Capítulo 844: Young Caera “Hmm… Experiment four. Lord slain and the conditions were fulfilled. Tethering to the realm is successful, access to the library of memory complete. Selen dear, the rest is up to you~” Caera smiled as tendrils slowly retracted back into her shadow. In front of them, the corpse of a Lord level beast was suspended in the air. A one eyed beast with a large exposed mouth. An uncanny human like grin and a muscular body crafted from countless tendrils. And yet, the chest cavity was pried open and the beast forced to self detonate against its will. Selen had a deep frown on her face. No matter how many time she sees Caera fight, the chill never disappeared. It was a complete one sided annihilation with the beast having no chance to fight back. Looking at the glass like orb hovering in the cavity, Selen took a deep breath and sighed. Clasping her hands together, she slammed her palms against the ground and activated a ritual. Clock like patterns manifested in the air with Miralith’s power burned at full throttle. With this being the fourth attempt, Selen had gotten used to it a little. The first attempt was the most shocking. It was a sudden flood of history flashing through her mind. Battles from different eras, calamities untold of in history. The battle between Lords, the mundane life of lovers. Countless ‘scenarios’ swapping in an out and she had to choose one for the Inverted World to latch onto. Unfortunately, she was completely unprepared and the first attempt went to waste. The second was a struggle as well. Even though she was prepared, the scenery flashed by so quickly it was hard for her to time it accurately. Not to mention the fact that she didn’t know the exact time that Caera wanted. During the third attempt, Selen had some extra help from Caera to figure out the exact moment in history. It was still a failure but at least she knew what to aim for. And now, the fourth and hopefully final attempt. Selen didn’t want to be away from the main camp for too long. Linking herself to the Inverted World, Selen felt as though her soul was extracted from her body. A strange sensation as she was plunged into the spiralling corridors of time. Finding the right time was not difficult. It’s all about understanding the sensation of what she’s trying to aim for. A period of time where Abyssal energy was at its highest. When the realm felt full of life and gentle rather than the oppressive miasma filled hellhole it is today. Caera placed her hand on Selen’s shoulder, stabilizing her condition so that she could expand her search. She had to admit that her hopes were low. She thought they would’ve needed to kill quite a few Lords before finding the correct scenario. Yet… Selen was getting close after just four attempts. Selen didn’t feel Caera’s hand. Right now, she was fully immersed in the sensation of falling. The rıghtful source is 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅✦𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾✦𝗇𝖾𝗍 Vertigo attacked her mind while giant corridors of information narrowly missed her body. An infinite maze of ever winding paths and rooms. Adjusting her body in mid air, Selen shielded her face and swept her gaze across the strange landscape. Her surroundings kept adjusting, almost as if trying to keep her away from what she wants to find. One corridor threatened to swallow her whole but she managed to evade at the last second. Snapping her finger, Selen began to adjust the ‘time’ around her. To increase her speed when needed and decrease it when she wanted to observe where she was going. Through the gaps, she saw certain details of history. Some recent, some ancient. She saw a hint of her battle against the beasts in the capital. When she was trying to fend off the hybrids from destroying everything. She saw the calamity out at sea, the rolling waves as a Lord faced a veiled being of corruption. The golden sword that pierced the mountains, the spark of light that erased a dragon. Corrupted chains binding and sealing beasts. Then Selen felt it. The sensation of the Abyss at its peak. Without hesitation, she lunged towards the room, forcefully establishing a tether between the two and anchoring the Inverted World. The corpse of the Lord level beast was consumed. The surroundings absorbed into the glass like orb as Caera quickly dragged Selen away from the area. Retreating away from the newly formed and stabilized Inverted World, Caera raised her eyebrow in pleasant surprise. “Ohya? I didn’t think you actually had it in you.” Caera praised while Selen felt like she was about to hurl. “What do you even mean by that… Urg… But this one is a bit strange. It’s… Well… incomplete.” Selen frowned. In the previous attempts, she could feel what a ‘complete’ memory felt like. The established history and the people involved. But this one was missing certain