# 979
Chapter 979: Angel Descends
After several dozen seconds, the bottomless abyss had been completely filled.
After the endless whispers faded, more wrinkles crept across the old man in black's face, his already aged features becoming even more haggard.
"Good." Chronos spoke calmly. "The seal has been restored to its state before the breach. It is whole again. No more contamination will leak out. You can rest easy."
Michael's gaze fixed on him. "Your lifespan…"
"To toy with time, one must be prepared to be toyed with by time." Chronos said淡淡地, "Even a Supreme God cannot escape the shackles of natural law… Not everyone can create miracles like you."
Michael fell silent.
After an unknown period, Michael gripped the holy sword in both hands once more, then thrust it deep into the crater beneath his feet.
A golden domain instantly expanded, covering the Moon once again and enveloping Chronos beside him.
The moment he was shrouded by this【Mortal Divine Realm】, Chronos seemed to sense something. He paused slightly and turned to look at Michael beside him.
"This is…"
"The 'miracle' that halts aging." Michael's expression remained impassive. "Your hundred years of lifespan were depleted because of this Moon seal. I don't like owing others favors… Stay in this miracle for a few years to recover, then return."
Chronos glanced at him with a complicated expression. "You don't need to do this. If this Moon seal breaks, the entire Earth will face annihilation. I'm saving myself too."
"Are you in a hurry to return to Earth?"
"…No." Chronos asked疑惑ly, "Why do you ask?"
"If you're not in a hurry to return, then recover here for a few years." Michael paused, then added, "While you're at it, guard this Moon seal for me when I'm not here."
"Guard it for you? Where are you going?"
"I've guarded this Moon seal for far too long. Since you've come, I want to take this opportunity to go down and take a look." Michael lifted his gaze slightly, his eyes fixed on that azure-blue planet. "Most importantly, I need to investigate who it is that wants to sabotage this seal…
Since someone has already set their sights on this Moon seal, they will inevitably make another move. Only by completely erasing them can we eliminate all future troubles.
All these years, I needed to use【Mortal Divine Realm】to suppress the breach and couldn't leave. Now that the seal has been restored, as long as I leave enough miracles to maintain the Moon's appearance, I can briefly leave.
If you want to stay and recover, you might as well guard this seal for me. I'll be back within two years at most."
Chronos gave him a complicated look. "So this is the true intention behind you setting up this aging-halting miracle?"
"Yes."
Seeing Michael admit it so readily, Chronos found himself at a loss for words for a moment. After a brief hesitation, he sighed anyway.
"Fine. Olympus is in chaos right now, and I don't want to get involved in the power struggles between those two juniors. After the breach is sealed, I have nothing else to do… Go ahead. I'll guard this seal for you."
Michael nodded. "Thank you."
The towering angelic figure stepped forward on the gray-white earth. The six pristine white wings behind him trembled gently, shattering the void as his form transformed into a golden meteor, streaking toward that azure-blue star in the sky.
On this day,
The Seraph who had watched over the mortal world for centuries stepped down from the Moon and descended upon the mortal realm.
…
Mist.
On the vast sea surface, a deep-gray figure raced toward Great Xia.
Wang Mian, who had already reached the Human Apex realm, could walk through the mist using his own power for short periods. His eyes stared at the distant sea, his heart incomparably heavy.
Without time laws he could use, there was no hope of ascending to godhood. His remaining lifespan was only two years. The plan to rewind time and save the【Mask Squad】could not be carried out…
His heart was like this sea shrouded in mist—as far as his eyes could see, there was nothing but confusion.
After an unknown time, a black dot appeared凭空 on the distant horizon.
Wang Mian paused and stopped his movement.
It was a small boat.
In the midst of turbulent waves, this tiny vessel sat as still as a boulder on the sea's surface. No matter how the waves churned, there wasn't the slightest wobble or tremor.
On that boat, a hunched figure sat in the mist. Silver-white hair danced in the wind, elderly coughs echoed across the sea, and crimson blood dripped from his palm into the boat, pooling into a bloodstain.
He wore a deep-gray cloak, a long sword at his waist.
The same as Wang Mian.
He was the architect of the entire Takamagahara scheme, and the time god who had traveled from the future—the elderly Wang Mian.
A breeze brushed across the sea. The two Wang Mians, separated by churning waves, stared at each other like mirror images.
Their clothing, features, even the wrinkles on their faces—all were identical. The only difference was that the elderly Wang Mian sitting in the boat possessed an air of vicissitude and mystery.
Wang Mian's eyes narrowed slightly.
He stood on the sea surface, gazing at that old man who looked exactly like himself. After a long while, he finally spoke first:
"I thought you were deliberately avoiding me…"
"…You're right." A bitter smile tugged at the elderly Wang Mian's lips. "Before coming here, I hesitated for a long time. Should I meet you or not… After all, if it weren't for the time loop I left behind, they wouldn't have sacrificed themselves.
In a sense, I am the one who killed them… I didn't have the courage to face you."
Wang Mian stared into his eyes. "You'd better give me an explanation."
"Time is far more complex than you imagine. To toy with time, one must be prepared to be toyed with by time…" The elderly Wang Mian spoke hoarsely.
"I thought that by meticulously laying out this scheme, the chain reactions would change their fate, let them survive. But I never expected that this very act would precipitate their deaths.
Perhaps some people's destinies truly cannot be changed."
"Since you've become the time god, why not rewind time right now and bring them back?"
"…I can't."
The elderly Wang Mian closed his eyes helplessly. A cloud of blood mist exploded from his shoulder, transforming into countless white threads that scattered into the air and dissipated.
The next moment, the time around him rapidly reversed. Those scattered white threads reconverged, returning to his flesh, as if nothing had ever happened.
"A god's lifespan also has its limits.
To set up this scheme, I continuously rewound time and incurred much karma. Furthermore, I must constantly use time reversal to fight against my own dissolution. My lifespan has reached its end.
I… am going to die."