This would trigger time reversal, and Mithra would be forced back to his weakest point four hundred years ago!
At that moment, even Guanyin Bodhisattva couldn't help but think the same thing.
But in the next instant, they realized they were wrong!
How wrong!
Faced with Karen's targeted counterattack, Mitra showed no fear whatsoever, but instead smiled slightly.
Then, without any fancy moves or special skills, he simply opened his eyes.
Almost no one had ever seen Mithra's eyes, because he kept them closed year-round and almost never opened them. This time, everyone finally saw them.
His eyes were large and wide, clear and bright, with two pupils in each eye, four in total, shining with azure light in the darkness of the universe.
Azure-green, double pupils.
Among the "Six Great Dependent Originations," the color blue symbolizes the essence of all phenomena, which transcends the constraints of time and space.
distortion.
The next instant, Karen immediately saw that the golden mandala around Mithra began to distort, as if the heat caused the light to flicker like flames.
However, it wasn't just light that was distorted. Space itself was also distorted, overlapping with each other. Even time was distorted; in an instant, Kallen saw her own reflection in her own vision, and many, many more of them. Although the forms were the same, the movements were different.
The universe is distorted; the past and future overlap here, and time and space are being separated!
“Listen carefully, all sentient beings are like towers on sand, or flowers in water. When the sand is scattered, the towers collapse; when the water flows, the flowers perish.”
Only Mithras remained calmly seated at the center of chaos, speaking his sermon.
“Listen carefully, all of you. Self and others are illusions, all sentient beings are illusions, and all kinds of human and heavenly blessings and the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss are illusions.”
"Heaven and earth are a burning house, and all living beings are being tortured to death. We should uphold the righteous law, take refuge in the great treasure, cast aside our five turbid and evil bodies, escape the cycle of reincarnation and hell, and enter the realm that is neither born nor dies, neither increases nor decreases, neither defiled nor pure, neither empty nor existent."
"Come quickly! Follow me to deliver us from suffering and bring us peace, subdue the evil gods from beyond the realm, end our suffering, and ultimately achieve Nirvana!"
The spacetime vortex of 【reincarnation】, along with Mithra’s teachings, began to pull in all sorts of bodhisattvas and great gods, dragging them in fiercely!
Not good!
Karen was acutely aware that if she were caught here, she would be finished.
But trying to understand this kind of illogical supernatural power is futile; it's unlikely that it will be easy to misunderstand it at the moment.
What solutions are available?
Even spacetime has been distorted; what method can possibly resist it?!
Without bothering to think about what kind of earth-shattering divine power Mitra was, or whether it would be effective, Karen put her hands together and unleashed a powerful attack with all her might, using the five colors of divine light: yellow, white, red, black, and cyan!
As the Peacock King's signature technique, the Five-Colored Divine Light is an ultimate divine power capable of annihilating powerful gods and even threatening principal deities and bodhisattvas. Now, with Kallen amplifying it using the power of the Dream Flower, its power is greatly enhanced, making it comparable to the Peacock King's own full-force attack!
Five-colored light exploded!
The surrounding illusory cosmic space was immediately shaken, causing even the other great gods behind to lose their footing. Only Kallen's hand, her [Five-Colored Divine Light], was like a white rainbow piercing the sun, about to split the sun of Mithra; it was also like a bolt of lightning, a lightning bolt that cleaved the night!
"【Dream Light Fist】!"
That's Karen's punch!
Even if this is a hellish cycle of reincarnation, as long as there is a ray of light, it can become a spider silk that allows people to break free!
"very good."
If Kallen's first finger gesture elicited a hint of appreciation from Mitra, then the Light Speed Fist at this moment truly earned his admiration.
"It's hard to imagine, even seeing it with my own eyes, that you could reach this level."
Perhaps sensing Karen's astonished gaze, the Bodhisattva, defying all reason, smiled in her direction and then stretched out a hand—a delicate, white palm.
With a gentle tap, he annihilated Karen's powerful, unleashed punch, pushed to its limits.
The light vanished before it could point out the path to escape in the ignorance of reincarnation.
Karen's fist was now empty. Her deadly technique, along with her radiance, was swallowed by ignorance.
Even light cannot escape this cycle of reincarnation.
"Knowing the past four hundred years and the future four hundred years. The key to everything lies in today."
Now, Karen was finally at her wit's end, being pulled along by [Reincarnation] while hearing Mitra's voice emanating from the center of Reincarnation.
"Let me show you the causes and conditions, karma and consequences that have shaped the world we live in today!"
"Life, though born and departed, may it journey towards the light. At the end of the future, there will surely be the all-encompassing light of Nirvana—"
"【Reincarnation】!"
--------------------------------
Meanwhile, in northeastern Japan, in the Land of the Dead...
Hayden has made some progress in developing time travel magic.
Although the time-travel magic he's currently working on can only be used in the [Land of the Dead] and is limited to traveling to the past, Hayden still plans to test it several times to avoid problems when he actually uses it.
...And then, during his first test, this unexpected thing happened.
"Uh-huh!?"
As Hayden was casting his spell, he suddenly felt an incredibly strong gravitational pull.
The attraction actually came from his own magic, and it was pulling Hayden into it!
In an instant, everyone saw Hayden's hand being swallowed by a mass of darkness!
"Depend on!"
Hayden struggled desperately, but it was no use!
Although he possessed extremely strong resistance to death, he truly lacked resistance to time and space. Moreover, this was a spell he had only half-finished suddenly mutated. The half-finished thing in his hands began to engulf him, and he couldn't shake it off at all!
Oh, I see. So this is where all the entanglements of cause and effect begin?
Asmodius leaned closer, observing the situation with great interest.
This is the first time I've seen it from this angle. So that's how you got sucked in.
