Chapter 122: The Secret of the Linglian Tribe |
Jonas suddenly understood everything. The Mechanical Church wasn't protecting the Fountain of Life, but rather the descendants of the Linglian tribe who could serve as vessels! He swung his sword, shattering the projector into pieces that scattered like a metallic hailstorm, leaving small craters on the ground. "Take me to her!"
"It's too late..." Albert's body began disintegrating suddenly, his precise mechanical components dismantled by invisible hands, clattering to the floor with crisp metallic sounds. His chest cavity split open, revealing the core energy source glowing with an eerie blue light. "The canyon seal has already..." As his final syllable faded, his head detached from his body, tracing an arc through the air before crashing heavily at Jonas's feet. "The Clockwork Between can send you back three days... but the cost is..." The words cut off abruptly as Albert completely lost vitality, leaving only a pile of cold mechanical parts scattered on the ground.
Jonas stared at the wreckage, his heart pounding like a drum. Three days ago was exactly when he had met the Linglian girl Elisa. She had been lying bloodied by a stream, her pale face bearing a stubborn expression, with faint blue patterns on her neck resembling flowing starry rivers. Jonas had saved her, never imagining this act of kindness would drag him into such a massive conspiracy.
He turned and charged toward the laboratory door, his metal boots thudding heavily against the floor. The corridor reeked of pungent machine oil, red alarm lights flashing incessantly as the sound of mechanical guards approached from all directions. Jonas tightened his grip on the sword hilt, its blade shimmering with silver light. He knew this would be a brutal battle.
When he finally fought his way through to the canyon entrance, the sight before him made his pupils contract violently. A massive mechanical altar stood at the canyon's center, with Elisa bound to a crystal pillar at its summit. The blue patterns on her body had become increasingly visible, their glow almost piercing through her skin. Around the altar, the Mechanical Church's cardinals chanted obscure incantations as eerie purple light rose from the rune arrays on the ground.
"Stop!" Jonas roared as he charged toward the altar, only to be repelled by an invisible barrier. Staggering back several steps, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
The lead cardinal turned, his mechanical eyes beneath the mask gleaming coldly. "Knight Jonas, you're ultimately too late. The Linglian bloodline is awakening, and the power of the Fountain of Life will be under our control!"
Jonas struggled to his feet, his gaze resolute. "You won't succeed! Elisa won't become your vessel!"
"Vessel? No, she's the key to opening the door to a new world." The cardinal sneered. "The Linglian tribe possesses the ability to manipulate time and space, while the Fountain of Life contains infinite energy. When combined, we'll gain the power to rewrite history!"
"The Clockwork Between..." Jonas suddenly remembered Albert's words. Scanning his surroundings, he spotted a bronze door covered in intricate engravings in the canyon's shadows. Taking a deep breath, he sprinted toward it.
The moment he pushed open the bronze door, an intense spatial-temporal fluctuation enveloped him. Jonas felt countless forces pulling at his body as his consciousness began fading. When he reopened his eyes, he found himself back by the stream three days earlier.
Elisa still lay there, but this time Jonas didn't hesitate. He swiftly cut the vines binding her and carried her on his back. "Don't be afraid, I'm taking you away from here," he whispered.
Yet when they had just left the valley, they encountered the Mechanical Church's pursuers. Jonas shielded Elisa behind him, drawing his sword. "This time, I won't let you succeed."
The battle was exceptionally brutal. Though covered in wounds, Jonas never retreated. Watching anxiously from the side, Elisa suddenly saw the blue patterns on her neck light up as a mysterious power surged from within her. Space-time distorted, slowing the pursuers' movements.
"Jonas, run!" Elisa shouted. "This power won't last long!"
Jonas grasped her hand tightly as they fled desperately through dense forests and across raging rivers, finally finding temporary shelter in a hidden cave.
"Why did you save me?" Elisa leaned weakly against the stone wall.
