The Crystal of Betrayal sneaked in as it collected the dripping time essence from Time crystal.
"Yes! Finally, I can flee!" The Crystal of Betrayal had a joyful expression as it used the time essence to travel back in time.
All of them watched this scene as the mysterious figure spoke, "Time travel! So the essence dripping off Time crystal can be used like this? Hehe! Good!"
Life crystal sighed, "Should we really do that?"
Time crystal replied in desperation, "Looks like we should! Huh! We will be disappointing Fate with this one!"
Death crystal asked, "What do you mean? I don't understand! You have been holding back? Impossible!"
Life crystal replied, "Death... Oh, I forgot that you don't know about this, but it's alright. I will explain it later. Now! Go and stop that Crystal of Betrayal until the two of us return to our prime!"
Death crystal sighed in relief, "Amazing! So I can save both Fate and you! Haha, you can count on me!"
The Crystal of Betrayal felt danger closing in as it turned to see Lord, who was in an insane state due to the death of Pride crystal.
It thought, *What would Lucan do now if he were me?*
It imagined the following scene:
Lucan was flying with the powers of Pride crystal, using time essence to time travel. He was about to be attacked by Death crystal, and Lord was too far away to be within his range. Lucan grinned, "Hehe! Why should I care? It's not my problem," as he instantly escaped the situation.
The Crystal of Betrayal shook its head, *No! This time, let me imagine... saving Lord is crucial for reaching his goal!*
The next imagined scene:
Lucan was in the same situation, but he still grinned, "If I can't bring him near, I will make him come near! Hehe!" Lucan activated his newly gained Pride crystal powers and completely suppressed his original powers. Lord felt the presence of Pride crystal and immediately rushed closer. Lucan smirked, "I win! Bye-bye!" as both he and Lord returned to their original timeline.
The Crystal of Betrayal opened its eyes slowly, now calm and tranquil with no doubts remaining.
It immediately suppressed its own powers, "Death crystal! Stay where you are! I surrender."
Death crystal stopped as it smiled, "Good. Now, stay low to the ground!"
The Crystal of Betrayal ducked to the ground, "Alright?"
Death crystal replied, "Nice... but this sudden change makes me suspicious! Just to be sure, kill yourself so I can confirm that you are being honest!"
The Crystal of Betrayal replied, "Can I at least choose how I wish to die?"
Death crystal lowered its guard, "Yeah, I don't care as long as you completely erase yourself! Besides, I need my powers to fight that new figure!"
The Crystal of Betrayal took a quick look at that figure. It felt very unsettling, as if it were being watched by that figure in a disturbing way. It shook its head and said, "Be calm! Don't mind him!"
Suddenly, the Crystal of Betrayal released all of Pride crystal's power stored inside its body, blasting away everything in the surrounding area. Only those possessing true pride could stay within its range!
Lord felt a sudden surge of excitement as he rushed toward the Crystal of Betrayal, abandoning everything else. Still not in his right mind, he even tossed aside Time crystal and Life crystal, completely forgetting his revenge.
The Crystal of Betrayal laughed heartily, "Hahaha! Pathetic fools, witness my true power—the power of pride!"
As it used up the time essence completely, a bright blue light flashed above them, and everyone within its range was drawn back in time.
Death crystal ignored the shift as he caught Life crystal and healed him. "Phew! Finally, you're alive. That's all that matters to me, bro!"
But Life crystal hit him hard, "Idiot! My life isn't what's important—what truly matters is Fate! You abandoned Fate just to save a worthless piece of trash like me?"
Time crystal started to crack, "Damn it! It seems Life crystal no longer needs to use that... only I must!"
Suddenly, Time crystal was instantly healed back to its prime condition as it was lifted by something.
Death crystal's instincts flared as he grabbed Life crystal and retreated back several steps.
"THIS GUY! IT CAPTURED TIME CRYSTAL!"
It was the cloaked figure from earlier. It licked its lips, "How sad! Unfortunately, one of my friends ran away... hmm, but it doesn't matter, since I get all three of you!"
Time crystal started to get suppressed by its own powers, "Life... Death... run! Don't get captured by this creature! He—"
The figure grabbed Time crystal and licked it, "Oh! Dear Time, don't worry, I can make your nightmare disappear! Hehe!"
Death crystal and Life crystal were in their worst state; neither of them had any strength left after all the chaos.
Life crystal asked, "Should I really do that?"
Death crystal stood in front to protect Life crystal, "I will buy you time. Try that thing you were speaking about!"
Life crystal hesitated, but he agreed to do it, as there was no other choice left.
Suddenly, Time crystal shattered into thin fragments, exploding out from the figure's hands. A blue light flashed across Life crystal and Death crystal, sending them both back in time.
The figure remained completely unharmed, even as the abyss was destroyed entirely.
It smirked, "Saving your friends? Ah! I love friendship! Do you want to be my friend?"
Time crystal only had a minute remaining. It self-destructed to use its very last bit of power to save Fate, Life, and Death.
It laughed as its power completely burned away, "You know why I did this? To kill you and save my buddies!"
The figure laughed, "Oh, stop kidding. That level of power wouldn't even leave a scratch on me! You can't possibly kill me."
Time crystal turned emotionless as it said coldly, "I know that... but when I die, the entire timeline dies with me! That means..." It laughed like a maniac all of a sudden, "I am killing this entire timeline! You have zero chance of surviving! Hahaha!"
The figure swallowed hard, "Wait... no! It can't be... it can't be true! You are lying to me!"
Time crystal flew into the sky, "Here it comes!"
The entire timeline of the solar system began fading into nothingness.
The figure tried to hold on, but soon found itself trapped in a deadlock.
"By doing this, you are dying too! Is that really alright with Fate?" asked the figure.
Time crystal was in its final moments, "It is! Because none of you mortals understand the truth beyond us—the crystals! Goodbye, creep."
Stars, planets, suns, moons... every single entity in the solar system dissolved into a null void.
The blue light flashed one last time alongside the laughter of Time crystal.
And nothing remained; not even silence existed anymore.
Far away in space, within the Milky Way galaxy...
There was a blue-colored crystal, identical to Time crystal, resting in deep slumber in the middle of a cave. Cosmic energy flowed through the cave alongside a blue waterfall.
The crystal opened its eyes and grinned widely.
Back in the present, Lord and the Crystal of Betrayal fell into the abyss out of a pool of strange blue water.
The Crystal of Betrayal recognized the location and instantly used its last bit of power to teleport itself and Lord away to a random location.
Just as they teleported away, two other crystals fell to the ground in a pathetic, heavily injured state.
Life crystal sensed multiple energy sources in the abyss as it appeared at the surface and sealed the area. Now, nothing could enter or exit the place.
Another black-colored crystal flew beside Life crystal and asked, "New intruders?"
Life crystal couldn't recognize who they were due to their terrible condition. It healed them both just enough to make their forms recognizable, then said, "Death! Cover me! I'll check on them!"
Death crystal nodded and stood guard. Life crystal grabbed both of the unconscious figures and examined them closely.
Life crystal went speechless and recoiled, "Death! They look just like us! It must be a trap—fall back!"
However, the future Life crystal slowly woke up, "No! We are not enemies. Listen to me... my past self!"