, can I?”

“Not at all. If you really don’t want to train, I can send you back right now. So do you want me to send you back?”

“… Let’s skip that for now. I’ll take my time training here; after all, this is the end of time. No matter how long it takes, it doesn’t matter, right?”

“That’s correct! Because this is the end of time, it’s filled with time while also being devoid of it. Just train at ease; whenever you’ve mastered your abilities to the level of naturalness, like drinking and breathing, I’ll come find you. So, until then, goodbye! The other two are waiting for me in a different place.”

With that, the man vanished before her eyes, leaving only her and Yake in this so-called end of time.

“The end of time, huh… what a troublesome place to be. But having endless time? That sounds pretty nice, actually—I can practice without worry! But before that, Yake, how’s your body holding up? You must be feeling better now, right?”

Aierjisi turned to Yake, who was lying on the sand. She had chatted with that guy for a bit; surely Yake’s body should’ve healed up by now.

“I’m better, but can’t I get a little more rest? This place has infinite time, right?”

“True, your time is infinite, but mine is limited. So I’m giving you three seconds to get up!”

“Okay, okay! I’m getting up, I’m getting up!”

Triggered by Aierjisi’s threat, Yake reluctantly stood up from the sand.