Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2550: Cost Of My Time Rule Resistance

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Central Region, Central Academic City, Morningstar University District, Morningstar University Campus, Garden of Beginning, Time Vestige, Morningstar University 2nd Campus

Standing outside the time-expansion chamber, I suddenly found myself with nearly an hour to spare. Since I wanted to stay close in case anything went wrong for Lucine on the other side of the door, I chose to begin my comprehension of the Time Rule right there. After witnessing the way Lucine and Slay bent time to their will, I could hardly wait to grasp that power myself.

When it came to blending with the world, I had always been aligned with both the physical and spiritual planes thanks to my duality trait, which let me exist in both at once. Because of that, I bypassed the usual layers and tapped directly into the Time Rule Source—the very origin from which celestials draw their understanding of time. Yet, as a hybrid of celestial and World Calamity Tree, the source did not welcome me as warmly as it would a pure celestial. Even so, that didn’t stop me; I had come here for one reason: to comprehend and master the Time Rule.

But the moment I began delving into it, I stumbled onto the truth behind my immunity to time itself. What I had feared ever since discovering that Lucine’s Future Finding couldn’t affect me had finally been confirmed. My resistance to the Time Rule had always been temporary—a lingering side effect of my transmigration to Myriad Realms that I would eventually lose. If I began comprehending the Time Rule now, that inevitable moment would arrive today.

I finally understood why I possessed immunity-level resistance to time rule: time itself had been adjusting around me, slowly reshaping its flow to accept me as part of it. Once that adjustment finished, my immunity would vanish, and I would stand no different from anyone born in the Myriad Realms. I didn’t know how long the process was meant to take naturally, only that it was inevitable.

The real problem was this: actively comprehending the Time Rule on my part would speed up that adjustment. By the time I reached the bifurcation point—the threshold where mastery into the meanings of the rules begins—the Myriad Realm’s time would have fully incorporated me into it. And with the affinity I possessed to the rules as a hybrid celestial, I knew I would reach that threshold long before the hour ended.

That was why I said the day I lost my resistance to the Time Rule would be today, should I choose to comprehend it.

With this revelation, I found myself facing a real dilemma. If I wanted to wield the power of time in myriad realms, I would have to give up my luxurious resistance to the time rule in the Myriad Realms. Now that was a heft price for me.

My resistance to the Time Rule had been a major pillar of my strength, the silent shield that had carried me through crisis after crisis. From Chris Chase to Belphegor’s world-hog incarnation, I had survived—and even won—because time itself couldn’t get a proper grip on me.

Without that resistance, I wouldn’t have lasted against the likes of Ollie, Kiren, Christina, or Cam with their Super-time cards. Forget leaping into the time river, exploring an alternate past, or subduing the commandment of negative passion - Covetous Devil ’Slay Saleos’.

Without this one advantage, I would have already ended up as a dementic loon, paying the price for breaking the taboos of time. In my current realm, I needed my resistance to the time rule.

Yes, I would eventually lose my resistance to the Time Rule once the Myriad Realm’s time fully incorporated me. But if I gave it up now by comprehending and mastering the Time Rule, that resistance would be gone forever. On the other hand, if I held on to it until the incorporation finished—or until the day I no longer needed it—I could still choose to comprehend and master the Time Rule later.

It was a choice between keeping a fading advantage for as long as possible... or sacrificing it immediately for the incredible power I desired to wield.

As I continued weighing the pros and cons of keeping my Time-Rule resistance or giving it up to finally comprehend and master the rule of time, my thoughts were abruptly cut short. My ears perked up at the soft hiss of the time-expansion chamber’s door sliding open marking the conclusion of my treatment plan for Lucine’s Time-Rule dementia. All that remained now was to see the results. I was confident they would be satisfactory, but I couldn’t help wondering whether the outcome would be considered excellent or extraordinary or even miraculous.

More than an hour had passed, yet I still sat there wrestling with the choice between keeping my resistance to the Time Rule or gaining the ability to wield it. No—it wasn’t indecision. I had already made my choice. I just hadn’t fully accepted the price.

The truth was hard to swallow: the cost of my time rule resistance was the very thing I wanted to grasp. My time rule resistance had always seemed like a blessing, but only because I hadn’t known what it was costing me. And it stung even more now that I knew I would eventually lose that resistance anyway. All I could do was hope that, when that day came, it wouldn’t be too late for me to comprehend and master the Time Rule.

Like anyone else, I feared the unknown. But I had never let the comfort of the familiar hold me back. I always pushed myself to explore and prepare for what lay ahead. I didn’t cling to my Time-Rule resistance because of fear—I held onto it because it was simply too valuable. It let me move through time without worrying about the punishments tied to breaking its taboos. Meanwhile, even Lucine, who was on the cusp of forming her own Time Rule stream, wouldn’t dare to attempt what I would.