Jonas looked at her solemnly. "Because I believe life shouldn't be treated as a tool. And... I don't want to lose you."
Elisa's cheeks flushed pink, but before she could speak, the sound of Mechanical Church searchers came from outside the cave. Jonas's expression darkened as he tightened his grip on his sword.
"Wait." Elisa stood up, her blue patterns glowing again. "I can sense... the Fountain of Life's location. Perhaps we should take the initiative."
Guided by Elisa, they arrived at an ancient ruin covered in vines. At its center lay a pool of gently glowing water—the legendary Fountain of Life.
"The Linglian tribe's mission is to guard the Fountain of Life," Elisa explained. "But the Mechanical Church has twisted this purpose—they want to use its power to dominate the world."
Before she finished speaking, the Mechanical Church's forces surrounded the ruins. The cardinals approached slowly, wearing expressions of certain victory.
"Knight Jonas, did you think this could change the outcome?" the lead cardinal said. "Elisa, submit as the vessel, and perhaps we'll spare your corpse."
Jonas stood protectively before Elisa, his eyes firm. "Today marks the end of your schemes!"
The battle erupted instantly. Elisa channeled the Fountain of Life's power, fighting alongside Jonas. Her blue patterns and the fountain's glow intertwined, forming a powerful protective barrier. Jonas swung his sword, launching fierce attacks under this cover.
As the battle intensified, Elisa gradually weakened. Her face grew paler, the blue patterns dimming. Jonas grew frantic—if Elisa fell, all would be lost.
Then Jonas suddenly remembered Albert's mention of a cost. Clenching his fists, he made a decision. Turning to Elisa, he said, "Trust me!" before charging toward the Clockwork Between.
When Jonas used the Clockwork Between again, he finally understood the cost—each time travel consumed his life force. But without hesitation, for Elisa and to protect the true Fountain of Life, he was willing to pay any price.
After countless time jumps, Jonas finally found a way to defeat the Mechanical Church. In his final leap, he took Elisa back to when the conspiracy was just beginning. They sabotaged key mechanical devices in advance, exposing the cardinals' plot.
With the truth revealed, the Mechanical Church's rule crumbled. Elisa resumed her role as guardian of the Fountain of Life, while Jonas remained by her side, protecting their hard-won peace together.
Each night, Jonas and Elisa would sit by the Fountain of Life, watching its waters flow under the starlight. Elisa's blue patterns shimmered like eternal stars in the moonlight. They knew this battle across time had not only changed their fates but brought new hope to the world.
The Fountain of Life's glow reflected off Elisa's luminous blue patterns, yet Jonas detected unease amidst the tranquility. Rubbing his sword hilt, he noticed occasional strange ripples on the water's surface—not from wind, but as if some unknown force stirred beneath.
"Someone's watching the Fountain," Elisa suddenly said, her slender fingers brushing the water as her patterns brightened sharply. "It's... remnants of the Mechanical Church."
Jonas's pupils contracted. After their last battle, they'd purged most of the Church's forces, yet some had evidently escaped. More alarming was how these remnants had breached Elisa's spiritual barrier.
That night, Jonas was startled awake during his watch by metallic scraping sounds. Moonlight revealed dozens of shadowy figures flitting around the ruins' perimeter. As he reached for his sword, Elisa gripped his wrist. "Wait—they carry... the Linglian tribe's aura."
Before she finished speaking, the lead figure threw back its hood. Jonas gasped—the face resembled Elisa's almost perfectly, but with eerie violet eyes and a twisted smile. "Sister, long time no see?"
Elisa trembled violently. "Iselle? You died... when the Church fell!"
The girl called Iselle chuckled darkly as mechanical devices unfolded behind her, revealing a core embedded with fragmented Fountain of Life crystals. "The Mechanical Church was indeed foolish, but their technology gave me new life." She waved a hand, and her followers lowered their hoods, revealing necks marked with Linglian-like patterns that pulsed with ominous gray-black light.
