Professor Daniel looked at Neo with a concerned gaze.
He squeezed words out of his mouth.
“How are you going to survive this?”
“I can’t.”
Neo smiled bitterly.
“My plan failed.”
Professor Daniel’s face hardened.
He had been feeling guilt for leaving so much responsibility on Neo.
But he had hoped Neo would be able to change the past and survive.
Because Neo had been confident about his survival.
“What changed now….”
Professor Daniel stopped speaking,
The realization dawned on him.
“Neo, are you in the Shadow Trial right now?”
The air grew colder.
Neo’s lips parted slightly, but no words came.
He had told them he had entered the Shadow Trial in the past.
He had worded his explanation carefully, making Professor Daniel think he had failed his Shadow Trial and been thrown out of the Shadow World by the Supreme Deity of Shadow.
He made them believe this was the real world.
And that he wanted to correct the mistakes he did during the Shadow Trial.
“Neo, I asked something.”
Neo didn’t answer.
If he told Professor Daniel the truth — that he was in a Shadow World — Professor Daniel standing before him would realize he was just a Shadow.
The real Professor Daniel would think the same. That he was a shadow.
After all, changes in a 100% synchronized Shadow World were carried into the real world.
What would happen to real Professor Daniel if he believed he was just a Shadow?
‘Professor Daniel might go insane.’
It wouldn’t be the first time something like this had happened to someone.
Neo didn’t want to burden Professor Daniel with such knowledge.
However, his silence spoke plenty.
Professor Daniel’s expression contorted.
“You… You’re worried about me in this situation?”
“I can’t not worry about the hero who saved the world.”
Neo’s smile made Professor Daniel’s heart feel even heavier.
Neo’s plan to survive had been simple.
When the young Daniel saved the Child of Mana, Neo’s Shadow Trial would be completed.
After all, young Daniel was Neo’s proxy.
Him saving the Child of Mana would be counted as Neo performing the rescue.
‘He couldn’t save the Child of Mana though,’ Neo thought. ‘Not that I blame him. I was with him, so I know he tried his best.’
Saving the Child of Mana would have given Neo a chance to request a reward from the Shadow Supreme.
Neo had understood long ago that the reward he received before wasn’t a reward at all.
This time, he planned to ask the Shadow Supreme to let him take Angel out of the Shadow World.
It was to fulfill his promise of saving the Angel.
‘I was wondering how you would survive the ire of Time.’
The Angel’s voice resonated in his mind.
‘So that was your plan.’
“Yeah,” Neo said.
The place where Neo stood was the Shadow World.
It was a dimension where everything was made from shadow elementals.
Even Time and Fate.
The Time trying to kill him was the mimicked Time belonging to the Shadow World.
It was not True Time.
As long as he could return to the Earth Dimension, he would escape the reach of the mimicked Time.
Then, he wouldn’t have to worry about the mimicked Time erasing him.
It was a perfect plan.
A plan that fell apart when he couldn’t save the Child of Mana.
Now, the mimicked Time would erase him along with the ‘present’.
Or, if he tried to leave the Shadow World to escape the mimicked Time, the Shadow Supreme would kill him for failing the Shadow Trial.
It was a checkmate.
“You are awfully calm for someone who found out they are going to die even though they were promised otherwise,” Neo jabbed at the angel.
‘The guy who caused my death is dying with me, so I’m fine with it.’
The Angel shrugged.
Professor Daniel couldn’t decide what to do anymore as he saw Angel and Neo talk normally.
His eyes darted between them.
The world continued to crumble.
Time was erasing their ‘present’.
“Professor Daniel, I’m okay. You don’t need to worry about me.”
Neo looked at him with a calm smile.
“Please leave now. If you stay here any longer, it will be dangerous for you.”
Professor Daniel’s soul was trying to flow back into his body since long ago.
He had been resisting the pull until now, hoping to see if Neo had a way of surviving the ordeal.
“Goodbye,” Neo said with a faint smile.
He hoped his smile would reassure Professor Daniel, but it did the opposite.
The professor’s heart clenched.
Professor Daniel could no longer resist the pull.
His soul was violently reeled back into his body, the sensation disorienting and painful.
Before he disappeared completely, he heard Neo’s last words:
“Please don’t do anything that could endanger the world.”
Professor Daniel’s eyes snapped open.
The sensation of solid ground under him returned abruptly.
He was back to his own ‘present.’
His chest heaved with ragged breaths, and his body trembled with exhaustion.
The room was quiet except for his labored breathing.
Cold sweat clung to his forehead.
“What did you see, Professor?”
Professor Daniel flinched when he heard Neo’s voice.
He didn’t answer immediately.
Neo, who had just awakened his Time element thanks to Professor Daniel and Elizabeth’s help, was confused by Professor Daniel’s silence.
The professor opened his mouth, then closed it, unable to form words.
He wanted to tell Neo what would happen in the future.
But Neo’s last words bound him like chains.
‘Please don’t do anything that could endanger the world.’
If he did anything wrong, he could destroy the world Neo barely saved after countless years of struggle.
“Professor? Are you okay?”
Neo turned around and stared at him with a concerned gaze.
Watching Neo like this calmed Professor Daniel, if only for a moment.
“I’m… I’m fine.”
He wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“What did you see?”
“…”
Instead of answering, he placed his hand gently on Neo’s back.
His gaze carried slight fear and something else that Neo failed to see—
Guilt.
Sorrow.
“Professor—!?”
Professor Daniel pushed Neo into the past so that he could return to the beginning of the academy.
It put a huge strain on Professor Daniel.
His breathing grew ragged, the world around him tilting slightly as the backlash gnawed at his soul.
However, he ignored it.
Neo’s words continued to ring in his ears.
‘Goodbye, Professor Daniel.’
“Goodbye, Neo.”
The waves of time rammed into Professor Daniel.
He had used too much Time to help Neo awaken his Time element and it weakened Professor Daniel.
Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire
He Time Slipped, leaving behind an empty office room.
