Jinhsi and the others were shocked. Even Zane, who had been secretly sharpening his blade, froze for a moment.
He stopped what he was doing, raised his head, and looked at the Sentinel with a complicated expression.
'Is it still possible to buy life… dragon life insurance now?'
"My kind should have lived as long as heaven and earth, with no limit to our lifespan. However, in ancient times, I suffered an incurable wound. Being able to survive until now has all been thanks to the Mianloong Chambers."
"But the Fractsidus plotted against me and worsened my injuries. Now, my condition has deteriorated further. Even the Mianloong Chambers can no longer sustain my life."
Thinking about it, that made sense.
The Sentinel's body contained an immense amount of temporal power. Once it died, that vast power would lose control and erupt completely.
The chaotic flow of time would tear apart Mt. Firmament, and even the entirety of Jinzhou.
The day the Sentinel dies is the day Jinzhou is destroyed.
'Got it, the Sentinel is basically a demon god too.'
Since the Sentinel descended upon Mt. Firmament and used the power of time to resist the remnants, the flow of time had been leaking out through its wounds. From that moment on, the destruction of Jinzhou had already become inevitable.
The Sentinel's words struck Jinhsi like a heavy hammer. Her moon-bright eyes widened suddenly, and her pupils trembled uncontrollably.
When she thought about her savior, and everything she had dedicated her life to protecting being destroyed overnight, her slender body couldn't stop trembling.
At that moment, a warm hand suddenly rested on the bare skin of her back. She turned her head and met a pair of eyes filled with concern and a gentle smile.
"No need to worry, I'll face it with you… besides, we still have Jinzhou's Empress, Rover, don't we?"
"Why am I the empress?"
Zane's words eased some of the tension and also caught the Sentinel's interest.
"Because Jinzhou's emperor is Sis Jinhsi."
Jinhsi's face flushed red when she heard that. She let out a soft scolding sound and punched Zane on the head.
Looking at Rover again, she had her hands on her hips, brows furrowed, her fair face slightly wrinkled with anger.
Jinhsi thought she was angry and quickly spoke up to defend Zane.
"Wanderer, sorry, Zane always speaks without thinking…"
"If anyone's marrying, it's Jinhsi marrying me!"
"..."
Everything Jinhsi wanted to say got stuck in her throat.
That feeling was like when you and your boyfriend are about to do something fun, everything's ready to go, and then your ex and your boyfriend's current boyfriend walk in on you, and they're also planning to get busy.
Only at this moment did Jinhsi realize that after spending so much time with Zane, Rover was starting to be subtly influenced by him.
Or maybe this was her true nature all along?
One Zane, one Stelle, if Rover also got influenced…
Maybe Jinzhou should just be destroyed.
Otherwise, it wouldn't just be Jinzhou that gets destroyed.
This brief interruption scattered the heavy atmosphere in the air, leaving behind a silence that would make even Aha laugh twice if he saw it.
"If you die, what will happen to Jinzhou?"
Facing Zane's question, Jue had no intention of hiding anything.
"The chaotic flow of time will sweep across Jinzhou. The entire region will be trapped forever within the gaps of time."
"The past will be the future, life will be death. Celebrations and wars will repeat and intertwine endlessly. Joy and suffering will no longer be distinct."
'Got it, Jinzhou equals Amphoreus.'
Of course, having protected Jinzhou for more than a decade, Jue wouldn't just watch this happen.
"…This matter began because of me, and it should also end with me. In a few days, I will gather all my remaining power and use what little life I have left to exchange for a pause in Jinzhou's time."
Jue's words grew heavier. As the Sentinel, it shouldn't have been emotional.
But Jinzhou was a city it had personally watched grow…
It couldn't bear to see this child, which had just come of age, perish because of itself.
Just like how Ultraman loves humanity, Jue deeply loved this land.
"At that time, Jinzhou will fall into stillness, but it will not be destroyed. In the future, the Huanglong civilization may find a way to resist the chaos of time and rescue Jinzhou from danger."
Simply put, Jue planned to use the last of its life to put Jinzhou into a state of suspended animation, waiting for future generations capable enough to wake it up.
"Zane once told me something."
Jinhsi closed her eyes and remained silent for a moment. When she opened them again, her jade-like eyes were filled with determination.
"Each generation has its own responsibility. Leaving the rescue of Jinzhou to future generations like this is irresponsible."
"Besides, ten years, a hundred years… what if future generations never find a solution? Jinzhou's fate shouldn't be left to an uncertain future."
At this moment, even without triggering her resonance ability, pale light still flowed across Jinhsi's body.
"This is not just the resolve of Jinzhou's Magistrate, but the resolve of tens of millions of its people."
Zane stepped forward and stood beside Jinhsi.
"They've gone through so much war to reach today. How could they possibly be willing to leave Jinzhou to an uncertain future?"
"Well said."
Behind Zane, the doctor and Stelle also stepped forward.
Countless histories and stories had proven that preservation plans only led to one outcome, failure.
Jue lowered its dragon head and looked at the tiny humans on the ground. A trace of barely noticeable relief flickered in its glowing eyes.
"If the Magistrate still has doubts… how do you intend to break this deadlock?"
Jue emphasized the words "Magistrate" heavily.
"If I do not condense the flow of time, then after my death, the future Jinzhou will be a hundred, a thousand times more terrifying than the Mt. Firmament you see now."
Jinhsi turned her head, her gaze sweeping across Rover and the others before finally settling on Zane.
"Zane once told me a story."
She looked at Jue again and stepped forward, her boots echoing clearly in the empty cave as she walked up to the dragon and raised her head to look at it.
"In that story, countless predecessors, even knowing the road ahead was long and dark, still stepped into it without hesitation. Everything they did was only to light up even a tiny stretch of the path ahead."
"I admire them, and I've decided to become one of them."
Looking at the determination on Jinhsi's face, Jue felt a faint sense of daze. The child it had once saved had grown up in the blink of an eye and become a capable Magistrate.
A worthy successor.
"I understand the experiment between you and Jiting, when two resonating energies collide, the secondary resonance produced can allow me to surpass my limits, wield the power of time, take your place, and correct all the errors caused by the flow of time."
"…Even if that means I must face you in battle…"
"I suppose this is also why you foretold that there would be a battle between us."
"Jinhsi, have you thought this through?", Jue lowered its head, slowly approaching her until the distance between them was less than a meter before stopping.
"If you forcibly clash with my resonance ability, even the slightest mistake will push you into overfrequency, turning you into an empty shell."
"And you should be very clear that the pain caused by overfrequency is not something ordinary people can endure. Even the suffering you've experienced so far is nothing compared to true overfrequency."
A massive pressure bore down on her, but Jinhsi remained unmoved.
Just like Zane said, she would give everything for Jinzhou, until her body collapsed, until everything was burned away.
At the same time, Zane, who had stepped back two positions from Jinhsi, suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He stepped forward again and stood beside her.
"There's another way."