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Cedric felt the familiar pull as he was sent back to Prime Earth.
When his vision adjusted, he found himself back in his seclusion room. He also felt the familiar weakness stemming from the need of his body to synchronize with the strength he reached during his time within the tower. Due to the immensity of energy he had to make up for, it would take at least two years before this process was completed.
This can be expedited through other means, but since there's really no immediate need for it, he just had to patiently wait for the process to complete itself. If a time comes that there is a need for him to swiftly catch up to his actual level of cultivation, he had stuff prepared for it anyway, so there is no need to be worried.
Cedric stood up and stretched his body. After that, he stood still for a bit and allowed his perception to gradually adjust to reality. He let nature take its course, not actively interfering with how his perception flows because it's better this way.
Once he felt some semblance of advancement, he walked out of the seclusion room.
Since he stayed in the tower for thousands of years, completing three stages of his trials at once, instead of an hour, a day passed here. Not that it matters too much, really. It's just a day, after all. With how busy people were in this world nowadays, a day of him missing shouldn't cause any form of collapse to the society.
Stepping out of the room and breathing in the fresh and oh-so-familiar breeze of his home, a smile crept up to his face. The inconvenience that had marred deep into his bones due to long periods of seclusion slowly melted away now that he's back home. And due to the time difference between the tower and his reality, he didn't miss too much here. Everything is still the same as how it was back then.
'The next time I return to the tower, though, things will be different. I could just feel it.' Cedric mused to himself.
Of course, the warning of the tower's system still remained fresh in his memories. It told him that the next time he comes to the tower, he will bring his body with him.
It was undisclosed whether the time difference would still be the same; other details weren't also explained, but Cedric could tell that once he made the decision to return there, because he certainly would, things would be more difficult, and he'd undoubtedly face more risk to his life.
But right now, that doesn't matter. He had time. The AI said that they will wait for him until he's 500 years old. If he doesn't appear before he reaches this age, that means that he's forfeiting his qualifications to climb the tower.
'500 years old, huh.' Cedric muttered inwardly as he made his way to the kitchen to make himself some coffee.
'That's pretty old, especially to my people's standards.'
Sure, with the changes he brought to Prime Earth and his race in general, reaching this age isn't considered 'rare' anymore. Mostly thanks to the cultivation techniques he had provided, which he purchased from the tower.
A common civilian's lifespan couldn't possibly go past 120 years old. Hell, reaching 90 years old for a common civilian is already considered rare and almost a miracle. Past 100 years old, it becomes heaven-defying. Some would even say that they must've consumed some life-extending elixirs during their youth to make this possible.
The beauty reacted to his presence instinctively. Giant glaciers of ice and snowflakes bearing snow lotuses bloomed around her, further lowering the temperatures and increasing the might of the hail.
This reaction could've easily and severely threatened the Seven Deadly Sins despite their seemingly bottonless energy reserves. But in front of Cedric and his absurd physique, it was nothing more than a cold breeze he could just ignore.
Upon reaching a certain distance, the lady seemed to have regained her clarity. The floating glaciers, which threatened to form spears that would easily impale anybody who breached this space, and the snowflakes and snow lotuses that could easily entomb anybody in ice, disappeared one by one.
The domain of blizzard was also dismissed. Slowly but surely, the white mist and snow disappeared, and the temperature also rose until it returned to its normal level.
The cold beauty then opened her eyes only to see Cedric standing tall in front of her with a twinkle in golden eyes filled with indescribable longing.
Faced with this heated and barely disguised enthusiasm, the cold lady felt flustered. She blushed and hurriedly avoided his gaze. She almost seemed to want to hide from all of this, but she stood frozen in her spot, unable to escape his warm and encompassing presence.
"Hey." He greeted calmly, though his eyes remained as heated as they were.
"Hi," Isabella greeted in return.
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It sure was awkward. It hasn't been long since she began coming here on her own volition after all.
Isabella inwardly cursed herself. Saying that she shows more and expresses more of herself to him. Didn't she already make her decision years ago? Why is she still hesitating and embarrassed about this?
The fact he's so patient with her also didn't help. He never pushed her, never forced her into doing anything she didn't like. For all she knows, he might as well not be expecting anything from her, but his eyes had always been honest.
It never hid his growing affection, and it was really flattering. But it has been years. She was already moved even before this all started, so why is she finding it hard to remain calm in front of him?
Why is it that she couldn't express what she really wants to say?
And it's almost as if he could tell that she's spiraling. Still, always as calm as the first rays of the sun peering over the horizon, he smiled at her and asked:
"You're doing well. Are you hungry? What would you like to eat?"