Chapter 216: 030: Time Hut

“Past, present, future.”

“We will meet somewhere in time sooner or later.”

Lynch gazed at the familiar handwriting on the table; it was clearly left by Somda.

When was it?

He was sure it hadn’t been there when he left, and equally sure that no one had entered the house during his absence. Neither the shifting elements nor the spiritual field had shown any changes.

As if?

These things had always been here from the beginning?

Lynch couldn’t comprehend how Somda managed this. In truth, he knew very little about his mentor and was still ignorant of the extent of his abilities.

’Let’s see what this is first.’

Lynch extended his hand and picked up the pocket watch from the table to examine it.

It was a very ordinary pocket watch, silver in color, with both its case and cover resembling countless similar watches on the market. However, the back was engraved with a serpent coiling around a cross, giving it an air of vintage mystery.

When the cover was opened, a row of small inscriptions inside became visible: “In this world, apart from time, nothing is eternal.”

Lynch frowned, puzzled by Wizard Somda’s intent in leaving him the pocket watch.

He had actually seen this pocket watch before—during his first meeting with Wizard Somda. It had been on his lab bench.

Later, in their subsequent interactions, Lynch had frequently seen this watch, often displayed with Somda’s meticulous handling, the concentration in his expression reminiscent of a seasoned watchmaker.

’Does this thing carry some special significance?’

After a round of observation, Lynch quickly noticed a button situated at the top of the pocket watch. He decided to press it.

“Click!” The sound resembled the cessation of something.

It appeared to be a pause button. The moment Lynch pressed it, he saw through the cover that the watch hands, which had been ticking, abruptly stopped moving. Could it simply be a button to pause the hands?

Just when Lynch was entertaining this thought, something bizarre happened!

“What’s going on!”

Lynch looked around in shock, only to find the tables, chairs, floor, and ceiling suddenly warping and twisting as if rendered from strands of noodles. The area rippled like water.

The surrounding space grew increasingly distorted under the ripples, slowly dissolving into blur until everything vanished entirely into chaos.

“Tick… tick…”

Amid his growing unease, Lynch suddenly heard the ticking sound of flowing time.

In the chaotic void before him, clock faces appeared—first one, then a second, and a third—like stars emerging at dusk, each coming into view one after another, ticking steadily.

“Tick! Tick!”

The crisp sound of ticking echoed continuously, and each clock displayed a different progression of time.

Meanwhile, Lynch recognized the scene before him.

“This… this is…”

“Isn’t this the strange space within my mentor’s laboratory?”

Indeed, what manifested around Lynch was none other than the space he had spent extended periods of time in, a mysterious dimension guided by Somda for his cultivation.

“Welcome, welcome.”

“Welcome, sir, to the Time Hut.”

At that moment, a clear voice chimed. Lynch turned his head and saw a clock walk toward him from a distance.

That’s right, walk.

It resembled a whimsical artifact from a fairy tale, transformed by a wizard’s curse into a walking alarm clock with arms and legs. Its face bore recognizable human features—eyes, a nose, and a mouth—making it all the more peculiar.

The clock stopped in front of Lynch and introduced itself, saying, “I am the manager of the Time Hut, sir. You may call me Hour, Light, or even Goudan or Gousheng. The choice is yours.”

After pausing briefly, it continued, “You must be Lynch Valen, correct?”

Lynch nodded. “I am.”

The alarm clock stated, “Wizard Somda left instructions before his departure. I am to act as your assistant in completing Somda’s creation. If you have any questions or uncertainties, feel free to ask me directly.”

Complete the creation?

Lynch furrowed his brow and immediately inquired, “Complete the creation? What does that mean? And where has my mentor gone? Also, what is this place?”

With a hint of impatience, the clock grumbled, “What a flood of questions, slow down… Let’s tackle them one by one…”

The alarm clock answered his questions one by one, gradually filling Lynch in on the details of the situation.

The first detail concerned this space.

According to the clock, this dimension existed in a rift of time, hovering between reality and illusion. There was no past, present, or future—no concept of time.

And Lynch’s presence here was not as a physical entity but rather as an avatar of his spirit and soul.

However, his spirit and consciousness could influence reality. For instance, if he spent a day here, it would reflect as a day passed once he returned to the real world.

Entering this peculiar space required a price: time. Currently, the time sustaining this place was left behind by Wizard Somda.

As for the purpose of this dimension, it was closely tied to Somda’s ongoing creation of a magical artifact. In fact, the entire space was essentially an auxiliary extension of this creation.

It was the amalgamation of components Lynch had witnessed before—Somda’s intricate mechanism composed of numerous parts. Listening to the clock describe it left Lynch feeling incredulous.

“This is time itself. Once completed, it will allow mastery over time—past, present, and future—permitting traversal to any desired temporal point, granting an infinite existence, the true essence of eternity!”

According to the clock, Somda’s envisioned alchemy device aimed to govern time, granting the ability to freely traverse and achieve eternal presence.

This…

It sounded absurdly fanciful, so much so that Lynch began to question Somda’s mental state—especially considering the device was currently unfinished, its completion remaining uncertain.

Moreover…

“Wizard Somda has run out of time. He hopes you will continue his research and complete the parts he left unfinished—unlocking true mastery over time.”

Lynch frowned, his expression darkening.

He asked, “Wizard Somda… where has he gone then?”

“Apologies.”

“That question is beyond my understanding.”

The clock shook its head.

Lynch opened the pocket watch in his hand, softly reciting the words inscribed inside the cover.

“In this world, apart from time, nothing is eternal.”

He looked up at the mysterious space surrounding him. Memories of countless moments spent here with Somda surfaced in his mind, flooding unexpectedly.

“Past, present, future.”

“We will meet somewhere in time sooner or later.”

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