A faint purple glow was seen from the distance. It's a floating stage set up in the townsquare and several powerful auras were beginning to reach the venue.
The large crowd was also moving there.
'At least 50% of the city's population is moving. What the hell is going on?' Varian was confused.
No matter whether it's a famous festival or popular speech, half of the city coming together for it was too much!
From what he observed from the past week, even though he greeted everyone with a friendly smile, except for going out ocassionally to buy materials, Aion always declined invitations to balls, meetings, festivals and weddings.
'He loves torturing in the name of experiments too much!'
So, he'd decline the invitation and return to the lab. Varian was about about to turn away when he heard an unexpected reply.
"I guess the experiment has to be postponed." Aion gave Varian a look of regret before a soft glowing green aura enveloped them.
The world flashed in Varian's eyes and the next moment, he found himself at a corner of the stage.
Aion and a couple well dressed elders who were all rank 2s stood in a line.
'Six, eleven, thirty? Thirty rank 2s? Who are you kidding?' Varian thought he was seeing things.
Even today, after so much development, the alliance didn't have ten rank 2s. Even Jai empire only had fifteen rank 2s at its highest and ten of them were low rank 2s.
Out of these thirty, fifteen were low rank 2s, ten were mid rank 2s including Aion and five were high rank 2s!
'Neveah slaughtered them to extinction? And without much losses? Who are you kidding?' Varian began to wonder if the history was fabricated.
Maybe Heaven slaughtered Neveah and became Jai? But that made no sense. Such lie would be refuted by the remaining tribes.
[Maybe this projection is altering the actual situation? Making them far stronger than they actually are? The original Heaven tribe could've been far weaker.]
'Perhaps. But what if the projection was real? Because the runes definitely were the real. Their research on origin was real. Their theories on time travel were real.'
Before he could think further, a beam of light landed on the smooth purple stage.
The rose-shaped green aura enveloping the figure melted away, revealing a plain and unassuming man in elegant white clothes.
But every soul gathered in the townsquare fell deadly still in his presence.
Varian's eyes widened as he sensed a power far beyond the rest.
'Peak rank 2!'
[No doubt. I just wonder what is the energy source powering these projections? What can even power a peak rank 2? He's a false being in the sense that this is a projection, but within the projection itself, he's as real as a real peak rank 2.]
Logos' voice was also filled with worry.
"Hm?" The man in white suddenly turned around and glanced at Varian.
Varian's hair stood on its end as he felt a majestic power scan through every bit of his being.
It was that feeling of powerlesness, similar to what he felt when he faced the God Emperor's clone that day.
The man didn't even try and Varian's soul started to crumble. If he just kept at it intently for a few more seconds, it would be enough to kill him.
'Should I break the seal and escape?' Varian instinctually tried to clench his fists but his fingers couldn't move an inch. And then he realized the horrible situation he's in. 'Can I even escape?'
As his soul reached the point of breaking, a figure stood between him and the man, blocking the prying gaze.
"Eon! That's my piece! Don't try to snatch him from me." Aion blew his beard and said in an uncompromising tone.
Eon withdrew his gaze from Varian and said in a calm tone. "I feel he is hiding something."
'The slivers!' Varian's heart nearly stopped beating for a moment. 'Even Aion didn't find their traces and this guy sensed them with a glance!'
"I don't care." Aion waved his hand.
For a brieft moment, Varian thought this old man was perhaps not as evil as he imagined. But his next words squashed that belief and tramped on it.
"I'll disect him after he dies anway and read his memories. Until then, I want my piece to survive as long as it can."
"Alright." The man nodded and turned to the crowd. His deep voice rang across the townsquare. "The fourth and final prophecy of the year begins."
Varian had just begun to recover from the stressful ecounter and those words threw his mind off the balance.
'Prophecy?'
Eon raised his arm to the sky and a brilliant light condensed on it.
All the light in the world seemed to be sucked away as everything turned dark. A squirming, shining blue energy hovered over his hand.
[Time sliver! It's the real sliver!]
(Time sliver! It's definitely real!)
Logos and Samsara yelled at once.
A soul chilling thought flashed through Varian's mind.
'There is no way a projection can create a sliver. This is real!'
As if the shock wasn't enough, the words that rang from Eon gave him another blow. "The third prophecy of the year revealed that Neveah is going to attack us with an intent to destroy."
The calm reaction of the crowd and the disdainful chuckles of the elders told him that this was real.
'They knew it? And yet they went extinct without putting up any resistance?!'
They already knew! And they didn't seem to care! The nonchalance of the crowd told him not only were they prepared, they were also looking forward to it.
"The fourth prophecy reveals the precise time of the attack." Eon spoke calmly, the time sliver in his hand spinning, giving out waves upon waves of blue that rippled through the city.
Varian swallowed his saliva. 'The sliver is real. Whether this is a projection or real past, Heaven tribe is going go to extinct when Neveah attacks.'
"The attack is…three days from now."