Hayden wasn't stupid; upon hearing this, he immediately realized what was happening: "You knew it would turn out like this all along!?"
Of course I know a little bit, more or less.
Asmodius laughed.
[Think about it, Hayden. You're going to four hundred years ago, while I've lived from four hundred years ago to the present. What do you think I already know?]
Hayden finally realized what was happening.
Traveling to the past would not actually change the present.
If Hayden in the past and Asmodius in the present see the same version, then...
If "Hayden returning to four hundred years ago" is also part of the existing history,
...Then Asmodius would certainly know very well what happened during that time.
On the first viewing, the past Asmodius already knew what would happen, even though for the present Hayden, those things hadn't yet occurred...
You're lying—
Before he could finish speaking, the black hole had already expanded, sucking Hayden in completely and throwing him into the distant past.
Even the courtesan was stunned, clearly unaware of what was about to happen.
Angela, on the other hand, remained remarkably calm. She walked to the edge of the black hole, intending to follow it inside.
【My dear sister.】
At this moment, Asmodius spoke up.
I guess you wouldn't really enjoy what happened four hundred years ago. So I hope you, well... can fully enjoy the process.
Her tone had a hint of schadenfreude.
“I knew all along that there were several traps hidden in what you told the master.”
Angela said calmly,
“Concern leads to confusion. With your mind preoccupied with how to defeat Mithra and how to save the world, your master is easily fooled and won’t scrutinize the strange parts of your words. But I was wondering from the beginning, how could you possibly summon the power of a god? Theoretically, that should be absolutely impossible.”
"But God's power does seem to have manifested in this world, so I can only think of one explanation—the one who called upon God was not you. And the one you summoned was not God."
So, who exactly has the ability to summon the power of the Outer Gods?
Who exactly did Asmodius summon four hundred years ago?
The trick was exposed, but Asmodius remained unfazed: "So what? This just proves that the savior you chose, sister, is utterly incompetent. My being imprisoned here means that I, four hundred years ago, failed. Even if your little savior traveled back in time, he would still fail."
At this point, the large red dragon sneered again: "This impatient, shallow, short-sighted person, who can't see the root of the problem and has no methodology, you call him a savior? It's laughable!"
"A fool who is enthusiastic, loving, and willing to immediately bend down and do things himself is better than ten wise emperors who are far-sighted, high above, arrogant, and indifferent."
Angela said calmly,
“Asbel, my sister, everything you have done is for yourself. Your past failures, the torment you are suffering now, and the eternal punishment that is coming your way are all the retribution you deserve.”
"And I am now going to do good for the one I love, and for the world he loves. Even if I may suffer setbacks at times, it is not something to be afraid of. For darkness will eventually pass. Eternal light will heal all wounds and pains—that day will come soon."
Without looking back, Angela stepped into the dark time tunnel, facing the first and last test she would ever face in this world.
As she said, even angels have to take exams. And each angel usually only takes one exam, but the required score is higher than that of humans.
Entering the darkness, she saw light instead.
Flash, flash, flash
Countless flashes of light appeared and disappeared, appeared and vanished again.
Like being bathed in shimmering rain.
...No. Perhaps, quite the opposite, it is those who have stepped into the light who are running among the swarms of light.
Angela spread her spiritual wings and flew effortlessly through space and time. Countless fragments of space and time flashed before her eyes. Mortal souls could not comprehend these sights in an instant, only perceiving the rushing light. But in reality, they were countless scenes that had passed away.
Angela understood immediately upon seeing them, confirming many of her preconceived notions. She sighed softly and looked ahead, where she spotted Hayden in the distance once more.
Hayden was completely unable to handle this sudden spatial phenomenon, and was thrashing about in the shimmering light, as desperate as a landlubber falling into water. This made Angela smile slightly, and she flew towards Hayden, taking his hand.
"Don't worry too much, Master. This is just our time coordinates being pulled away from our original positions in this universe... Hmm, do you understand?"
Hayden rubbed his temples with his other hand: "Simply put, we were pulled there by Asmodeus's summoning ritual four hundred years ago, is that right?"
At present, Hayden's understanding is only about 75%. So he forces himself to understand it and simplifies it.
But if that really happens, things will get complicated. Hayden went back in time to find out Angela's true name and power, not to be dragged back by Asmodius and inexplicably fight the eight great bodhisattvas from four hundred years ago!
Angela shook her head and replied, "That's not the case. Although Asbel was supposed to do that, I just sensed a similar spacetime magic oscillation on the moon. It must be that Miss Karen cast a time-reversal spell on Mitra. The resonance between the two sides may produce unexpected results."
Hayden frowned: "...So what are the possible consequences?"
“We’ll likely be blown to a location a little longer or a little shorter than the summoning site four hundred years ago,” Angela said with a smile. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen this kind of summoning magic.”
Indeed. Who has ever heard of a summoning spell today summoning the target back to yesterday?
While observing his surroundings, Hayden spoke with Angela. He could indeed sense that the flow of the countless spots of light around him was gradually slowing down.
Perhaps because of this, his brain also began to understand what he was seeing.
Before us lies a battlefield.
It was a battlefield where blood was used to wash away blood, and corpses piled up like mountains.
Archers' arrows pierced through gaps in the enemy ranks, and mounted generals led their soldiers, weapons in hand, advancing in formation. The divine warriors, who considered each other formidable rivals, loudly announced their names and, riding the biting wind, clashed fiercely with swords, spears, and halberds.
This is a scene of war, and certainly not a modern war.
The Middle Ages, the feudal era—that's what this place is called, but it's more than that.
Legend has it that this war shattered the era of the old gods and ushered in the modern world of the new gods.
War between the old and new gods.
This is the timeline that Hayden and Angela have arrived in.
403: Absolutely wrong