According to the events of the Caribert Interlude, Abyss Lectors already existed before the founding of the Abyss Order.
And the way these two Lectors departed was strikingly similar to elemental lifeforms, clearly not humans transformed. Together with their mention of "the aura" and "the Envoy," it was almost certain: [The Two Ends of Beginning and End] had been preserved here by the God of Khaenri'ah.
But… who was the one that god had truly chosen as the Envoy?
Would taking it like this… anger Them?
Victor Wang touched the mask on his forehead. If That One set Their gaze upon him, he wouldn't be able to run, even if he tried…
Yet those two perished so quickly, giving him no chance to draw out more information. Now that the artifact was already in his hands, the evidence of his "crime" was undeniable.
"…If They dare to come for me, I'll dare to give it back! No, no—this was purely an accident. The guardians died unexpectedly, so I have no choice but to keep it safe on their behalf!"
His mouth twitched as he gripped the hourglass tightly. "That's how it is. Little Wen, you'll testify for me."
["Ha! But I'm on your side, Master. Would my testimony even count?"]
"Haha… who cares. Hopefully, when the time comes, that mysterious voice that sent me here for this thing will lend a hand. At least I've got some backing in this matter…"
As he left the chamber, he carefully examined his prize.
It was, in all appearances, an ordinary hourglass. Handsome in design, impressive in special effects, but otherwise indistinguishable from any other.
Both ends were black circular bases, connected by twelve seemingly fragile golden spiral pillars. Yet to the touch, they were solid, holding the transparent glass firmly in place. Within the glass, the sand glimmered in a bluish-violet radiance, like miniature stardust. It suited the black glow emanating from the hourglass, deep and vast as the night sky.
Like other artifacts he had encountered, it had no physical weight, yet it radiated a heavy, indescribable sense—like grasping time itself made manifest.
But it did not fulfill its duty as an hourglass—the sand refused to flow. No matter if he held it upright or sideways, the narrow channel that should allow passage seemed blocked by an invisible force.
Curious, Victor Wang shook it. At last, two tiny grains of sand trickled down.
At the same moment, his body inexplicably shifted backward several paces. The sand itself then froze, suspended mid-flow, as if time within the glass had stopped.
"What is this…?"
He shook it again. Nothing. The hourglass ignored all external force.
Two minutes later, under his eager gaze, the suspended state lifted, and the sand returned to normal.
"One grain equals one second… but why did my position change? Time… Time!"
Pulling out his pocket watch—now somehow ticking normally—he noted the exact instant. Then, with his heart pounding in rhythm with the artifact, he shook the hourglass again.
A single shake, and time rewound. With only a minute of cooldown per grain, this was nearly invincible!
But his excitement quickly met disappointment. This time, no matter how he shook—arm aching, trying every angle—not a single grain fell.
"Does it require some kind of cost? Something I had before, but now I lack…"
Little Wen chimed in smartly: ["It's still time! The only thing you have less of now than before is time!"]
"…Why does that sound like a riddle?"
["Hmph! Am I wrong?"]
"…You're not wrong. But I don't have the ability to control time."
["Idiot Master! Just flip it upside down!"]
"…Little Wen, are you secretly a genius?"
Quickly turning it over, Victor Wang shook again. This time, two grains fell. Yet he remained in place—unchanged.
"If before was going to the past, then this must be the future. And since my future self was standing here all along, nothing appears different…"
"I need to move."
He waited patiently for cooldown, then sprinted toward the exit. After covering some distance, he shook the hourglass again. In an instant, he snapped back—returned to where he had begun.
"Yes. Only my time is reversed. The world itself moves forward."
To confirm, he carved a mark into the wall. After cooldown, he shook the hourglass again—five grains fell. Time rewound. When he ran forward again, the mark remained.
"So, it's clear: [The Two Ends of Beginning and End] only rewinds my personal time. The world's timeline continues forward. One grain equals one second. Each grain requires one minute of cooldown. And right now, I can manage five grains."
