“She is.”
Looking at the blonde girl before her, Aurora couldn’t help but feel that she looked strangely familiar.
The girl wore no clothes, her fair skin exposed.
Aurora glanced her over carefully but saw no wounds on her body.
She lay there peacefully with her eyes closed, as if she were merely asleep…
“Director Albert, is she the one you said was already dead?” Aurora asked uncertainly.
Her skin still held a healthy color, as if blood still flowed through her veins.
Aurora even felt that if she leaned in closely, she could hear the girl’s heartbeat.
But Albert knew better—these were just illusions. The body was in tatters before he brought her here.
There was a horrific gash across her neck, large enough to fit an infant inside. Her shoulders, back, and chest all bore various wounds.
Albert had used magic to restore the body to its original state after bringing her here.
But that restoration was only superficial.
By the time he brought her, her heartbeat was completely gone.
The rosy complexion on her face was preserved only because Albert had acted quickly after her death.
Aurora felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity with the girl before her.
Why… her heart ached.
Every time she saw this face, vague images surfaced in her mind.
She seemed to remember the girl smiling, and also saw the girl looking scared and helpless…
It was as if someone was calling to her in her ear, saying—Save me…
Albert noticed Aurora’s strange expression and whispered, “Aurora Eve?”
Her scattered consciousness snapped back. Only then did she realize she had been zoning out.
“Sorry… I… I think I’ve seen her somewhere before.”
“Is that so?”
Of course she had seen her. This girl had died right before her eyes, calling out Aurora’s name repeatedly until the end.
But Albert would never tell her that. Such knowledge would surely drive her mad.
“How… did she die?” Aurora asked curiously.
A girl dying at such a youthful age stirred her heartache, but also her curiosity about the girl’s past.
“She got what she deserved…”
What surprised Aurora was Albert’s blunt reply.
“She secretly kept the fact that she gained power from the cult hidden. By the time she tried to fix things, it was already too late.”
“I see…”
It was hard to imagine that such a pure and adorable girl could do such a thing.
“So, Director Albert, what do you need me to do?”
She didn’t even know she possessed the ability to bring the dead back to life.
She struggled just to use basic magic herself.
“Aurora Eve, do you know you have a miraculous power within you?”
“Miraculous power?”
“You are capable of using magic that alters time, a power nearly impossible to possess.”
“Change time?! How can that be…”
She was about to argue when her mind suddenly flashed back to that night in the forest.
She had witnessed time rewind and even freeze. If it wasn’t a trick of her imagination, maybe she really could do it.
“Maybe I really can?” she asked, reconsidering.
Seeing her like this, Albert realized she must have witnessed something.
“You must have used that magic unconsciously before—the power to manipulate time.”
“Actually, that night in the forest…”
She rambled on about everything that happened that evening, not forgetting to praise Xia, hoping Albert would soon release her from the detention room.
“Rewind and freeze…” Albert kept repeating the words in his mind.
If she could truly reverse time, maybe they could save Avira.
“Actually, I tried again after returning, but I couldn’t bring myself to use the magic.”
“How will you know unless you try again?”
Saying that, Albert gently placed the girl onto the clouds.
She turned to face Aurora, her arm gradually covered with blue scales.
“Eh? Director Albert, what are you doing?”
Aurora immediately felt something was wrong and cautiously stepped back.
“You only used those powers in moments of crisis, right? Maybe that’s the condition for casting that magic.”
Her right hand had transformed into a dragon claw, its sharp talons seeming able to carve the very air.
Aurora wondered if those claws piercing her skin would feel as effortless as stabbing cotton.
“Wait, wait, Director Albert, I think we should find another way!”
“Reenacting the scene is the best way!”
She swung her massive dragon tail and charged toward Aurora.
“Please wait, Director Albert! Doing this will definitely get someone killed!”
No matter how loudly Aurora shouted, Albert showed no signs of stopping.
With a light leap, she was dozens of meters above Aurora’s head, the claws shining sharply under the sun.
With a whooshing sound, the gleam grew closer and closer.
Now standing on the clouds, Aurora could neither dodge nor hide.
She could only shut her eyes tightly, hoping Albert wouldn’t harm her.
In the end, her gamble paid off.
The claw stopped just a foot from her brow.
If it had moved another second, she would have been shredded in pieces.
“Looks like it still won’t work…”
Albert withdrew her claws with a hint of disappointment and began thinking of other methods.
“Of course it won’t work!!”
Aurora wasn’t sure how long Albert pondered, but during that time, Aurora noticed the sun hadn’t moved at all.
Could it be that time here was frozen?
She started worrying about Zoya.
Before coming, Aurora hadn’t wanted Zoya to see anything like a corpse, so she let her stay playing in the classroom by herself.
“Um, Director Albert…”
“What is it?”
Albert looked up at Aurora while still deep in thought.
“Maybe I should go back first. I’m afraid Zoya will get impatient.”
“Ah, no need to worry. There’s no concept of time here, so outside is just as it was when you left.”
“I see.”
Sure enough, time didn’t exist in this space.
But just sitting around wasn’t going to solve anything…
She suddenly remembered Misha once told her she was studying her strange magic.
Maybe she had made some progress by now.
Thinking that, she said, “My friend seems to be researching my abilities. Maybe she’s figured something out.”
Albert looked at Aurora again.
“What’s your friend’s name?”
“Her name’s Misha. Sorry, she only told me her first name. Never mentioned her surname.”
“Misha…”
Albert thought she knew who Misha was—after all, she was a prodigy, quite famous in the magical world.
“Do you know where she is?” Albert asked suddenly.
“Hmm, let me think… probably in her basement at home. She rarely goes out.”
“Got it.”
Albert stood up, her dragon tail slashing a blue tear in the air as she stepped through it.
“Eh?”
Not long after, she returned—dragging someone along with her.
“Let go of me! You rude person!”
That voice was Misha’s!
Albert was about half a head taller than Misha, carrying her like a kitten, while Misha looked furious.
Misha saw Aurora inside the space and calmed down considerably upon seeing a familiar face.
“Miss Misha!”
“Aurora?”
Aurora ran up and helped Misha down.
After explaining everything from start to finish, Misha’s anger cooled a bit.
“Really, you could’ve just told me directly. Why kidnap me without a word?”
“Saying ‘kidnap’ sounds harsh. I was just worried that holy knights would find out. I have some issues with one of them.”
“You have issues with my sister? Why?” Aurora asked, puzzled.
“I’ll explain later. For now, let’s focus on the current problem.”
Misha looked at Aurora and asked, “So, have my studies borne any fruit?”
“There are some, but not much. After all, it’s the first time I’ve heard of such an incredible power.”
She then lowered her voice toward Aurora.
“To use that kind of magic, two things are necessary: bloodshed, and rage.”
“Those two conditions must be met for you to be able to use that magic.”