Time in a collapsing world

Chapter 1295 Gaining Power

Just as the other girls were wondering about Bronya's suddenly extremely serious expression, the Heavy Bunny's sensors emitted a rapid but slight buzzing.

"Caution! Heavy Bunny has detected an abnormally high-energy individual nearby. Extremely dangerous."

Almost at the same time Bronya issued the warning, not far behind them, on the previously empty beach, the air seemed to be stirred by an invisible hand, rippling with golden waves.

A figure emerges calmly from the ripples.

With dazzling blonde hair, a childlike figure, about twelve or thirteen years old, wearing a well-tailored white dress, and a face as delicate as a doll.

When they saw his face clearly, everyone was stunned for a moment, and then their faces showed an extremely strange expression that was a mixture of surprise and disbelief.

“That face…” Kiana pointed at the boy, her eyes wide as if she had discovered something new, “Although he’s shrunk and looks much younger… but that calculating expression on his face… Hey, hey, hey, could he be Bishop Otto’s illegitimate son?! Or did he secretly create a mini version of himself?”

Mei gently tugged at Kiana's sleeve and whispered, "Kiana, watch your words..." Although she was also astonished by the boy's striking resemblance to Bishop Otto, it seemed impolite to say it so directly.

Sirin crossed her arms, her golden eyes scrutinizing the boy: "Hmph, that's strange. What, did that old man on Destiny Peak have nothing better to do than create a clone to deliver a message? What does he want with us?"

The blond boy—or rather, the being occupying this "vessel"—appeared with an elegant smile reminiscent of Otto, tinged with a sense of aloofness. He didn't answer the question about his identity, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally settling on Kiana and Mei, and he asked:

Do you crave power?

There was a moment of silence after he said that.

"Huh?" Kiana broke the silence first, looking at me with a "Are you kidding me?" expression, and couldn't help but complain, "Seriously? What era is this? Still using such an old-fashioned way of lying? 'Young man, do you crave power?' -- In the manga I've read, this kind of line is only used by villains, and the success rate is basically zero!"

She counted on her fingers, "This is obviously fishy! Is the next thing they're going to say, 'Sign this contract and you'll gain invincible power, but the price is xxx'? Please, can't you be a little more creative?"

Mei sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation. Bronya and Seele exchanged a glance and blinked simultaneously. Sirin, meanwhile, burst out laughing.

The boy's elegant smile seemed to freeze for a moment, but he quickly recovered, ignoring Kiana's sarcasm, and continued, "This world is heading towards collapse. The rules are in disarray, disasters are frequent, and threats that you cannot yet fully comprehend are approaching."

“Of course we know that,” Kiana chimed in, shrugging. “The news is out every day, and everyone at the academy is incredibly busy. So what? What does that have to do with asking if we crave power? Can you just slap all those troublemakers back to their hometowns?”

The boy's lips twitched slightly. He took a deep breath, seemingly trying to maintain his composure: "What I mean is, your current strength is far from sufficient to face a crisis like this. I can offer assistance and guide you to acquire greater power, enough to cope with the future."

"How will you guide me? Through crash courses? Guaranteed to teach me everything?" Kiana's curiosity was piqued a little, but she still looked skeptical. "Also, why are you being so kind? Are we that close? Bishop Otto may be a bit mysterious sometimes, but he wouldn't just give away a power-boosting gift package like that, would he?"

“It’s not a ‘gift’,” the boy corrected, his tone quickening slightly, “but rather an ‘opening up’ of your own hidden potential. This requires a trigger and…”

"The price?" Mei keenly caught the key word, her purple eyes scrutinizing her.

“You could say that, but compared to the gains, it’s insignificant.” The boy tried to steer the conversation back on track. “Imagine having the power to turn the tide, to protect everything you cherish, including…”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, and emphasized his tone:

"...including amethyst."

The girls' expressions became more serious when the name Zijing was mentioned.

"What happened to Mr. Zijing?" Mei asked, a sense of unease rising in her heart.

The boy didn't answer Mei's question directly. Instead, he looked at Kiana, his tone carrying an indescribable seduction: "Think about it, if one day in the future he needs help, or even faces... a fatal threat, and you are powerless to help him, you can only watch helplessly..."

"Hey! What do you mean?!" Kiana exclaimed, stepping forward. "How could my brother...?"

“I’m just suggesting a possibility,” the boy interrupted her, his voice lowering. “The universe is vast, and there are many threats. He is not invincible. Don’t you want to have the power to fight alongside him, and even protect him when he needs it?”

These words made everyone's hearts tighten. Although they felt that the other party was exaggerating, they could not completely ignore the matter when it involved Zijing's safety.

A brief silence fell over the room. Kiana wanted to retort but was also worried, Mei and Bronya were calmly analyzing the truthfulness of each other's words, Sirin stared intently at the guy in front of her, and Seele looked at everyone nervously.

The boy watched their hesitant and doubtful expressions, and a tiny vein seemed to throb on his temple. He realized that his carefully prepared, suggestive, and seductive lines were losing their effectiveness in front of these unconventional girls.

Finally, he seemed to lose patience, or rather, felt that the groundwork had been laid enough (though far from the effect he had envisioned). He dropped the elegant smile he had been mimicking and said, word by word:

"To be frank, I can show you a way to become stronger and gain the power to participate in higher-level battles. If you don't want to regret being too weak someday and only be able to watch Amethyst fight alone or even... pay the price, then keep this in mind."

His words were decisive and straightforward, laying bare the core "conditions of the deal"—power, which was linked to the potential safety of the amethyst crystal.

After saying that, before the girls could react further, his figure began to blur, gradually fading away as if merging into the sunlight.

“Think it over carefully. When you’ve truly thought it through and are willing to do something for that possible ‘moment’…” His voice drifted away with his figure, “Heh… I’ll come back to you.”