Chapter 121: Bloodline Curse |
The gears on the wall suddenly accelerated, the metallic grinding sound intensifying like a torrential downpour. Jonas instinctively stepped back half a pace, watching as the starlight inside the bronze hourglass flowed at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if a crack had opened at the bottom of the hourglass leading into the void. He bent down to examine it closely and found that the base of the hourglass was engraved with the same spiral pattern as Claude’s mechanical arm. At this moment, it looked as if soaked in ink, gradually darkening from the edges to a purple-black color toward the center.
“Retifus used the corrupted Sand of Time to reverse the time flow in the gorge area…” Albert’s white robe fluttered without wind, his aged face flickering under the data stream’s light, “He’s recreating the Mobius laboratory on Earth!” Before he finished speaking, the entire Clockwork Between trembled violently, the floating gears emitting unbearable wails, as if the very fabric of space-time was twisting and deforming here.
The holographic projection suddenly flickered fiercely, switching to a laboratory shrouded in blood-red mist. Veldeline was restrained on a central mechanical device, her slender body entwined with silver-white chains. Katdera wielded dual swords, fiercely battling a dozen mechanical guards equipped with Abyss energy cannons. Sparks flew, scorching black trenches into the floor. Even more chilling was that Veldeline’s wings behind her had completely turned purple-black, like corrupted feathers, with eerie patterns spreading from her collarbones across her entire body.
“What did you do to her?!” Jonas’s sword instantly pressed against Albert’s throat, golden energy flowing along the blade, burning a searing mark into the old speaker’s pale skin. Before his eyes flashed the image of Veldeline laughing by the lake, her wings as pure as moonlight back then, while now the image showed her trapped like a butterfly in a spider’s web, her gaze filled with despair and agony.
Albert did not resist but instead showed a smile of relief. His mechanical eye oozed blue machine oil. “The only way to purify the Sand of Time… is to use the Linglian tribe’s bloodline as a filter. But the individual chosen as the vessel…” He trembled as he pointed to the lotus pattern appearing on Veldeline’s chest in the image, a flower slowly blooming from purple light particles. “Will gradually become the new carrier of the Fountain of Life. When the lotus fully blooms, her consciousness will vanish forever, leaving only a shell bearing the purifying power.”
Jonas’s hand shook violently, the sword almost cutting Albert’s skin. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!”
“Because it is the shackles of fate!” Albert’s sudden roar caused the surrounding gears to resonate. “Three hundred years ago, my daughter was also sacrificed this way!” The old speaker tore open his collar, revealing a lotus mark on his chest similar to Veldeline’s. “The Linglian bloodline has borne this curse since birth. Only the purest bloodline can activate the purification ritual, but the cost is…” His voice choked up, “To let loved ones perish in pain.”
The holographic projection abruptly switched to ancient murals depicting Linglian tribe girls being sacrificed. They were chained before a massive hourglass, with radiant light and dark forces violently clashing inside their bodies. Jonas noticed a small inscription at the bottom right corner of the mural: “When the Abyss shrouds the starry sky, the lotus shall be reborn in blood and tears.”
“Retifus is using Veldeline’s bloodline to construct a new Fountain of Life.” Albert calmed his emotions and brought up real-time data. “The time flow in Shadow Gorge has reversed to the chaotic state before creation. If he completes the ritual, not only will Veldeline disappear, but the entire world’s timeline will be reset.”
“First, destroy the time anchors in the gorge.” Albert projected a star map, seven red points faintly flickering within the purple vortex of Shadow Gorge. “These anchors maintain the barrier of reversed time flow. But each anchor is guarded by Abyss knights, whose power…” The old speaker’s mechanical finger paused on one point, “Is completely different from the Corruptors you encountered in the Mechanical Forest.”
At that moment, the ground suddenly cracked open, and three Abyss knights burst forth from the earth. They wore flowing shadow armor, their long spears dripping black flames. The leading knight’s mask shattered, revealing a half-mechanical, half-flesh face—it was Claude!
“Long time no see, Seventh Gear.” Claude’s voice overlapped as if from two overlapping dimensions, his mechanical eye flickering with madness. “Your friend is delicious. Her bloodline is purer than I imagined.”
Jonas’s pupils contracted sharply, golden energy erupting like a tidal wave. “What did you do to Veldeline?!”
“Just helped her fulfill her mission early.” Claude swung his spear, black flames morphing into a huge gear-shaped phantom. “Once I take your power, Lord Retifus will bathe the whole world in the Abyss’s blessings!”