["Wait, wait—I'm getting dizzy. Example, please! If Master goes to Wanmin Restaurant, eats, then rewinds—would you return to the moment before entering?"]
Victor Wang nodded. "In theory. If I could eat a meal in five seconds."
["Then you could eat for free!"]
"No. If I return to before entering, my hunger also resets. The meal vanishes as if I never ate it. The restaurant suffers instead—because their food is gone, yet I vanish without paying. But since time for the world never rewinds, they'd still remember I ordered and ate. The one who suffers is me."
Which also meant the dishes themselves had vanished—defying conservation of matter.
But then, in a world of relics and otherworldly rules, expecting conservation laws was unrealistic.
["Hmm! But if you paid first, the money would also reset, right? So, you'd keep the meal and the Mora!"]
"That's… actually worth testing."
Dropping a few Mora on the ground, Victor Wang rewound time. Yet the coins did not return to his pouch.
"As I thought. Anything outside my range is unaffected. Same for the wall marks. They aren't 'me,' so they remain when I rewind."
["Aw! Then it's useless. No free meals, no Mora farming."]
"Little Wen, are you learning bad habits from Paimon? Always scheming to profit?"
["I'm not! I didn't! Don't compare me to her!"]
"Even if not broken, this ability is hardly useless."
["But only five seconds? What can you do with that?"]
Victor Wang closed his eyes, carefully sorting the facts. "There are three timelines. Five seconds into the future. The present. Five seconds into the past."
He placed the hourglass upright, shook five grains, then continued:
"Now, I stand in the present. The first time I used it, I went to the past. Each time I move forward, I'm returning to the present. Understand?"
["Um… maybe… sort of?"]
"I can only manage five grains. Once I enter past or future, I can't push further in the same direction. The artifact demands balance. Every use forward must be matched with one backward."
["I get it! Five plus five equals ten!"]
"…Close enough. In past mode, I can advance ten seconds into the future. In future mode, I can retreat ten seconds into the past. With a cooldown of five minutes each."
Testing confirmed it.
["Wow! Master, you're even smarter than me—you're a genius!"]
"Pfft—!" Victor Wang almost spat blood. "Don't tell me you always thought I was stupid?"
["Ehe?"]
"…Even your tone is lazy now."
["Ehe!"]
"Forget it. Watch closely. This is the key."
Now in "future mode," Victor Wang charged up sixty layers of Erosion Blast at once and hurled them into a ruined room. The explosion tore it apart even further.
At once, he reversed the hourglass. He returned to five seconds before unleashing the attack. His exhaustion vanished, yet the room still burned with lingering flames.
"This way, I can launch full-force attacks for free. My injuries reset instantly. Wait five minutes, and I can repeat."
["I see! But why not go like [Future → Past → Future → Past]?"]
Victor Wang considered, then shook his head.
"The difference is: [(A) Future → Past → Past = 5 Minutes CD.] [(B) Future → Past → Future = 10 Minutes CD.] And during battle, moving to the future is risky. I'd lose those five seconds of memory and possibly reappear in an enemy's strike zone. Only rewinding is safe."
["Ah! That makes sense."]
"This ability not only restores me but lets me reposition. In combat, it might be devastating."
Not as overwhelming as rewinding hours at once, but still a tremendous gain.
"But it is, after all, an artifact. [The Two Ends of Beginning and End]…"
With a thought, the Tiny Miracle's Hourglass in his sands-of-eon slot was replaced. As a mere three-star, it vanished into blue light. The [The Two Ends of Beginning and End] shone with dark brilliance in its rightful place.
Victor Wang shuddered. A profound weight enveloped him. And the spare eye upon his forehead closed without warning.
"So. It's only with these relics… that you can finally be destroyed?"
...
"…Your Highness, the hourglass seems to have been taken."
"Find out who took it. Monitor them closely. To think… someone still dares to walk that path?"
"Your Highness, at the appointed ritual site—I encountered your kin."
"…And the core meant to replace the orb of the Defiled Statue?"
"There are leads, but it will take time… Dainsleif presses too hard!"
"Activate the backup plan. Apart from that core, let them have everything else."