"The Church studied our tribe for millennia, finally uncovering our bloodline's secret—this so-called mission to guard the Fountain was just shackles imposed by our ancestors." Iselle advanced step by step. "When Linglian blood merges with machinery, we can shatter temporal limits and become true deities!"
Jonas shielded Elisa, his sword blazing silver. "You'll never succeed!"
Iselle merely activated her devices calmly. The ground split open as barbed metallic vines snared Jonas's legs. Elisa urgently channeled the Fountain's power, only to see its light being voraciously drained by Iselle's crystal.
"This crystal holds power extracted from your body." Iselle licked her lips. "Join us, sister. With your bloodline, we can create a truly free world."
Elisa's eyes flashed with pain. "Freedom shouldn't be built on destruction!" Summoning her strength, she stood as her patterns blazed brilliantly, attempting to purify the corrupted bloodlines. But Iselle was prepared—her devices sprayed violet mist that instantly suppressed Elisa's power.
Jonas tore free from the vines, only to find his body disobeying as he neared Iselle. Horrified, he watched mechanical patterns spread across his skin—signs of forced mechanization.
"Forgot to mention," Iselle said, adjusting her device, "this mist contains nanomachines that rewrite biology. Soon you'll become my perfect puppets."
At this critical moment, Jonas recalled the Clockwork Between. Ignoring his body's agony, he sprinted toward the ruins' depths. Iselle paused, then laughed. "Think you can reverse time again? How naive!" She summoned metallic vines that surged after Jonas like tidal waves.
When Jonas burst into the Clockwork Between, he understood Iselle's confidence. Temporal forces ravaged his body but couldn't take him back—the nanomachines were destroying his spiritual circuits. As consciousness faded, he saw Iselle enter, her crystal absorbing the chamber's energy to emit blinding violet light.
Jonas awoke in a strange space where fractured time fragments floated around him. In the distance, Elisa's faint cries for help echoed. Struggling up, he found himself partially mechanized yet strangely clear-headed.
"Welcome to the Temporal Rift, Knight Jonas." A familiar voice spoke. Turning, Jonas saw Albert's consciousness floating nearby. "I knew you'd return."
"Albert? You're alive?"
"My consciousness has always been hidden here." Albert's form flickered. "Iselle's plans are worse than the Church's—she'll remake the world as mechanical lifeforms. Only someone merging Linglian blood with machinery can stop her."
Jonas clenched his fists, feeling both powers surge within him. "You mean... me?"
Albert nodded. "But the cost is staying here eternally as the anchor balancing both worlds."
Without hesitation, Jonas replied, "If it saves Elisa, I'll pay it."
When Jonas returned to reality, his transformation was complete. Machine and spirit energy fused perfectly within him, radiating awe-inspiring power. Seeing him, Iselle briefly showed fear before madness took over. "Interesting! Let's see if your new power surpasses my mechanical god!"
Their clash shook the ruins. Jonas wielded a blade of pure energy, each strike tearing space itself. Iselle's devices summoned temporal rifts trying to trap him, while Elisa used her last strength to purify the corrupted Fountain.
As battle peaked, Jonas found Iselle's weakness—her crystal couldn't withstand overwhelming energy. Focusing all power, he compressed both energies into a beam that shattered the crystal.
"No!" Iselle screamed as temporal energy backlashed, dissolving her mechanical form while her corrupted followers returned to normal.
When dust settled, Jonas felt the Temporal Rift calling. Approaching Elisa, he whispered, "Forgive me—I can't stay. But as long as the Fountain exists, I'll always watch over you."
Tearful yet smiling bravely, Elisa said, "Go. We'll meet again at time's end."
With a final glance at the world, Jonas stepped into the rift. Thereafter, each night saw a silver light arc above the Fountain—Jonas watching silently from beyond time. And Elisa, inheriting his will, led the reborn Linglian tribe to guard their land, awaiting their reunion across the ages.