Vol 8. Chapter 31: The Moment Has Not Yet Arrived

“Right now, I still can’t observe just any strand of the ‘Web of Time’ at will.”

Aurora explained:

“The previous God of Time, Chronoz, his authority let him perceive any possible outcome of any event. Theoretically, to everyone on Samael Continent, he was an omniscient being. Including...”

Her tone faltered. For a moment her pink eyes dimmed with a trace of sadness, but it quickly vanished.

She steadied herself and went on:

“Including the current God of Time. She can do it as well. But I can’t. My power over time is very weak. I can only glimpse a very small portion of the ‘Web of Time.’ And even then, when it comes to the developments inside the Web, I can only see a few minutes or at most a few dozen hours ahead. Beyond that, I can’t observe anything.”

She scratched her hair, a little [N O V E L I G H T] frustrated.

“Honestly, I only realized half a month ago that I had this ability. I’m still in the trial-and-error stage. But for small things like throwing snowballs, or knowing a stranger’s name, that’s still easy for me.”

Her words reminded Leon of what Hera had once told him, about the comparison of divine authorities.

Simply put, to master the full power of Time, one had to bind oneself to the Throne of Time. But Aurora didn’t hold that station. She was free of all restraint. Which meant she couldn’t wield the full breadth of Time’s power.

And with no one to guide her in how to awaken that potential, in how to apply and develop it, she could only explore on her own, slowly feeling it out.

After a pause, Leon raised a hand to pat her head, smiling as he asked:

“Impressive, Aurora. In such a short time, you’ve already grasped so much of this miraculous power. So tell me, have you thought about... delving deeper into the power of Time?”

This was something he and Rosvisser had discussed a few days ago.

Though still young, dragon children matured quickly in thought. And Aurora had already lived through her share of grave events. She understood what responsibility meant.

So when she answered, it was after real thought:

“Of course I have, Dad.”

That answer lit up both parents’ eyes.

They had always respected their children’s will—whether small things like food and clothing, or major matters like their talents’ future paths, even now with the inheritance of Time’s power itself involved. They still preferred to hear her own choice.

“First, I’ve always liked tinkering with strange little things. Even on days off, I could spend the whole day poking around in Mom’s treasure vault.” Aurora said.

“Second, I want to contribute to protecting our family. Even if it’s just a tiny bit, it’s still better than always hiding behind you and Big Sis and everyone else, watching you fight with everything you have while I can’t do a thing. And finally...”

She pressed her lips together, her fists tightening on her knees.

“Finally, I don’t want to betray her trust. She staked everything on me. I’ll never forget what she told me that day—that I shouldn’t blame myself, that she wanted to see a better, ever-better me. I’ll do it. Dad, Mom—for you, for my family, and for her, I will master the power of Time.”

Listening to her, the couple fell silent.

They glanced at each other, realizing the same thing...

For too long, her cheerful, obedient exterior had made them overlook Aurora’s true nature.

Just like Noa, she was strong, kind, and firm in her own convictions.

She hadn’t lived through as much as her sister, but what she had experienced was seared into her so deeply that it became her creed—to be worthy of wielding Time’s might. No one in this world could lead her down that path. But at the very beginning, that ally from the stars had already pointed her the way.

Leon and Rosvisser were glad. Glad that in these critical years of her growth, Aurora had met people and events so important, that they would shape her future. Glad that she would become someone who wielded great power, yet would never lose herself to it.

“All right. Mom believes in you, Aurora. You can do it.”

Rosvisser stepped closer, resting both hands gently on her daughter’s shoulders. She bent down, her long silver hair spilling over to brush against Aurora’s cheeks.

Mother and daughter pressed their faces together. Leon stood aside, smiling quietly, watching.

“But Aurora, I remember Chronoz once said—it’s taboo for the God of Time to use their authority to pry into the Web of Time. Now you’re peeking into it so freely, even if it’s not much... doesn’t that still count as breaking the rules?”

Aurora blinked, then spread her little hands.

“Dad, you said it yourself—it’s the God of Time who can’t use authority to peek into the Web.”

Leon froze. “Uh-huh, and?”

“I’m not the God of Time. Do you see me sitting on the Throne of Time?”

“...Well. When you put it that way, I guess not.”

“The current God of Time uses her duplication ability to loophole Chronoz’s rules. And Aurora? She’s even worse—if there’s a bug she’ll exploit it, and if there isn’t, she’ll make one up just to exploit it.”

That’s the difference between being in the system and outside it, huh. (not really)

After a bit more small talk, Aurora ran out to join her sisters in building snowmen.

The couple stood side by side at the dining room window, gazing out at the backyard.

In the expanse of white, one pink head stood out. They saw her dash forward a few steps, then leap into the snowman’s bottom half. Snow burst up, splattering across Noa and the others’ faces.

Moon saw this and immediately jumped in too, trying to grab her sister’s tail.

Noa and Muse could only stare, speechless, while Xiaoxue quietly rolled another fresh snowball, ready for when they all got tired of fooling around and needed to rebuild the snowman.

“I thought Aurora would say something like ‘just take things as they come.’ Didn’t expect her to have such a strong determination,” the queen murmured, arms folded.

Leon chuckled.

“Which of our daughters doesn’t? Even Moon has her obsession—with the prayer at my funeral.”

Rosvisser burst out laughing, tugging at his cheek.

“What do you mean ‘even’? My precious daughter’s faith is very real, thank you.”

After a few more jokes, Rosvisser circled back to their earlier topic.

“By the way, speaking of the Throne of Time—because of Chronoz’s rules, that girl was bound there for years, unable to leave the palace. But what about Kaizer? He was only there with his sister. He should’ve been free to come and go, right?”

Leon nodded.

“Right. When Rebecca and Martin got married, the photo from the future we gave them—that was Kaizer who passed it to me.”

At that, he let out a long sigh.

“I often asked him if he wanted to spend more time outside. After all, he wasn’t a true god. He was still young. To stay cooped up in the palace all the time, never seeing the world... it would inevitably wear on his spirit and will.”

“But he always said no.”

Rosvisser raised her brows.

“Why not? Just because he wanted to stay with his sister?”

“Partly. But he also said... the time hadn’t come.”

“The time hadn’t come? What time?”

Leon shook his head.

“That I don’t know. You know how it is—once they’re gods, they can’t just talk straight. If they don’t drop a few riddles for you to puzzle over, they wouldn’t be gods, would they.”

Rosvisser chuckled.

“Fair enough. But I believe, when Samael faces its next crisis, those siblings definitely won’t just stand by.”