The world had gone still.
The small swirls of space currents ceased their movements, the ebb and flow of aura ended, the tiny floating matter froze.
Varian, standing strong over the dead assassin's body, was the fastest among those present.
But even his eyelids only moved slightly. Except for the voice she deliberately sent out with aura a few seconds earlier, he didn't even register her presence with his eyes.
Even though they were seperated by one or was it two, ranks, she was beyond their reach.
In the far distance, well outside solar system, was a woman dressed in a silken white dress.
An oval face, small nose and purple lips with eyes of same color, she would've passed for a model in any of the beauty competitions.
If only she wasn't eight feet tall with a soft golden skin tone unseen in any human.
Even if these aspects were to be expected, the soft silver glow eminating from all over her body would be the final blow.
It wasn't just a simple light. Just by its mere existence, the soft light was bending the fabric of space-time. The flow of energy and matter in the area too couldn't escape the oversight of this seemingly all powerful light.
On her way here, Zahara ended up leaving a streak of silver light.
There was something about it, something unspoken that caused all the creatures that stumbled near the light bow their heads.
It held no power of life or death to rule over these creatures. But something primieval, seemingly older than life itself, powered this light.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtIf Varian was given enough time, he'd exclaim at the silver light, claiming it that it got the same feel as the 'divinity' that leaked out of the Fortune Anvil.
Of course, he neither had the time and nor was the silver light exactly 'divinity'.
Zahara didn't move to capture Varian immediately. It's not that her heart grew soft after coming this far.
And she definitely hadn't fallen for the young man as he might have hoped on an odd day or his wives feared on an even day.
Nope.
She just wasn't here…yet.
The one here was an echo of her from the future.
The echo could do a lot but it couldn't do override the chain of cause and effect beyond a significant degree.
And for some reason, the cause and effect related to Varian was staggeringly large. If a normal rank 7 could amount to a few drops, this man was an entire ocean.
If she really willed it, howver, she could still do it. But Zahara wasn't very relaxed coming here even though she looked so.
While she feigned leisure outwardly, she was carefully scanning her surroundings since the beginning.
Of course, the comments she made weren't false either.
"To grasp this without facing this man, as expected, the princess is unfathomable." A gasp of deep admiration rang from the woman's mouth.
"But to make the princess herself prioritize his capture as a puny rank 7, this man is really…"
Zahara tilted her head, her purple eyes glowing with an inhuman light, their gaze piercing through an entire solar system and observing the fine details of the target.
"Not much time has passed on him…"
She couldn't measure things like bone age or index of his soul. But what she could see, was the trace of each and every second of time that touched Varian so far.
"This isn't real." Zahara blinked in confusion and subconsciously took a step back.
There was an amused smile on her face, as if she had noticed something both fascinating and absurd. But there was a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"It shouldn't be."
She gazed at Varian once again, her eyes narrowed and focus concentrated.
So little time had passed on his young body. He's like a chick that had just come out of his shell.
'A baby. A baby that's just began to crawl.'
Zahara knew her sense of time was a bit warped. Being a time awakener, she couldn't help it. But it's still way better than Princess Esahala.
Yet, even she couldn't see Varian anything more than a crawling baby.
Okay, that might've been a bit too much. How about a baby that had just begun to walk?
That's how young he was.
"A rank 7 baby, what in Eden is happening?"
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHer still heart, which stopped beating long ago, began to thump and it did so restlessly. She could feel it in her chest, the surge of emotions she felt back in the days of weakness.
Extreme confusion, a hint of fear and plenty of uncertainty.
Emotions that only a weakling would face when confronted with an unknown element.
"Hah, ridiculous." Zahara shook her head with a strong smile, crushing those emotions.
There was a good explanation for this absurdity. As long as she made one woman responsible for this ridiculously young warrior, everything would make sense.
The reason she was so cautious so far and didn't touch Varian so far.
"Isdaora," Zahara called out softly, but her voice echoed throughout the solar system or at least the space where it once was. "Protect him if you still can."
The news regarding chaos in Pala Kingdom hadn't reached her yet. But even Zahara knew the general things.
With a sarcastic smile on her lips, she continued. "I will be here in seconds. If you can't save your brother-in-law, he will be tied up and sent to the princess."
The taunts continued, as did her thorough scan of the surroundings. Since they fought in the past, Zahara could vividly remember Isadora's aura. And she hadn't found any new traces of it in here.
"Huh. Did you escape? The great Isadora?" Her tone took a mocking turn and once she confirmed there really was no aura of that dangerous woman here, she raised her hand.
Since Varian was so valuable, she decided to bear some backlash and capture him first before 'she' arrived.
Boom!
The flow of time, akin to a mighty current of a river, distorted.
A single step taken by Zahara spanned an entire solar system and the lady reached Varian in a blink.
And only now did Varian blink, his eyes finally registering the presence of Zahara.
She reached for his head.