Chapter 225: Timeless [5]
***
Arthur's eyes widened as he saw Amon burst in after the activation of his authority.
He wasted no time, so he immediately applied Chronicity on Amon, stopping time for him.
At the chant of an authority, there was a faint interval of 0.1 seconds between its activation and the chant.
This law made it fair for the opposing enemies to counter the authority if they so wanted.
It was a tiny interval but those who could do it were able to lay out their authority.
All you needed to say was Authority Open.
The name of the authority didn't need to be said.
But before the activation of an authority, you could also exclude people from it if you so wanted.
You just had to tap a person with the intent to exclude him from the authority.
And that was just what Arthur did, stopping time for Amon to save his body from being affected by the authority for a spare second.
And then...
-Тар.
Arthur tapped his shoulder in time for the authority to activate as Nern was taken by surprise.
He didn't accept Arthur to do this.
Did he actually know what he was doing with this move?
And of course, Arthur did know.
He knew that the consequences would be more severe than what he would do here.
But...
Arthur gave Nern a final momentary sad look and a painful smile.
It was a broken smile that carried the pain of a thousand behind it.
And looking into his smile, Nern's mouth finally opened, mouthing some words to Arthur.
The latter's eyes widened as they started to tremble.
And before everyone in the authority froze, a faint tear leaked out of Arthur's eyes.
But before anyone could see it, the authority finally took place.
A golden light spread out from behind Amon as it started to encompass the whole area. Everything around them was now covered in a golden color in a matter of seconds.
Simultaneously, the whole area around them, the ceiling, and the walls were replaced by different-sized dials.
They shone in a golden light and color with Roman numerals imprinted on them.
It was the same appearance as Arthur's eye.
And then, at the same moment, the clock hands on every clock started to rotate.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Everyone in the room was frozen solid in their positions. Wearing the same expression they had before the activation of the authority.
Silence reigned over the whole area as the only sound that could be heard was the loud ticking of the clock dials.
But then, Arthur took a faint step in the quiet authority.
He looked back at Amon with a painful look, who though unaffected by the authority was still frozen in place.
It was because the former didn't want him to see what was about to happen.
Then, Arthur turned forward, steeling his gaze with coldness.
He looked at Nern in the distance without any emotion on his face.
What he was going to do now, would effectively kill everyone in the area without him and Amon.
This was a surely known fact.
This was the consequence of his domain as well.
But...
There was a faint, just a faint chance to save the people in the domain.
A 1000 people.
And it was to kill everyone in the domain within 0.01 seconds.
Any late and they would be all dead.
This was something Arthur had never done or thought he was able to do before.
So in that sense, there was a 99.99% chance that they were dead.
But right now, it was the only choice.
Taking his monocle off, Arthur lightly placed it inside his coat before his mouth finally opened.
"Anastrophe."
And immediately, the hands of every clock stopped.
Before in the next moment, it started to spin again at a breakneck speed in reverse.
A speeding reverse sound erupted in the authority as it finally started.
Arthur disappeared from his spot in a flash.
No, it wasn't even a flash. He was literally warping through space, leaving afterimages.
His form broke through the space-time fabric as his body started to disintegrate.
But at the same time...
Tick. Shl- Shl- Shl- Shl-
'No, no, no, no....' Amon hurriedly looked around him.
But to his immediate surprise, the patients were all around him. Their bodies were still fine and they were in the position where they were before.
'Oh, yes, yes, they are fine.' Amon nodded, trying to calm his beating heart.
Vain spoke from within.
[Amon, they are-]
'STOP VAIN!' Amon shouted inside of him as he looked around with wide eyes.
A trembling smile was on his face as he looked around, before finding that stretcher bed in the
distance.
'Yes yes, they are fine. I know they are!' Amon rushed, stumbling along his path to the bed.
His whole body was shuddering and Vain had gone completely silent.
Arriving before the bed, Amon looked at the patient on the bed.
Her wrinkled skin was there for him to see as she lay there with tubes connected to her body. She was wearing the white patients clothes as well and her eyes were closed.
She had a peaceful expression on her face as she rested there on the bed with her arms crossed.
No sounds could be heard in the area as Amon took deep breaths, still trying to calm down. His eyes and smile trembled as he looked at the lady laying on the bed.
'Yes, yes, you are fine. Please just wake up now.' Amon nodded, gulping as he tried to hold
back himself.
He extended his hand to touch her hand, confirming that everything was okay.
But then...
As soon as his hand touched hers....
The latter crumbled to stone dust on the ground in an instant.
Amon's eyes shot wide open as he started to shake his head automatically in disbelief.
'No, no, no no..'
He tried to touch her arm...
But that also crumbled into dust.
Amon's trembling body instinctively tried to collect the dust falling in the air.
But it was all for naught as it passed through his hand.
His whole body started shuddering with a violent intensity as he tried to touch her legs and
cheek...
But...
Everything crumbled to dust.
'Please stop, this can't be happening..no Stop. This isn't a joke.'
His hand tried to touch her eyelids when...
Her whole body disintegrated into a pile of dust on the bed, starting to fall on the ground
from its edges.
Amon fell to his knees, his eyes shaking uncontrollably.
Denial repeated through his brain as he tried to touch the dust, trying to piece it together in
any sort of way.
His body instinctively started to crawl and run towards other patients.
But as soon as he touched their faces or cheeks...
Their bodies disintegrated from his touch, their last remnants passing through his hand.
He tried to keep them in his hand and join them together like a child, not knowing what he
was doing.
But it was all for naught.
There was nothing he could do.
His brain couldn't accept the reality before him.
Amon fell on the ground, his body convulsing uncontrollably as his arms and eyes didn't stop
shaking.
"No, no, just stop this already. I beg you!" He laid on the ground, his arm over his eyes.
A single tear escaped from his eyes, falling to the ground as he finally gave into himself.
Removing his arm, he shouted in the empty building now, all alone now. "WHY ARTHUR!!!!!!!!????????"
He fell back on the ground, some more tears coming from his eyes.
There was no going back now.
This was the reality that he was forced to face now.
There was no denying it anymore either....
All of the 1000 or above patients in the area. And...
Klein's mother.
They were now dead.
No.
They never existed in this reality, to begin with. [Quest Failed!]
They had been completely erased from existence.