Chapter 377 - When The Time Comes
"There's no good and evil in the world of spirits," Adrian shook his head as he stood up. "Come, let's go see the final struggle of your friend."
"You'll jinx it if you say it like that," Arthur followed after with a sigh. "Do you mean that she contracted an Abyssal Spirit?"
"When we talk about those spirits, the term 'contract' is inaccurate," Adrian said as they walked toward the palace. "Your friend was forced to be the container of an Abyssal Spirit that ate away her spiritual energy."
"And that sealed off her powers and memories?"
"I'm not that knowledgeable about human beings, but they are complex. They are not separate parts but integration of many things. One of those is their souls, which host their spiritual energy and abilities."
"Are you saying that abilities and spiritual energy are connected?"
"How can they not be?" Adrian shot Arthur a look of disdain. "Mana is what changes the world, and spiritual energy is what makes you capable of that change."
"I don't understand," Arthur admitted honestly. "What about Reality Gates?"
"They exist within spiritual bodies, but they are a separate entity. The spiritual body is simply the incubator that allows it to exist. What, did you think that Reality Gates are small fleshy parts in your body?" Adrian mocked.
"I see," Arthur ignored his attitude and nodded. "So, if a spirit eats your spiritual energy or your spiritual body vanishes, you lose the ability to transfer your mana into the Reality Gate and vice versa."
"Vice Versa?" Arthur stopped walking. "You mean..."
"You've never heard of Absorbers? Absolute Mastery?" Adrian shook his head. "Were you living beneath a rock?"
"Quite literally, yes," Arthur smiled as he remembered his days underground. "I'm assuming that some people can absorb the world and turn it to mana."
"Great insight! How can you be so intuitive?" Adrian sarcastically said as they reached the gates of the palace. The sounds of battle interrupted their conversation, and the two sprinted without further exchanged words.
As they walked into the hall, something slammed into the walls beside the entrance. The dust cloud rose beside them, and Arthur hurried to help Li out.
However, what rushed out of the rubble was a mask-wearing figure holding the Stars Reaver. It was after Arthur dodged away that he turned toward the center of the hall.
Li stood there with golden and white lights covering his body, making Arthur have a sense of déjà vu as if he was watching himself back in the trial. The white and golden figure looked at his hands as if he couldn't believe the amount of power he obtained.
The gravity spirit gave a hum as it bolted forward, each step increasing the gravity by ten folds. By the time it reached Li, the latter's feet were sinking into the ground.
However, this time was different from before. Li didn't stagger under the might of gravity but struck toward the spirit instead. The fist and sword collided, and a deafening sound shook the hall. The two figures flew away in opposite directions, but Li was the first to stand back up.
"This sort of change is absurd," Adrian said. "No, it's a blasphemy to the world. I pray the heavens are merciful toward you." The wood spirit seemed shaken to Arthur's confusion.
"Didn't you try to do the same with that branch of yours?" Arthur pointed at the item in Adrian's hand. "I simply replicated it using my methods."
"Replicated?" Adrian shook his head as Li arrived at the gravity spirit. "You've bent the laws of the Spirits Realm."
Li grabbed the spirit's wrist and punched it in the gut. A crack appeared on the mask, but Li didn't stop attacking. The white light seeped into his punches, each destroying the mask further.
"Would the spirit be willing to contract him if he beats the hell out of it?" Arthur ignored Adrian's remarks and asked with worry.
"Don't worry. There's no other way to prove himself worthy of the spirit." The carpenter assured. "At this rate, I need to hurry up as well." It shook its head sadly.
The battle was nearing its end, and the palace's ceiling was caving in under the effect of gravity. Arthur looked at the Stars Reaver slash off Li's arm, which generated using the golden energy he obtained.
One would ask whether it was worth it for Arthur to give the man a part of his energy. For Arthur himself, however, it was a negligent amount.
The issue was that even with this negligent amount, Li exhibited a spiritual strength that could rival a spirit of the Skyey World. Arthur might be powerful in this world, but he felt his powers gave strength to others more than they gave to himself.
As the Stars Reaver slashed his waist, Li didn't dodge. Instead, he grabbed the sword's edge and tried pulling it away from the gravity spirit. Arthur's golden energy seeped into the blade and turned into a black and golden handle.
Arthur was relieved when he saw this, as all the pieces linked together now. The handle was one that Arthur saw before when Li summoned the sword back on Earth.
The spirit punched out using its other fist, and Li met the attack with one of his own. Lights exploded as the building began to collapse. Arthur and Adrian retreated and sprinted outside before they waited for the victor to emerge.
The palace kept breaking down under their eyes before it suddenly... stopped. The rubble began floating upward and away from the ground.
The fallen pillars, broken walls, and torn-down windows rose in the air. On the biggest piece of rubble stood a figure that kept rising higher in the air. As their view cleared, Adrian and Arthur could see the mask of the figure.
"Did he fail?" Adrian muttered, but Arthur shook his head.
"No. Li succeeded."
Beneath the mask was Li's golden and white body, and he held the Stars Reaver in his hand. With a black and golden-stripped handle, the sword looked like the discontinuation of the world. Then, however, it began to disintegrate from the tip down toward the hilt.
"What is going on?" Arthur questioned with a frown.
"Your friend might have proven himself worthy, but he can't use the weapon of a demigod yet. However, it's a good start." Adrian explained. "The mask on his face... it seems Joryo has merged with him."
"The word start is so full of potential and promises of adventure," Arthur said with a grin. "I think that Li might change a lot after this."
"Is he still the same person before he merged with Joryo?" Adrian pondered. "That's a sacrifice he would have to make."
"You are rather a philosophical spirit, aren't you?" Arthur snickered. "But yes, he will certainly change. I don't know which Li is the real Li, but I think it's fine as long as he chose it."
"Hm," Adrian nodded as Li descended in front of them. He looked the same as Arthur met him a few months ago.
"Thank you, My Lord."
Li kneeled in front of him, making Adrian shoot him an 'I told you so' glance. Arthur shook his head but was too preoccupied with Li's fading existence more than anything else.
"What is happening to you?" He asked Li, who stood up and raised his sword.
"It seems that his purpose in the Spirits Realm has been fulfilled, so he's naturally fading away and returning to the real world," Adrian explained. Li kept silent before turning toward Arthur.
"Return to your world and do what you have to do," Arthur understood the man's intentions without him speaking them. It seems the change has already taken shape in his personality. "When the time is right, we will meet again."
"My Lord, can I know..." Li didn't finish his sentence, but Arthur understood what he wanted to say. He was asking for Arthur's name.
Arthur hesitated.
Should he give Li his name, even if that would change everything? Maybe he needed to tell Li his name to be saved by him in the past.
Time was an annoying thing.
'If I do or do not, things will be unpredictable.'
Arthur wanted to argue that since things already happened, nothing he does would matter as things will find a way to happen. Of course, that didn't include the significant changes, like killing someone, but it shouldn't matter if it were about an intersection of two paths.
'Li didn't start calling me My Lord until I awakened and showed him the powers of creation. He must have recognized me on his own.'
Arthur wanted to imagine a different scenario where Li helps him the moment he arrives on Earth. If that happened, Arthur wouldn't obtain his legacy.
He imagined a different scenario where Li warns him about Ellen. If that happened, then Arthur wouldn't have come to Alka and met Solomon. If he didn't meet Solomon, he would die at the trial.
"You will know when the time comes,"