aspects. Even though the Abyss felt alive, it’s as though the heart and core was missing. Something else filled the void temporarily, stabilising the realm. “Is that so? Well~ I’m not surprised. A certain someone is probably messing around with the Inverted World. There’s also the case of dear successor inheriting the heart of the Abyss so that missing aspect is probably my dearly departed queen.” Caera smiled, placing Selen on the ground. “You may return now. I don’t think you require me to help you back now do you?” Caera glanced back as Selen shook her head. “But what about capturing the beast?” Selen frowned. “I’ll capture that myself later don’t worry.” Caera reassured as she snapped her finger. She created a barrier around the orb, concealing it from the world around them before pricking her finger once. Allowing a single drop of blood to fall, darkness began to spread. Seeing that Caera was now immersed in her own experiments, Selen left the area. Making her way back was rather easy, especially since she can just hide herself from the perception of others. Opening her eyes, Caera found herself standing in the middle of a nostalgic and familiar city. Her smile faltered for a moment, her throat tightened but it soon faded. Ayr… Beautiful as ever. A bastion of hope within her memory of the best times of her life. Taking a deep breath, she listened to the conversations around her. The voices that she had missed so dearly… But this was not the time to enjoy herself. She was here for one reason, to access her lab so that she can get revenge against Nyer. Walking through the familiar streets, Caera saw a tavern and chuckled softly. ‘Dear successor had used the favour the queen owed her to research the mead. But with how the North is right now, I doubt the Queen can fulfil that promise.’ Contemplating the decision for a moment, Caera decided to visit the tavern. To buy a souvenir for the dear successor. “Oh! Department head! How come you’re here during the break?” A young voice called out to Caera as she froze in her steps. Turning over, she saw an old face. The face of a friend and someone who worked under her. “Wahaha~ I was thinking of something and decided to go on a little walk. I might stay cooped up in the lab all the time but I still take a walk every now and then.” Caera closed her eyes and acted in a cheerful manner. The way she was in the past. Unrestrained, full of laughs and ideas. The burning curiosity to find out every secret the world had to offer. The desire to create contraptions for a better future. “Did you drink something weird? Ah! Before I forget, Johan wanted to talk to you about raising the budget for the next experiment.” The colleague laughed. While Caera looks a little different to normal, it was a rather common occurrence knowing what she’s like. “Ehh~ A bigger budget? You’ll have to ask Kaden.” Caera stuck out her tongue. Walking over to the counter, Caera placed an order for as much Ayrian mead as she could and stored it in a separate pouch. A gift for Alice. Waving goodbye to the friend, Caera made her way to the research department. She turned her head towards the highest point in Ayr. Where the queen should be. Instead, there was simply a large bundle of energy acting as the queen. Velouria was not there. It wasn’t just Velouria either. Cayla and… Nyer wasn’t around either. As Selen mentioned, an incomplete memory. Nyer must’ve retrieved the rest of his soul that he gave to the Abyss through contracts and did the same with Cayla. Alice only possessed half of her while Nyer had the other half. Arriving at the lab, Caera looked up at her old home. Nostalgia filled her chest as she wrapped her fingers around the door handle. A small smile appeared on her face as she lifted the door and placed it on the side. The door to the research department was never fixed since it would just break after a while. Inside, she sensed only a single person immersed in her experiments. How strange it is to see the past reflection of herself. An explosion occurred upstairs, dark smoke filled the room and Caera chuckled. “Ah jeez, I missed this.” She mumbled, walking up while waving the smoke away. “Iya~ *Cough cough* A visitor, give me a moment~ Just sit wherever you want, I’ll be there with you in a second.” A young girl shouted through the smoke. Her silhouette rushing over to open the windows. She didn’t even turn to look at Caera. Sitting down on the one legged sofa with the rest being replaced by books and machinery, Caera sat with her legs crossed. And when her younger self finally turned, she gave a small wave. Young Caera froze. She saw a reflection of herself, her future self. Immediately, her brows creased and a deep frown appeared on her face. “You look tired.” Young Caera sat opposite her future self with a gaze of pity. Caera froze, her smile faltered and bitterness appeared on her face.