Chapter 652 - 411: Time Curse

Chapter 652: Chapter 411: Time Curse

He hadn’t seen Pari since the day he awakened ’Future Preview’.

Betti

Level 5 Divination Master / Level 4 Scholar

Atlantis City—Grand Library—Ancient Library Manager

...

The information surged into Lu Cang’s mind.

This was, in fact, just an ordinary library manager.

’Well, not exactly ordinary... After all, Level 5 Divination Masters are quite rare, especially one who’s also a Level 4 Scholar. With her Level, she would be considered an esteemed Divination Master and a respected Scholar anywhere she went.’

Betti.

Pari had used that name before, too.

Lu Cang remembered that when Izparut introduced Pari to him, he had called her "Betti."

But Pari had said that was her old name and that she had since changed it to Pari.

The person before him looked so much like Pari.

And she even had a similar name.

’It’s all so strange.’

Lu Cang looked at the Date of Death above her head. Her Date of Death...

...was a mere twenty years away.

This was completely different from Pari, who would take over four thousand long years to die.

But the person before him was undoubtedly real.

"Yes, I’m a Divination Master. Is Pari the person you’re looking for?"

"Could you describe her for me? Perhaps I can help you."

Lu Cang said, "She... looks a lot like you."

"Almost... identical."

Hearing Lu Cang’s description, Betti set down the tattered ancient tome in her hands. "Hmm..."

One by one, Destiny Cards materialized on the table.

The Divination Skill she used was also the same as Pari’s.

It was Destiny Card Divination.

Lu Cang waited quietly for her Divination. After flipping over a few cards, she slowly shook her head and said, "There are no omens related to this at all."

The three cards were all weather cards depicting a cloudless sky.

Lu Cang could understand Divination now, so he had a general idea of what the reading foretold.

"Thank you."

’It seems I won’t get any other clues.’

"By the way, miss... I’d like to find some books about Aikator. Do you recall any?"

For a Scholar, reading through an entire library in a month or two was not a difficult task.

Most librarians on duty would have at least read all the books in their designated section.

"Aikator... I do have some recollection."

"Those books have been sealed away by the Head Librarian. They’re in the ancient archives on the fifth floor."

"If you want to read them, you’ll probably have to get permission from the Head Librarian."

"Wait... Are you a child?"

Betti seemed to have only just noticed that Lu Cang was a child, and she cried out in surprise.

Lu Cang scratched his cheek. "Uh... I guess so."

’Her reaction is a little slow.’

’I thought she was just calm and didn’t find it strange that I was a child, but it turns out she just hadn’t processed it.’

"If you’re a child, then things could be difficult."

"These precious ancient texts are generally not lent to children. Sorry about that."

’So they won’t lend them...’

Lu Cang’s Perception swept over the upper floors of the Ancient Library. Several rooms on the higher levels were all under the effect of Restrictions.

The number of books was vast.

He’d seen scenes like this quite often.

Most large libraries had restricted areas because some books couldn’t be read by ordinary people.

"Alright... I understand."

Looking a little dejected and helpless, Lu Cang walked toward the exit.

Only after watching Lu Cang leave did Betti pick up the tattered ancient book in her hands again.

The instant Lu Cang vanished from Betti’s sight, he appeared in a dark room on the fifth floor.

"Kid."

"You seem pretty interested in that manager," An Su teased in his mind.

Lu Cang gave a simple reply. "She just looks like a friend I know."

"What kind of friend?"

"A... very strange friend."

Lu Cang didn’t say anything more.

As for Betti, all he could do was keep an eye out. Even knowing she existed, there wasn’t much Lu Cang could do for the time being.

An Su had already told him quite a bit more about Aikator.

The most important point was that Aikator had supposedly done something wrong, felt remorse, and completely sealed away both that period of spacetime and the version of themself from that time.

It was very likely the person behind that door.

As for what exactly had happened, even An Su didn’t know.

It was just an ancient legend... and the source of the legend was now impossible to trace.

He also heard that there were many ruins related to Aikator in the world, and explorers of these ruins would mysteriously find themselves in a time that wasn’t their own.

The existence of these ruins was also the cornerstone of modern ’Chronology’.

Based on investigations and explorations of these ruins, the scholars who studied Time in the White Tower had concluded that the past was not necessarily the past of the present.

Time could form a closed loop, where the present could influence the past.

But generally speaking, what had happened could not be changed.

Lu Cang broke through the Restriction on the fifth floor and entered the room.

The books here were almost all damaged copies with missing pages and faded words.

"You came here looking for clues?"

"The ancient texts here are indeed quite comprehensive..."

"But records about Aikator were extremely rare, even in my era."

Lu Cang said, "If it were you, where do you think would be the best place to find clues?"

Lu Cang asked as he opened a damaged ancient book.

These books were so tattered they were nearly unreadable. Just holding them without letting them fall apart was a feat in itself.

However, with ’Information Tracing’, Lu Cang could perfectly read everything recorded within.

This was a book from about 7,000 years ago.

It wasn’t from the gap period 5,000 years ago, but a 7,000-year-old book was certainly rare.

It was an ancient travel journal titled *Qihai Temple*.

It was no help, so Lu Cang casually put it back.

"If it were me... heheh, I’d probably go look for the ruins Aikator left behind."

Lu Cang: "Hmm... Where do you think the closest Aikator ruins are to here?"

An Su thought for a moment before answering, "As I recall, there’s one in the Muddy Sea."

Lu Cang opened another book and replied, "Too far."

An Su: "If even the Muddy Sea is too far, then the rest are even farther."

Lu Cang fell silent and didn’t continue the conversation.

Instead, he continued to investigate the books in the room.

According to the manager’s description, there were indeed records related to Aikator here.

Coming here to search was just the first stop...

Lu Cang didn’t actually have high hopes of finding a clue here. If he couldn’t find one, he planned to go search the White Tower later.

After searching for about ten minutes, Lu Cang saw a book titled *Time Curse*.

’Is this it...?’

The book was extremely dilapidated. When Lu Cang picked it up, he saw that most of the writing on it had already vanished.

The entire book was a withered yellow.

It looked like ancient tree bark that had been eroded by Time for millions of years.

"Kid... you’re flipping through all this stuff. Can you even read these books?"

"A book with so few words left... even if you tried to decipher it, you’d never be able to piece together its full meaning, would you?"

Lu Cang didn’t answer, just kept looking through it silently.

’Divine Level Information Tracing.’

All the faded text reappeared in Lu Cang’s mind.

"I am trapped in a curse of Time."

"Ever since that day, after returning from that pitch-black spiral, my every day has been moving backward."

"I no longer move continuously toward the Future like a normal person."

"Instead, day by day, I return to the past."

"In just a single day, I went from the Abyss Demon Land back to the prosperous Miselux. I don’t know what I can leave behind in this spacetime, nor do I know where I will ultimately end up."

"I can only leave this record, in the hopes that others who share my fate might one day see it."