Albert activated the defense system, the gears of Clockwork Between firing blue lasers. “Jonas! Go find the time anchors! I’ll hold them off here!” The old speaker’s robe was lifted by energy flows, revealing dense mechanical interfaces on his back. “This old body finally has a use…”
Jonas clenched the sword at his waist and dashed toward the nearest teleportation gate. Explosions roared behind him, mixed with Albert’s furious shouts and the sounds of gears shattering. “Remember! The twelve hours before the lotus mark fully blooms is your only chance!”
Passing through the gate, Jonas found himself in an inverted forest. Trees rooted in the sky, rivers flowing backward, time manifesting in strange forms here. His locator flashed wildly; the nearest time anchor was in the valley ahead. When he crossed the ridge, an altar floating in purple mist appeared before him. On the black stele at the altar’s center was the same lotus pattern as on Veldeline’s chest.
“Just in time.” Claude’s voice came from above. The Abyss knights hovered in the air, forming a triangular formation surrounding Jonas. Claude’s spear pointed at the altar. “As long as I absorb your gear power, this lotus will bloom early. Then Veldeline will thank me for freeing her from a mortal shell.”
Jonas took a deep breath, the Seventh Gear inside him resonating with trembling. He recalled Veldeline’s gentle gaze when teaching him to read star maps, her focused expression bandaging an injured mechanical bird. Golden light burst from his fingertips, forming a massive gear-sword formation in the air. “Want to hurt her? You’ll have to get through me first!”
The battle unfolded in the warped space-time. Every slash of Jonas’s sword cut off a fragment of the reversed time, while the Abyss knights’ attacks continuously reshaped the damaged space. When Claude’s spear pierced his left shoulder, Jonas saw the lotus mark on the altar suddenly light up—Veldeline’s pain was resonating with him through their bloodline.
“Eleven hours left.” Claude licked the blood off his spear tip; his mechanical eye projected a countdown. “When the lotus fully blooms, you won’t even see her remains.”
Jonas gritted his teeth against the sharp pain, gripping the sword’s hilt tighter. He knew this battle was not just to protect the world but to reclaim the life that once brought him warmth. The golden gear light illuminated the entire valley, clashing fiercely with the Abyss’s darkness, as if two worlds were confronting each other at this moment. Far away in the depths of Shadow Gorge, the lotus on Veldeline’s chest was slowly yet steadily blooming, absorbing the corrupted Sand of Time.
Jonas’s wound healed rapidly under the golden energy’s embrace, the sharp pain in his left shoulder making him even more alert. Claude’s spear wrapped in black flames struck again. Jonas dodged sideways, the sword’s edge slashing open a seam in the opponent’s armor. Purple liquid oozed from the Abyss knight’s mechanical body, turning into countless mechanical spiders that lunged at his ankles with snarling pincers.
“You think brute force can change fate?” Claude’s laughter mixed with the shrieking friction of gears. “Look at the altar—the third petal of the lotus has already unfolded.” Jonas’s peripheral vision caught the stele; indeed, the half-bloomed purple lotus had gained another eerie pattern. Veldeline’s pain surged like a tide; he could even hear her faint cries for help echoing in his mind.
Jonas roared, the Seventh Gear within him erupting with dazzling light. Golden energy transformed into chains, binding Claude’s spear. Seizing the chance, he advanced, sword blade aimed straight at the other’s chest. However, Claude’s mechanical eye suddenly burst with crimson light, warping the surrounding space-time—the valley’s trees and rocks grew backward, even the sword light Jonas swung was stretched into a spiral.
“This is the power of the time anchors.” Albert’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind. “They not only maintain the barrier but can locally manipulate time! Destroy the core of the stele quickly!” Jonas then noticed the black stele’s surface was pulsing with the same purple veins as the hourglass in Retifus’s hand.
When Claude’s spear stabbed again, Jonas didn’t dodge. He concentrated all his strength in his palm, grabbing the spear shaft, letting the black flames burn his skin. In intense pain, he injected life energy into the spear; golden and purple light violently collided on the shaft. “Break!” With a fierce shout, the spear exploded, fragments shooting like meteors in all directions.
Claude staggered backward. Jonas took the opportunity to charge at the stele. But just as his sword was about to touch it, the remaining two Abyss knights transformed into black mist, wrapping around his limbs. Sinister whispers came from the mist: “Give up, Linglian tribe’s sacrifice... destined to become the Abyss’s vessel...”
