"Hmmm, that's reasonable, but how do we do this? We can't go on and say to their face that we suspect them. If we do so, it will be one hell of a disaster," Sirius asked. Scratching his chin, he tried to think of a plan while he waited for Ray's mother to answer.
"Bingo!" Ray's mother replied as she pulled out a holographic tablet from her spatial storage and spoke, "Well, Ray planned it beforehand. He has installed full-body scanners to scan a person's vitals, and more but more importantly, they can even scan a person's race. This way, at least we can lure out the doppelg?ngers who have blended in as humans but aren't," as she said this, she glanced at Ray's team and observed everyone in a quick glance.
Obviously, no one had an issue with it, though Kashish seemed a bit nervous, and this didn't escape the keen eyes of Ray's mother. However, she stayed silent over that and continued, "As for the betrayers, all we can do is slowly observe them. Also, no one is going anywhere for a long time because this place is the only safe haven you all have got," she said with a smile and walked away, leaving the kids in their thoughts as they felt quite afraid of her after the turn of events just now.
After all, she wasn't just strong but also clever, and from what it seemed, she had a whole plan in her mind.
"We gotta stay on good terms with her," Sirius spoke as Elina and Tim nodded simultaneously.
"Why, though?" Asked Aella innocently.
"Sighhh… Aella, you should be even more careful," Sirius commented as he shook his head and walked away.
"Huh?" Confused, Aella only kept staring into the distance absent-mindedly as everyone walked away, "Ray," Aella muttered as her eyes turned watery. She wanted to meet him badly, wanted to take care of him and know of his condition, but sadly, she couldn't, and this hurt her a lot. For her, even a moment away from Ray was torture, but this was life, and she had to deal with it and endure everything.
"Don't worry, he will be fine," Someone said as she felt them pat on her shoulder. Looking back, she saw Kashish standing there with a similar look in her eyes.
"Hmmm," Aella nodded as she walked away and joined Elina and Tim's mother. She was in charge of the things here, and Aella wanted to help out so she could pass her time while away from Ray.
Inside Ray's consciousness,
Ray was having another session with everyone present as he asked them questions, and they answered. After all, Ray had time on his hands while unconscious; hence it was the best time to look into himself.
"Hey Mag'ladroth, I gotta ask something," Ray spoke.
"Hmmm, what is it?" Sitting on a chair, Mag'ladroth asked as he sipped a refreshing drink.
"You know that according to the quality and amount of my mana, I am in the middle to upper stages of the Magical Realm. So why is it that my powers are about as strong as those in the Calamity Realm? To the point that I have already defeated monsters in the Calamity Realm," asked Ray with intrigue and a bit of worry. Though there was also some excitement in his eyes as defeating monsters of a level higher than one's self was nothing less than an achievement.
"Ohh, that," Mag'ladroth lightly exclaimed as he paused and started speaking again, "Don't get too ahead of yourself," he scoffed as he stood up from his start and opened his arms wide.
Mag'ladroth's eyes turned hollow as a void appeared within them while the scenery behind him changed. Even though it was Ray's consciousness, Mag'ladroth influenced it with his actions. A surge of power was created as Ray found it hard to stand straight. A tangible pressure was formed as Ray's body turned heavy. As if a mountain was weighing over him, Ray's stomach churned as the pressure got stronger. Ray was in the middle of the chaos that Mag'ladroth's aura caused, and it caused him to lose control over his own consciousness.
Cracks appeared around the area as his consciousness started to break down, and the void started to consume him. Ray was just about to fall into a deep sleep when a voice echoed in his consciousness,
"Mag'ladroth!!! How dare you!" It was FengFeng's voice as she was in her Phoenix form. The purplish tongues of flame around her spread over towards Mag'ladroth as they fended off his presence while FengFeng herself, descended down and wrapped Ray in her embrace.
Using the power of time, she reversed the effects of Mag'ladroth's aura on Ray's mind, body and soul. Within minutes, Ray opened his eyes as his shaking consciousness stabilised.
"What happened?" Ray asked as he barely remembered anything. Everything happened so fast that even Ray himself was confused about the events.
"Nothing! Just a fool who lost his mind. You don't worry. Rest for a bit; I will deal with it. Aurora will be there to take care of you," FengFeng comforted him as she hid her anger from Ray and just smiled.
Ray's condition was still a bit strange as the Void still affected him to some extent. Therefore, he nodded and walked out of place under FengFeng's care while Aurora came up and took him away to a safer place in his consciousness.
Seeing Ray being taken away, the smile on FengFeng's face was gone, and what was left behind was pure anger. She turned around as her wings blazed even more while the power of time condensed around her palm. A ball was formed as ancient runes were embedded over it. This was a temporal pearl, one of the most secretive techniques of the universe that was secretly guarded by the Phoenix clan. With FengFeng being the progenitor of the temporal Phoenix bloodline and an elder in the Phoenix clan, she was no stranger to it. Instead, it was said that her temporal pearl technique was the strongest and most refined and that she had completely mastered it.
She threw the pearl at Mag'ladroth. The pearl was the size of a fist and looked completely harmless. On the contrary, it looked like a beautiful piece of art that would be sought after by collectors all around the world. The pearl was very different from what it looked like, for it contained the deepest secrets of history. The secrets that various races chased were the secrets of the most mysterious and ancient element of the universe. The element that acted as the only constant in the whole universe. For it contained the secrets of Time itself.
As the pearl was thrown, the time around it changed. The time was slowed down, fastened, warped, elongated and stretched all at the same time. If a physicist were to see the phenomenon, they would be outright shocked as the concepts on which modern and classical physics was based would be outright proven wrong.
A beautiful purplish colour was spread out as the ever-changing time created a temporal paradox around itself as the time was altered repeatedly. The pearl appeared in various places before it finally hit Mag'ladroth.
No sound was heard; nothing dramatic happened as everything seemed to have come to a still. FengFeng looked at Mag'ladroth's frozen body as she flew higher and came face to face with him. She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "What is wrong with you? He comes from Master's bloodline. How dare you act like that? Aren't you known for your wisdom?" She asked through gritted teeth. Right now, her anger was enough to burn down countless galaxies, but she held herself back. For she was not out in the cosmos, roaming as she liked but was in the consciousness of a young man and someone, she cared for the most.
"FengFeng," Mag'ladroth muttered as he tried to break through the time paradox. However, all he could do was mutter.
"What is it?" Asked FengFeng in annoyance, though her eyes were also tinged with disappointment.
"I just got carried away. I was trying to show Ray the whole extent of the Void, but I forgot to consider him," Said Mag'ladroth solemnly.
"MAG'LADROTH!!!" Exclaimed FengFeng furiously. She didn't believe a single word that came out of him because what she witnessed was not just getting carried away but a full-on show of power that released all of Mag'ladroth's aura.
"Please FengFeng, believe me. I mean him no harm. How can I? He comes from my master's bloodline, and I am bound by blood with him. I can never harm him nor his family," Mag'ladroth said. His voice was low and soft as it was filled with guilt.
Seeing him and how he was actually speaking the truth, FengFeng freed him. Though, not before a stern warning as she spoke, "I see anything fishy, and u will be trapped in the eternal palace," Just as she said those words, Mag'ladroth's face froze as he felt chills all over his body.
After all, the eternal palace was an artefact under FengFeng's control, and the time there differed. To be honest, all Mag'ladroth knew was that the place was eternal torture and nothing else.
"You wont, i know i am not wrong and that I would never harm him," Mag'ladroth promised yet again as the effects of the temporal pearl were lifted and he was finally free from time constraints.
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