Veneri watched Natas step further into the chamber. He only had one question out of all this.
"Why now? Why reveal yourself now, after all this time? You've been hiding so why appear now in the middle of all this?"
Natas let out a small sigh.
"Because the timeline is not exactly optimal at the moment. I, as the Omniscient of History, cannot simply remain passive. I have watched the past, the present and even glimpsed the infinite branches of the future, and what I have seen is troubling. As you know, I'm blessed by Thyrexxa, just like you. I have the Divinity of Time but mine manifests as Foresight. Unlike your mastery over temporal manipulation as the Split of Time, my eyes see all possible, past iterations and future possibilities simultaneously. I see what was, what is, and what could be. And right now, some of what is about to happen could be catastrophic."
"Okay but why show yourself? I'm capable of handling threats."
Natas let out a laugh that was soft, almost amused, though it carried a subtle chill.
"Oh, Vastarael, it is not a matter of strength. This is about mechanics. You see, Timeskipping Events has one simple, deceptively small flaw called realization. Do you know what deja vu is? That creeping sensation that you've already experienced something but you can't remember when? You use that term back in your world, right? That is exactly what realization is in this context. Every student in Minafallen Academy who underwent the Timeskipping Event experiences the event differently, yes, but the mechanism is the same."
"..."
"They don't remember what occurred during the Event. They are not meant to. Their memories are sealed to prevent the paradoxes from fracturing reality around them. But in time, realization becomes inevitable. Sooner or later, fragments seep through and suddenly, the mind begins to reconcile the impossible."
He turned his gaze slowly to Asenane.
"Veneri's situation is tolerable. He survived because he's the Split of Time. You Veneri, I'll call you that for now, were meant to navigate temporal events and endure what would shatter most beings. Your glitching, your eyes bleeding, the strain you feel is pain yes, but a minor one. But for your friends and beloveds, realization is fatal. To remember their Timeskipping Event fully and to understand the paradox of what they themselves have caused in their own past, the very essence of their being would fracture against the timeline itself. They would die simply by remembering."
Asenane said Iman trembling voice
"Wait… are you saying that just by passing through areas where they altered history Sentina Erideae could—"
"Exactly. That is why I am here now. The places you will traverse in this Second Epoch Cycle, the areas you altered, the events you influenced, the Timeskipping moments you enacted, those are now remnants of history. Passing through them is equivalent to standing inside the core of your own past. Sentina Erideae will be obliterated by the very events they once set into motion."
"That's not an issue. I can handle it. We've handled worse."
Natas' grin widened as he turned to Darling.
"No, Veneri, you misunderstand. That is not the problem. You survive because you are predestined to survive. But the others do not. And now, the Second Epoch Cycle is sending them, intentionally or not, through the exact same points where each of them enacted their own Timeskipping Event. Sooner or later, they will encounter the remnants of their past selves and the result will be catastrophic."
"So unless someone intentionally sent the Sentina Erideae through the same paths, then they're walking straight into their own deaths."
Natas chuckled lightly, though there was no warmth in it.
"She understands. That is exactly why this is serious. The Second Epoch Cycle has placed them in the paths they themselves walked in the past. Every step they take is along the trace of their former selves and once they see themselves clearly, reality will demand a toll. And that toll is absolute."
"But there is a way to stop them from dying."
"Yes, my dear Split of Time. The solution is deceptively simple, but the execution will be excruciating. All you have to do is be there at the moment when a member of Sentina Erideae encounters the temporal residue of their past Timeskipping Event. Stand in their presence and your own Time Divinity will act as a destabilizer and thus, the realization will not consume them."
"So my body and soul will take the strain of their realization?"
"Precisely. The pain and dissonance will all pass through you. And make no mistake, it will hurt you. But I'm sure you can endure it. You are the Split of Time. Besides, you're used to pain right?"
Asenane's lips parted slightly.
"And if he refuses? If Veneri does not… place himself in danger, then what happens?"
Natas gave her a pitying look.
"If he refuses, Asenane, then Sentina Erideae will die. Each of them will recognize the full weight of what they enacted during their Timeskipping Event and it will kill them. Time itself will erase them as if they were never there."
Asenane's eyes turned to Veneri, whose face remained calm. She knew the price of enduring the raw feedback of temporal instability firsthand. It was not something one could face without feeling the full weight of agony,
"Alright, I'll do it. I'll be there when it happens. However, there's always a catch with you, Natas. Nothing comes without cost. So what's the deal? What do you want in return?"
Natas scoffed and shook his head.
"I want nothing from you directly. That is not the nature of this agreement. My goals are my own and I will not burden you with them. What I will do is provide you with everything you need to execute this task. My System will send you the locations where each member of Sentina Erideae will intersect with their Timeskipping Event remnants. You will go to them, you will stabilize the temporal shockwave and they will survive. That is all you are required to do. Everything else falls upon you and you alone."
Veneri's lips curled into a faint, grim smile.
