Legend Management Bureau Chapter 414

[ … words ]

This time, Du Yu was no longer confused. Instead, a cold sneer appeared on his face. “Time, I really want to understand you. What exactly are you trying to do?”

The Stone Door trembled slightly, as if attempting to open, but a circular mark at its base emitted a dazzling light, halting its movement.

Only then did Du Yu notice that there had always been a circular mark on the ground beneath the Stone Door—half inside, half outside. But now, it wasn’t just some “mark” on the ground; it was a complete Array Formation.

Engraved with ancient runes, this Array Formation sat half inside and half outside the threshold, as if it had been sealing this door the entire time.

Suddenly, time before Du Yu’s eyes began to accelerate again. The Array Formation on the ground flashed continuously with golden light, repeatedly preventing the Stone Door from opening.

Time fast-forwarded at a dizzying pace.

In the span of just a few dozen seconds, the Array Formation on the ground flashed like an intense strobe light, so blinding that Du Yu could not even open his eyes. He vaguely saw the nearby vines growing wildly as if they had come to life. He knew that in this pitch-black cave, the growth of such vines should have been incredibly slow.

For them to grow to such an extent, thousands, if not tens of thousands of years must have passed.

All of a sudden, time stopped accelerating.

The scene unfolding before his eyes made Du Yu’s jaw drop in astonishment.

Strange, dark clouds actually began to gather within the cramped tunnel, rapidly coalescing and hovering directly above the Stone Door.

Thunder rolled and rumbled deep within those dark clouds, echoing with a low, oppressive growl.

Realizing things were taking a dangerous turn, Du Yu immediately backed away.

In the few steps it took him to retreat, heavenly lightning crashed down from the dark clouds, striking directly onto the Array Formation on the ground.

One bolt, two bolts, three bolts…

A total of nine bolts of heavenly lightning struck the circular Array Formation with pinpoint accuracy.

‘Could this… could this be…’

Du Yu seemed to have realized something, but before he could say it out loud, the Array Formation radiated a brilliant light, slowly transforming into a beautiful woman.

Dressed entirely in black, her long hair cascaded down to her waist, and a hint of curiosity danced in her eyes.

“Xie… No, You Si!”

With the Array Formation transformed into a human figure, only a circular mark remained on the ground beneath the Stone Door, giving no clue as to what it once was.

Without the Array Formation obstructing it, the Stone Door now slowly creaked open.

And Time was currently sitting quietly on the stone stool.

“Time, you finally show yourself!” Du Yu shouted angrily, only to find that Time didn’t react at all.

It was as if everything were still an illusion.

You Si gently moved her legs, seemingly adapting to this physical body. Then, step by step, she walked over to Time and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Time, do you know? For hundreds of thousands of years, I have been watching you. I’ve always hoped that one day, I could walk over on my own and embrace you,” You Si said affectionately.

Time was clearly somewhat dazed. He raised his head to look at the beautiful woman before him, completely at a loss for words.

“It is all right now.” You Si smiled. “I don’t know who created me, but my duty was to block that damned Stone Door. Now that I have left, the Stone Door has opened… Let’s leave together, shall we?”

“Leave…?” Time’s lips trembled slightly, as if he had been struggling to process this unexpected situation all along. He had a nagging feeling that he had seen this girl before, yet he couldn’t remember where.

“Yes,” You Si nodded. “I have listened to you tell stories for hundreds of thousands of years, and I know that I have fallen deeply in love with you. Will you leave with me? We can go to a place where ‘eternity’ does not exist. Just like the people in your stories, we can experience a life of aging, sickness, and death together… Will you?”

Hearing those words, Time seemed to finally snap out of it—that was right, the door was open. He could leave.

He tried to stand up, only to find that his flesh and blood had fused entirely with the stone stool.

“I… I cannot leave.” Time said in a hoarse voice. “In this world… someone must always serve as Time.”

You Si frowned and asked, “So you mean… if I can find someone else to become Time, you will be able to leave?”

“Ah… yes…” Time lifted his aged face and began to chuckle, “Heh heh… If you can find someone to replace me… I can leave…”

“How difficult could that be?!” You Si said with a smile. “I endured hundreds of thousands of years to take human form. Half of me exists within ‘eternity,’ and the other half within ‘flow.’ Now that I have already mastered the Great Way of Time, I will search through all of time until someone becomes the new Time.”

Watching this scene unfold, Du Yu felt as though he finally understood everything…

You Si was an “Array Formation taking human form”!

She wasn’t just an ordinary array either, but a “Time Guardian Array.” For some unknown reason, she had been stationed here all along to prevent the Door of Time from opening.

Half of her was composed of “eternity,” existing independently outside of time itself, which meant she would never enter the Reincarnation Cycle.

You Si spoke a few more words to Time, then confidently walked out the door toward the space-time vortex at the end of the tunnel. Soon, she vanished into the swirling vortex.

“Heh heh heh heh heh…” Time raised his head, a horrifying grin plastered across his face. “The door is open… Yes, yes. From now on, anyone who falls into a time rift will come as a guest… Then I might as well… heh heh heh heh… I’ve got it, I’ve got it… Hahahaha…”

Du Yu was completely baffled, having no idea what was going through Time’s mind.

After laughing for a long while, Time suddenly snapped his head to look in Du Yu’s direction. His neck twisted at an unnatural, eerie angle, and the smile on his face vanished in an instant.

This sudden movement gave Du Yu a massive fright, cold sweat instantly soaking his back.

Du Yu had grown so accustomed to being an invisible observer that he never expected anyone to look right at him.

Time fell silent for a moment before asking, “Are you… not going to follow her?”

“W-what?” Du Yu was utterly stunned.

“Quick, follow her…” Time looked incredibly excited, a terrifying smile creeping back onto his face. “Run! Start running!! Follow that Array Formation that has come to life, and you will learn everything… Heh heh heh heh…”

“What exactly are you playing at…?” Du Yu asked through gritted teeth.

“Me…?” Time paused, before suddenly roaring at the top of his lungs, “I am helping you!!!!”

Startled by the ear-splitting scream, Du Yu took a step back. He turned to look in the direction You Si had left, then turned back to look at Time.

He knew that both of these individuals were, in fact, complete lunatics.

But between the two of them, Time was simply the crazier one.

With that thought in mind, Du Yu ignored Time and instead walked toward where You Si had gone.

He knew that this was Time’s world. Sooner or later, Time would come looking for him again.

Du Yu followed the direction You Si had taken and, imitating her, stepped right into that space-time vortex.

Meanwhile, Time resumed his maniacal grin, his unhinged laughter echoing throughout the entire cave.