Jonas’s consciousness began to blur. Before his eyes flashed the image of Veldeline chained. Her gaze shifted from initial fear to emptiness, purple-black patterns spreading to her neck. “No—!” He let out a furious roar, the dormant gear power within him fully awakening. Golden light exploded like the sun, instantly vaporizing the entangling black mist.
“The true power of the Seventh Gear…” Claude’s voice was filled with shock. “It’s actually... time reversal?!” Ancient gear patterns appeared on Jonas’s sword blade, each engraving flowing with starlight. He slashed at the stele; where the sword energy passed, the reversed time effect was forcibly undone—trees fell from the sky back to the ground, the backward-flowing river returned to its distant course.
The black stele crumbled amid golden light, revealing a pulsing purple core inside. Jonas stabbed his sword into the core, infusing all his energy. With a deafening explosion, the shockwave shattered the entire valley’s space-time distortion. Claude and the remaining knights screamed in frustration, dissolving into purple light particles that vanished into the void.
Jonas collapsed to his knees, the intense energy expenditure nearly draining him. But he knew time was still pressing—the fourth petal of the lotus had already unfolded, and Veldeline’s consciousness was rapidly fading. Struggling to stand, his locator showed the next time anchor deep inside the gorge’s Gear Fortress.
Passing through the warped space-time passage, Jonas entered an iron fortress floating in a purple vortex. The interior was filled with gear-driven mechanisms, the air heavy with the pungent smell of rust and the stench of Abyss energy corruption. He cautiously advanced and suddenly heard metal clashing ahead.
Turning a corner, he saw Katdera surrounded by dozens of mechanical guards. Once an elegant dual swordswoman, she was now bloodied all over, her blades riddled with chips, but her gaze remained firm. “Jonas!” Katdera smiled with surprise upon seeing him. “Just in time. These guys’ energy cores…” She slashed through an approaching guard. “Are the same as the stele at the altar!”
Jonas understood, swinging his sword to cut down the nearest guard. Golden sword light sliced through the mechanical shell, revealing pulsating purple cores inside. He concentrated his energy, destroying each core. As the cores exploded, more guards surged from all directions, while enormous gear winches descended from above, attempting to crush them both.
“There’s a control console above!” Katdera shouted. “If we destroy it…” Before she could finish, she was struck by an energy beam, staggering and kneeling. Jonas immediately rushed over, blocking the following attacks with his sword. He looked up at the control console high above, where a mechanical bishop clad in a black robe stood, holding a staff inlaid with purple gems.
“Want to save your friend?” The bishop’s voice was mechanically distorted, dripping with mockery. “Too bad, the lotus has already unfolded five petals.” He waved his staff, and the ground cracked open. Countless mechanical tentacles burst forth, wrapping around Jonas’s legs. “Why not let me send you to see her—as a sacrifice!”
Jonas felt Veldeline’s pain surge like a tidal wave, her consciousness being devoured by Abyss power. Gritting his teeth, the Seventh Gear inside him rotated again, golden light forming chains that tore apart the entangling mechanical tentacles one by one. “Take me to her.” His voice was cold as iron. “Or I’ll drag this entire fortress down with me.”
The bishop burst into wild laughter. “You think you can threaten Lord Retifus’s plan? Come with me—witness the Linglian tribe’s final sacrifice!” He waved his staff, opening a teleportation gate. In the purple light, Jonas saw a heart-wrenching scene: Veldeline suspended before a massive hourglass, the lotus mark spreading across her chest, her eyes hollow, but a strange smile lingering on her lips.
“Veldeline!” Jonas rushed toward the gate but was stopped by an invisible force. The bishop’s voice sounded behind him: “Enjoy the show, Seventh Gear. When the lotus fully blooms, she will become the vessel to purify the Sand of Time—at the cost of losing her soul. And you will be the next sacrifice.”
Jonas clenched his fists, nails digging deeply into his palms. Watching Veldeline gradually assimilated by the Abyss, an unprecedented fury and determination surged in his heart. The golden gear light swirled around him, space-time trembling under his power. “I won’t let you succeed.” He said softly, “No matter the cost, I will reverse all this.”
Far away in the core of Shadow Gorge, Retifus gazed at the slowly blooming lotus with a satisfied smile. The hourglass of time in his hand was nearly purified, the purple mist gradually dissipating, revealing the pure starlight flowing within. “The world’s reboot… is just within reach.” He whispered, eyes flickering with madness.