Legend of the Embroiderer

Chapter 457 The Mysterious Shadow of Time

Excruciating pain swept over her entire body like a surging tide. The fused body felt countless tiny lenses piercing deep into her skin, as if countless invisible hands were tearing at her consciousness.

Just when she thought she was about to be completely swallowed by the darkness, the broken compass in her hand suddenly burst out with a dazzling light, the light like a sharp sword, forcibly tearing through the surrounding darkness.

After the light faded, everyone was astonished to find themselves in an extremely bizarre abyss.

Time here seems to have completely lost its normal flow, as if it has been completely frozen, or as if it is slowly flowing at an extremely chaotic rhythm.

Looking up, huge clock fragments float in the sky. These clocks have long since stopped turning, and their surfaces are covered with green rust, as if they have been eroded by the passage of time.

These rust marks not only made the clock look dilapidated, but also emitted a pungent, rotten smell that was nauseating.

Moving their gaze further down, they saw that the ground was covered with countless broken mirrors.

Each of these mirrors is distorted and deformed, as if it had been forcibly torn apart by some powerful force.

When people gazed at these mirrors, they were surprised to find that each mirror reflected a distorted human figure.

These figures were sometimes clearly visible, and sometimes blurry, as if they were performing a silent dance, which was chilling.

Everyone's attention was drawn to a faint blue band of light in the distance.

This band of light resembled a sleeping giant python, winding and coiling at the end of the Abyss of Time, exuding a mysterious and dangerous aura.

Its eerie blue light stood out in this strange abyss, giving off an indescribable sense of oppression.

"Where is this place?" the guardian murmured to himself, his voice echoing faintly in the empty space.

He slowly stood up, each movement appearing extremely difficult, as if all the bones in his body had fallen apart.

As he stood up, his tattered armor creaked and groaned, as if it might shatter at any moment.

Blue blood was seeping out of the cracks in the armor, dripping onto the ground.

Strangely, the blue blood did not form a pool on the ground, but instead, as if attracted by something, it quickly seeped into the broken mirrors.

The originally blurry figure in the mirror became clearer after absorbing the blood, as if it had been given life.

The guardian stared at the reflections in the mirrors, a nameless fear rising within him.

He didn't know what secrets these mirrors held, nor whether these figures posed a threat to him.

Just then, the fusion entity suddenly spoke up, saying, "No matter where we are, we have to go that way."

She gripped the compass tightly in her hand, her gaze fixed on the constantly spinning needle.

The pointer seemed to have lost control, spinning wildly before finally stopping in the direction of the dark blue light band.

"The compass's direction might be the key to finding the fragments of the Key of Time." The fusion's voice was firm, but a hint of unease could not be hidden in her eyes.

After all, anything can happen in this strange and eerie place.

Just as they were about to leave, the surrounding mirrors suddenly emitted a piercing buzzing sound.

The figures in the mirror stretched out their hands, which were semi-transparent, with twisted blood vessels and a beating black heart faintly visible beneath the skin.

"Watch out!" the fusion entity shouted, and three-colored light exploded around it, forming a defensive barrier.

The moment those hands passed through the barrier, they emitted a "sizzling" corrosive sound, and ripples spread across the surface of the barrier, as if it were about to shatter at any moment.

The guardian brandished his longsword, and the blue sword light flashed like lightning as it slashed at the hands. The moment the blade touched the hands, dazzling sparks erupted, but the hands were like rubber, quickly healing after being severed.

In the midst of the fierce battle, the fusion suddenly noticed that the guardian's gaze had become somewhat strange.

A strange purple light flashed in his eyes, and his movements became sluggish.

Immediately afterwards, black patterns began to crawl all over his armor, spreading along the gaps in the metal as if they were alive.

"Guardian, what's wrong?" the fusion entity called out anxiously.

The guardian did not answer, but mechanically swung his longsword, his swordplay becoming chaotic and almost injuring the fused entity several times.

At the critical moment, Xiao Ying let out another clear cry.

The golden light emanating from her grew even brighter, and wherever the light touched, the black hands vanished, and the black markings on the guardian's body began to fade away.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the fusion entity injected the power of the Star Eye into the guardian's body. The golden light and black patterns collided violently, producing a deafening roar.

After a struggle, the black markings were finally completely dispelled, and the guardian regained consciousness. Looking at his body, he said with lingering fear:

"Just now... I felt an evil force trying to control me."

Before they could even catch their breath, the distant, eerie blue light band suddenly began to move.

The band of light transformed into countless tiny points of light, shooting towards the crowd.

These points of light formed various shapes in the air, sometimes like hideous monsters, sometimes like distorted human faces.

The fused being focused its mind, mobilized the twin powers within its body, and condensed a huge light shield in front of it.

The light points struck the light shield, producing a sound like shattering glass, and cracks appeared on the surface of the light shield.

Just as the light shield was about to shatter, spacetime suddenly distorted, and a mysterious figure appeared before everyone.

This was an old man wearing a white robe, his face hidden by a hood, revealing only a pair of eyes that shone with wisdom.

The old man waved his hand, and the points of light instantly disappeared, restoring calm to the surrounding space.

“You shouldn’t have come here,”

The old man's voice was low and hoarse, "This is a forbidden zone of time, filled with unknown dangers."

The fused entity looked at the old man warily and asked, "Who are you? Why are you here?"

The old man sighed softly and said:

“I am the guardian of time, protecting the secrets of this place. The fragments of the Key of Time you seek lie in the Time Labyrinth ahead. But to enter the labyrinth, you must pass my test.”

After he finished speaking, a golden hourglass appeared in the old man's hand, and the sand in the hourglass was flowing at a strange rhythm.

The merged entity and the guardian exchanged a glance; this was their only chance to find the fragments of the Key of Time.

Despite the unknowns and dangers ahead, they had no other choice. As they prepared to face the test, Xiaoying suddenly gripped the fused body's clothes tightly, her eyes filled with fear.

Following Xiaoying's gaze, the fusion entity saw a pair of enormous eyes slowly opening deep within the Time Labyrinth. The eyes emitted a ghostly purple light, containing a suffocating pressure, as if they belonged to an ancient being.

Further away, the Time Watcher and the shadowy figure stood together, seemingly plotting something, a triumphant smile spreading across their faces. A greater crisis was quietly approaching…