It went the same as it always had.
The troublemaker somehow found a way to recover from her carefully planned scheme and proceeded to cause problems, leaving her no choice but to speed up the timeline of the ritual.
It was bound to cause problems but with no other choice, it had to be done.
Perhaps the only difference between this round and the previous ones was that her present self hadn’t stayed around to face and inadvertently lost to Alex.
She had instead left after dealing with the girl with the smell of death to deal with a much larger problem, one that was outside the scope of Sklaviunt.
In truth, she was hardly of the opinion that such an act was necessary.
Not because it truly was unnecessary, but simply because she had begun to doubt everything she’d done.
Perhaps that was the good thing about splitting herself into her past, present, and future selves.
It gave her the ability to think properly, away from the madness, away from the single-mindedness.
Unfortunately, that was all it did.
Trying to make a difference would lead to problems arising which she couldn’t allow.
So, she sat in that chair, waiting for the troublemaker to arrive, hoping he would help her do what she couldn’t.
Help her put an end to the madness she had started.
Alex couldn’t understand why, but for every action carried out, there was an odd and recurring sense of déjà Vu, like he had performed those same actions before.
But it made no sense as he couldn’t recall when exactly this had happened.
If this feeling had sprang up once or twice, he may have put it off but the number of times it had hit him was appalling and in urgent need of study.
Unfortunately, with the situation as it was, there was no time to do so.
Not only was Arwen still missing but the enemy had succeeded in opening a gateway between Eventide and the Abyss, resulting in an Incursion.
Though he had managed to block the entrance, this was merely a temporary solution that would not hold given sufficient time.
With that in mind, he needed to act quickly and fast to prevent the portal from expanding any further.
To that end, he set his Knights to work, each assigned to a post with the sole purpose of closing the portal.
Considering Humphrey was the only one capable of affecting space, his task was the most important; closing the portal.
As for him, along with Charlotte and the newly added Knight, Azazel, an assassin capable of perfect invisibility, Alex hoped to prevent anyone and anything from disrupting the healing process.
Just as Humphrey grew close to completing his task, everything changed as a massive shift occurred in the aether flow.
The portal expanded at an exponential pace, and Alex watched, with terror-filled eyes, as the Timeless Serpent descended into Eventide.
In that pivotal moment, he remembered his dream and wondered how it was that he had managed to dream of the future.
The only difference between that dream and his current reality was the green glow in the sky.
What about the green glow?... Alex felt he was missing something, but before he had a chance to figure it out, the Timeless Serpent unleashed its Authority, and the entirety of Sklaviunt and the area around it was immediately engulfed in the cycle of death and rebirth.
"What happened?" Elena asked, noticing Ana’s expression suddenly shift.
"It wasn’t enough." Ana breathed out.
"So they are still stuck?"
"Worse than that, at this rate, if we don’t get them out soon, they could really die in there or worse, end up corrupted."
Before Ana could respond, she immediately sensed something, forcing her to create a time bubble around herself and Elena.
Just then, they heard a voice.
"You’ve got quite the senses."
Following that, the speaker revealed herself, standing a few meters away from the duo, donning a purple himation and a pair of sandals.
Her hair was tied in a ponytail and she wore minimal jewelry.
She looked to be in her late thirties and was currently holding a mystical card in her right hand and another in her left.
"I’m guessing you have something to do with what’s happening in Sklaviunt?" Ana muttered with the lady replying.
"Maybe, maybe not." The speaker replied. "If you’d like to know, you could go in."
"Intentionally enter a time loop created by the Timeless Serpent?... No thanks."
"You’d be fine, it’s clear you are quite attuned to the workings of time."
"Which also means that I’d be quite vulnerable to the Timeless Serpent. Thank you but I quite like my sanity."
"Unfortunate." The speaker seemed regretful. "You speak of the Master as though he were a monster, but he is anything but that. He is the only being that perfectly understands the cycle of death and rebirth. It is one that everything, both living and nonliving, must experience."
"Enough with the preachings. Who are you and why are you here?"
"You may call me Thera. I am but a servant called by the Serpent to spread his grace and as for why I am here, well, I am here to ask that you do not interfere."
"That’s a hard ask. My friends are in there." Ana calmly stated. "And even if they weren’t, you don’t really expect me to turn a blind eye to an Incursion, right?"
"I believe you should do just that and save yourself the trouble that comes with your actions. Don’t you agree?"
"Unfortunately, I don’t."
"I see." Thera nodded. "In that case, you leave me no choice."
Eight mystical cards suddenly appeared around Thera, rotating at a rather slow pace while a potent Authority settled upon the surrounding area.
"I will have to remove you from the premises."
Ana frowned. "You borrowed Authority from the Serpent?"
"As his servant, it is only right that he blesses me as I do his bidding."
Clicking her tongue, Ana breathed out. "This is going to be problematic."