Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Oh no.

Armin was only 11 years old at the time, so he could only expand his Spirit Zone and avoid obstacles.

Siena! Open your eyes! You cant lose your mind!

Brother! S-save!

Siena could not calm down.

It was impossible for the two young kids to cross the river with their physical abilities.

Armin realized he had to do it alone.

We just have to get to the Delphons region like this. It becomes a delta from there, so the volume of water will decrease. At the speed were going now, we will be there in about 20 minutes.

20 minutes was too long.

Could he hold out from the rapid currents with a semiconscious Siena?

How stupid.

Of course, he had to do it. He had no choice but to do it.

His view was dimming. He was starting to see scenery that was distorted strangely.

They approached countless life-threatening objects.

Armin twisted his body with all his might.

He did not let his eyes stray away from the sight in front of him, even as muddy water pained his eyes, his body slammed against rocks, and broken trees tore his skin.

Almost there.

He felt Sienas tiny hand pinch his waist.

He felt extremely pressured knowing that a fragile life depended on him. But because of that, a greater sense of duty awakened in his mind.

He saw their destination lower down the stream.

However, there was no path. Trees that broke towards the river were brutally blocking their way to the delta.

Siena, listen up. We have to pass under those trees. I will press you down, so you have to hold your breath for as long as you can. Swim as fast and as far as possible, okay?

Brother! Im scared! I cant do it!

You can do it! You have to!

As they passed between two whirlpools, the speed of the current doubled.

In the unexpected situation, Armin grit his teeth.

With only his head and neck above the water, all the debris as a result of the flood came at him like a behemoth.

He was trying to stay afloat so hard to the point he could feel a cramp coming to attack his legs.

Sharp objects scratched Armins body as they passed by him. He was bleeding profusely.

His body temperature began to fall even faster. He was slowly losing consciousness.

Finally, they arrived at the tree that was blocking their way.

Siena! Here we go!

Armin calculated the distance and waited for the perfect timing.

Right as they were about to collide, he pressed down Sienas shoulders.

Now!

Sienas scream was drowned by the water. And Armin, who was barely holding on to his consciousness, noticed that the sharp base of a wet tree was getting bigger and bigger.

Even with that danger, he concentrated all his nerves on the hand that was pushing Siena under.

It wasnt until Siena got under enough trees that his hand went slack.

Good job, Sie

CRASH!

At the same time as Armin smiled faintly, his face smashed into the tree

Despite knowing he could lose everything, he still did not close his eyes.

BROTHERRRR!

He heard the sound of Sienas voice fading down the stream.

* * *

...Thats what happened.

Shirone and his friends were at a loss for words.

I was rescued by the villagers after being safely washed away to the Delphons region. There werent any hurdles after I passed the woody area. Later, Brother Armin was also found. He was unconscious. People from the academy were mobilized to treat him, but the diagnosis was permanent eye damage. After the incident, Brother lost his eyesight.

I see So thats what happened.

Um, Mr. Armin.

...?

As Armin smiled and turned his head slightly, Shirone thought for a moment whether he could ask such a question.

If he was wrong, his question would be extremely impolite.

Perhaps, does Mr. Armin

However, without asking, nothing could be known, so Shirone mustered up the courage.

Can you see?

Still wearing that smile of his, Armins hand froze midair.

He put down the charcoal and twisted his body.

Yes, I can see.

Shirone was at a loss for words.

Did he really mean that he could see with his eyes? But why didnt Ms. Siena know of this?

You must be curious. Why dont I just show you myself.

With his body facing Shirone, Armin untied the piece of cloth wrapped around his eyes.

There were numerous scars around his wrapped eyes.

Im positive he was hurt, but how can he see? No, he had his eyes covered in the first place. And yet

At that moment, Armin slowly lifted his eyelids and Shirone felt his heart stop.

There were no pupils. It wasnt quite a substitute, but the empty socket where the eye should be was filled with light.

N-Nade, can you see that?

Shirone slapped Nades leg in a hurry.

However, when he hit Nade, he felt as if he had hit a hard metal instead.

Shirone turned his head and looked at his friends. He jumped to his feet in horror.

No way! How?!

Nade was frozen stiff. Not even his eyelids were moving.

Even Yiruki, who was resting his chin on his hand, and Siena, who was sitting on the bed with a smile. They were motionless like wax dolls.

Armin approached from behind Shirone, who was in a panicked state.

It has been a long time since a guest visited my room.

Is this?

Yes, its a spell called Stop.

The bewildered look returned to Shirones face.

Stop was a spell that only mages who could handle super-light speed could cast, and throughout the entirety of history, only a select few were known to have reached such a level.

In short, Shirone was experiencing the absolute realm of Time magic.

Have a seat. Lets relax and talk since we have plenty of time.

Ha Haha.

Shirone gave an awkward laugh.

If time had actually stopped, then plenty of time was an understatement.

Actually, Ive been quite nervous for a while now because I didnt know when you would notice.

How did you know I would notice?

Armin pointed to the light in his eye socket.

The organ called the eye takes in light and reconstructs it into visual information. But I, who is without eyes, feel the world through light itself. And its quite a horrific experience. What I see is completely different from how ordinary people perceive the form of objects.

So it is the ideal version of sight, then. No interpretation or reconstruction.

The human senses were not true and infallible. After all, the human senses could be fooled.

Ill reintroduce myself. I am Armin of the Eye of Light. Those who know me refer to me as the Mage of Eternal Cintana.

Eternal Cintana.

As soon as he heard those words, Shirone realized why Armin used the expression room.

How How long have you been in this room?

Time does not flow here, so I cannot answer that. However, if you convert it to the number of thoughts, it should be around 120 years.

Shirone couldnt imagine how strong a genius mage who contemplated and ruminated for 120 years was.

But when you were young, Mr. Armin

Yes, it was an unfortunate accident. I left Olifer Academy and wandered aimlessly around the world for 15 years. A pitch black world without even a single ray of light