Chapter 123

After his body uncontrollably stiffened, Xia Zuo knew that something was wrong.

...No, even if he acted naturally and as usual, it wouldn't have any effect. Although Caesar's words just now were questions, his tone was calm and affirmative.

As expected, I can't hide it from him.

Xia Zuo smiled bitterly in his heart, but he didn't know how to treat his best friend behind him - he had just said "I won't save you", and the purpose of his coming here was to sever the ties and connections between them.

In this way, Caesar would not have initiated an accelerated transformation that could not be stopped once it began in order to save him after he had already developed the idea of ​​"wanting to survive as a human being".

Then I would have more opportunities to awaken the gods in advance and save him.

...Besides, "Shazo Freeman" wasn't a special existence. After he and Ursula left him, Caesar would eventually establish new bonds and gain new friends.

"I'm just asking casually," a calm voice came from behind, as if the sudden inquiry had never happened. "Let's leave this prison first."

Xia Zuo suppressed the bitterness on his lips: "...Okay."

Xi Ze was indeed like that. He generally disliked forcing questions and insisting on explaining things in detail. Just as he rarely explained things, he rarely asked others to explain them directly. He preferred to observe slowly with his own eyes, unraveling the mystery, and quietly understanding everything.

Just as he had just suddenly come to the conclusion that "Xia Zuo Kaili" knew him, that was the result of observation, a near-certain answer.

Xia Zuo took a deep breath, and using his extraordinary speed, he quickly searched for the room of the person with the cursed talent according to the route he remembered.

The direction to the prison gate is the corridor facing east, while the direction where the prison's talent holder is located is west.

Although he was taken away by Caesar at that time, he has always been talented in memorizing maps, so it was not a problem for him to find the room in his memory.

What's more, although Caesar seemed to know the route very well, he was extremely leisurely and unhurried. He only needed to deal with the holder of the cursed talent before the other party.

As for himself... he has already obtained the ability of "purification" and knows what it feels like, so he should be able to wake up when he is on the verge of death.

He no longer hesitated and had already reached the corridor outside the door, but just as he was about to push the door open, he suddenly felt a palpitation -

It's like something bad is about to happen.

He eliminated the cursed talent holders as quickly as possible, then endured the discomfort of the backlash of the curse, while driving the power awakening "Purification" and anxiously returning along the way to look for him.

Caesar should obviously be behind him... obviously!

Xia Zuo suddenly felt dizzy.

The Césaire Crest he knew seemed to have no desire to live at all, and death was of no consequence to him.

Therefore, he didn't need to consider whether he would die in prison.

When Xizel chose to take me to find the cursed talent holder, it was probably for me. He wanted me to survive, so he reminded me of the curse and led me. So, when he saw that I had learned about the curse and was heading west to where the talent holder was...

Xia Zuo didn't dare to think any further.

Thirty minutes are almost up.

No.

Not anywhere.

Not found.

Xia Zuo turned the prison upside down but couldn't find the black-haired boy in black.

He didn't even dare to search the prison where the bodies were kept, for he was afraid of seeing a scene he couldn't accept.

——Thirty minutes are up.

He returned to the Book of Time and found that the flow of text was changing rapidly.

And in those texts, there was no longer any mention of "Cesare Kleist".

Xia Zuo only felt a buzzing in his ears. He thought of the "fate" that Ursula had mentioned. Could it be that Caesar's fate was only the death of his soul?

Suddenly, he understood the meaning of Zero's warning.

Time is the most uncontrollable thing.

Especially... the "past" in time.

——You want to change it, but the biggest possibility is that you will slide into a deeper abyss.

But... once he started, how could he possibly stop?! Especially with the result like this...!!

In a few seconds at most, the text stream will be completely modified. By then, the Book of Time may disappear with Caesar's death, and he will no longer have a chance.

The brown-haired boy gritted his teeth, mobilized the power in his body, and went back to the past again.

"Time Node: 22:45:25, September 23, 1797, Federal Calendar, Number of Impacts: 2, Influence: Strong"

"Time of stay: 30 minutes"

…

"Time Node: 22:45:25, September 23, 1797, Federal Calendar, Number of Impacts: 3, Influence: Strong"

"Time of stay: 28 minutes"

…

Again and again.

The brown-haired boy kept restarting time. He even tried his best to maintain the stability of the development of the "past" he wanted to see for the first time, and then tried to jump to other time nodes, but Caesar's fate every time was "no such person" in the future.

There were even many times when he watched César die in front of him.

He still had that indifferent, nonchalant expression, as if death meant nothing to him. He smiled as he pointed the gun at his temple, or perhaps he simply let himself be exposed to the enemy's attack, his face expressionless.

"Number of impacts: 37, influence: weak"

In the end, he was no longer able to control his own behavior, and his strength was no longer enough to support himself.

The brown-haired boy lowered his head and chuckled softly, his hot tears dripping onto his arms, but he was completely unaware.

Step by step...sliding into the abyss.

No matter what, he couldn't be saved...

In fact, from the moment he returned to the past, all he brought to his friends was death. Irreversible death.

He opened his mouth, took a deep breath, and mobilized the last bit of strength in his body.

He will never give up until the last moment.

"Time: 23:03:11, September 23, 1797, Federal Calendar, Number of Impacts: 52, Influence: Very Weak"

"Time of stay: 30 seconds"

This time he didn't choose the moment they first met.

He picked up a random node before they left the cell.

Escape from the cage... This is his most sincere wish for his friend.

…

Xia Zuo's vision became clear again as his body became synchronized.

What came into view was a scene that had long been engraved in his memory.

Xia Zuo knew very well that this was the last time he would be able to drive the Book of Time.

After this time, he will return to reality.

He didn't speak, didn't move, didn't do anything unnecessary, just stared at his friend, suppressing the deep sadness in the deepest part of his pupils.

I've tried everything, but I still can't save you... Caesar.

So... as a close friend, I can only sincerely hope that in the future you can live more easily and freely without having to worry about being bound by fate.

The countdown to leaving here begins.

Xia Zuo from the future took a deep breath. Even though his influence on this time point had become extremely weak, he gave a hint to his past self who was in tune with him, as if he was swearing an oath.

"Protect Caesar. Protect him with your life."

Thirty seconds to go.

The consciousness from another time point quietly left the brown-haired boy.

Xia Zuo Kaili blinked his eyes. He felt that a lot of memories seemed to have flashed through his mind, but disappeared without a trace in an instant, as if all this was just his illusion.

Moreover, in the past few tens of seconds, my brain has been feeling heavy, and my perception of the outside world has been slightly blurred. It may be because I haven't eaten for too long.

The thought just flashed through his mind and he didn't think much about it.

He glanced at the black-haired boy he had just met. Perhaps because he looked too fragile and could die if he wasn't careful, or perhaps because they were fellow inmates and shared a common hatred for the enemy, Xia Zuo couldn't help but have an extremely strong thought -

To protect Cesar.

Protect him with your life.