RE: LORD OF TIME

”Is that... a child?” William stared at the glowing white sphere inside the compartment with a dumbfounded look on his face.

The sphere was about sixty centimeters in diameter, and a child was curled up inside it, hugging their knees.

”What the hell is a child doing here?” William muttered with a baffled look, feeling incredibly confused.

From what he had observed until now, William was sure that this village had been abandoned long ago.

Even if it’s not tens of years, it’s definitely been a few years since anyone last lived in this place.

To see a child in such a place, and that too inside a hidden sphere, William felt that things were not right.

Not wanting to pick up some unexpected trouble, William was wondering if he should just put back the stone map and close the hidden compartment.

’Although the thing inside looks like a six or seven year old child, it might be possible that it’s actually something dangerous... Maybe a monster disguised as a child.’ He thought and, after considering everything, decided to just put back the map and ignore what he had just seen.

He was in a completely unfamiliar place with limited knowledge about his situation, and taking someone whom he wasn’t even sure was a child or not would be very dangerous for him.

But just as William was about to put back the stone map to close the compartment, the white sphere flickered slightly, and the next instant, it disappeared.

Thud!

A low, thudding sound echoed amid the silent hut, and the child inside the orb dropped into the compartment.

William, who had lifted the map to close the compartment, froze, and his eyes twitched violently.

”This...” He looked at the unconscious child before him and fell into silence.

Now that it was out of the glowing sphere, William could see the child clearly.

It was a young girl with shoulder-length black hair and an adorable, doll-like face. She was wearing a brown-colored skirt that seemed to be made of animal hide.

Seeing the sphere disappear out of nowhere, William did not know what to do now.

Even though he wasn’t certain about many things, he felt that the reason this young child was able to live until now without the support of anyone was most likely because of that white sphere.

But now that it was gone, it was very likely that she wouldn’t be able to live for long without receiving proper help.

If he closed the compartment again and sealed her inside, it was very likely that she would soon die of suffocation.

’Maybe I should just leave her without closing the compartment. That way, she wouldn’t die of suffocation.’ He thought to himself, but recalling the Night Crawlers he had killed earlier, he couldn’t help but sigh.

Although he wasn’t sure if this girl was really a child and not some kind of monster disguised in human form, he still felt his conscience hurting at the thought of leaving such a young kid here.

Especially knowing that once he left, she would most likely be eaten by the other Night Crawlers.

If she was still inside that glowing sphere, he wouldn’t have felt much, as he would have convinced himself that she would be able to survive inside it.

But now that the sphere had disappeared, and it was most likely because he opened the hidden compartment, he just couldn’t bring himself to leave her behind.

”Sigh... Let’s just bring her along for now. If she really turns out to be a man-eating demon or something dangerous instead of a child, I will immediately throw her away.” He muttered and put down the stone map from his hand.

Looking at the curled-up child inside, he stretched out his hand and pulled her outside, picking her up in his arms.

’Her weight seems right for a child of her age...’ The first thing William observed after picking her up was her weight.

Noticing it was similar to that of a six- or seven-year-old girl, he nodded inwardly.

Another thing that he noticed was that although she appeared to be healthy from the outside, her body was actually very weak.

Her heartbeat was very slow, and her breathing was also uneven.

William frowned slightly, and after a moment of thought, a stream of pure Aether Energy flowed into her body.

’Her body’s condition is similar to those people who haven’t eaten properly for a long time...’ He thought as he examined her body through Aether Energy.

’Eva, she seems like a normal girl to me. What do you think?’

Eva remained silent at his question, but William could feel that she was actually observing the girl in his arms.

After a minute, Eva finally spoke.

’I did not find anything wrong with her. But I don’t know why, but I have a strange feeling about her. It’s like... It’s like she is not real.’

’Not real?’ A look of confusion flashed in William’s eyes. ’What do you mean?’

’I can’t tell in words. It’s just a feeling...’ Eva said in a hesitant voice. ’Anyway, I don’t think she is dangerous, so if you want, you can take her with you.’

William breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Eva’s confirmation, and using his Aether Energy, tried to make her weak body a bit better so that she would wake up soon.

”Hmm...” The little girl let out a surprised voice and curled up in William’s arms, her breathing and heartbeat slowly returning to normal.

After a few seconds, William stopped using his Aether Energy and walked out of the hut.

The giant Crawler with the ability to control the earth was still unconscious and lay sprawled on the ground.

William took out a blanket from his storage ring and laid down the young girl on it.

After laying her down, he walked over to the unconscious Crawler, and a faint gleam flashed in his eyes.

’Let’s see if it would work...’ He muttered under his breath and placed his hand over the head of the Crawler, his eyes gleaming with milky-white energy.