"So basically, I become the shield and survive it. Got it. But it won't kill me, right? I can endure it, but…"
"It will hurt, Veneri. It will test you in ways even you cannot fully comprehend yet. Your body and soul will scream. Your consciousness will feel the strain of every Timeskipping Event but your Split of Time is resilient. You will survive. The pain… is temporary, to say the least."
Asenane looked at him silently, realizing the full magnitude of what he was agreeing to.
"You really have no choice. If you refuse, they all die. If you agree, you suffer like you never have before. Veneri..."
Veneri exhaled again, leaning back slightly, as if accepting the inevitability of his own suffering.
"I will be there when it happens. Anyway, there's something you need to clarify for me, Natas. Someone else caused the Second Epoch Cycle and it isn't you. Who are we dealing with? And why target Sentina Erideae? They're linked to the Nine Events, that much I understand but what's the point of orchestrating their deaths?"
"Believe me, even with my Foresight, I do not know the identity of the one behind this manipulation. But I can tell you this. The Second Epoch Cycle is not like the First. Its purpose is not maintenance of history alone. It is a mechanism to remove the variables that might interfere with a predetermined outcome. Sentina Erideae, being directly tied to the Nine Events, are anomalies. Their existence threatens the integrity of what is meant to unfold. That is why they are targeted. That is why they must be preserved but only by one who can endure what they cannot. Only the Split of Time can do that."
"Okay then. Just one more question. Who's inside the sphere?"
Natas' eyes widened before he chuckled.
"Of course you would ask that. That is another reason why I brought you here today."
Natas snapped his fingers and the massive, intimidating sphere shrank before their eyes, condensing down into the size of a giant black orb. He casually handed it to them like it was trash.
"Here. I'm done with this artifact. In fact, it's basically an egg now. I've extracted the power of Creation from it so it's… useless to me. I don't want to be the father to some creature I have zero interest in raising. Consider it your problem now."
"Wait, you mean to tell me we're raising a kid?"
"Biologically, yes," Natas replied, shrugging like it was nothing. "The egg has no genetics. You'll have to provide that yourselves. Blood, whatever. Give it an origin and it will bloom. Also, I didn't make this. Apparently, this artifact was always an egg. I think it was a reincarnation of Cassandra. Well, it doesn't have the powers of Creation anymore so..."
"So we're supposed to play mad scientist and raise an egg from scratch? No thanks."
Natas' grin widened. "Come on, my dear Progenitor Dragon. Don't act like that's a problem. It's a biological child. You do want bragging rights with your husband's beloveds, right? Imagine the look on their faces. 'Oh, by the way, we have a kid now.' And you can be a mother to a child you didn't abandon this time."
Asenane paused, clearly debating whether to strangle him or admit she was slightly tempted. Eventually, she sighed and grabbed the egg.
"Fine. You're good at manipulation, I'll give you that."
Veneri peeked over her shoulder. "You're really taking this on, huh? Do I get an opinion?"
"We're raising it. Don't push me on the philosophy behind it."
"Fair enough," Veneri said, shrugging. "I guess we're doing this. Shouldn't be too bad. Just a strange egg with potentially god-tier power inside. Totally normal honeymoon activity."
Natas clapped his hands together.
"All right then. My work here is done. Time for me to disappear before EPOCH notices me. See you soon!"
Suddenly, they were back in the forest. The wilted leaves rustled around them as if nothing had happened. Veneri exhaled, dropping onto a patch of undergrowth.
"Okay… we are camping here for the night."
"You're way too calm about this. Did it not occur to you that we're holding a god-tier egg in our hands?"
Veneri waved a hand dismissively.
"Calm is always my thing. Look, sure, enduring existential-level temporal pain is annoying, but honestly, it's nothing I can't handle. Pain is temporary, right?"
Asenane groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"I swear, you trust Natas way too much. And you're way too suicidal about this."
"I don't actually trust him. I'm more cautious about him than anyone else. But as the Omniscient of History, he has a role to play and apparently, so do we. Besides, Natas is manipulative but he's fair. Both sides gain something. Mostly him sure, but still."
"You're really the epitome for 'marry someone who willingly signs up for self-induced suffering.'"
Veneri sat up and glanced at the egg in her hands.
"And hey, nothing's stopping us from hatching this little monster after our camping trip. The honeymoon's still ongoing. Just add 'god-tier egg' to the itinerary."
As he stood up and walked away, stretching his arms casually, Asenane muttered to herself, shaking her head.
"Really, it's terrifying having a suicidal husband who's somehow calm while he's about to endure temporal pain and suffering. And I agreed to raise an egg worth thousands of years old."
Veneri called back without looking.
"Relax. Worst-case scenario, the egg hatches and we adopt it like a normal, slightly apocalyptic pet!"
Asenane groaned again, rolling her eyes so hard she might have seen the back of her skull.
"Normal. Right. Totally normal…"