The shadow stood up and patted—Pat!—the young slime gently.

"Any way to save myself?" Slime#47 asked quietly, eyes narrowing. 'I still have to revive them. They died because of me.'

The shadow glanced at the blue jelly and shook his head. "It's too tough."

"The simplest way is to use the Authority of Time—which you already possess." He paused. "But you can't control it..."

He clasped his hands, "And how to control it… You'll have to discover that on your own."

Young Slime nodded, though his body wobbled. "Yeah… an authority. And I already have it…"

He clenched his hands. "I just need to learn to control it."

The shadow nodded in appreciation.

After a moment of silence, Young Slime asked, "About the soul essence leakage… can sealing magic work on it?"

The shadow shook his head, rubbing his forehead. "No...Ordinary seals would shatter instantly—because your will barrier was cracked by Authority."

He continued bitterly, "Ordinary seals would disappear the moment they came into contact with even a residue of authority."

Present Slime's eyes widened. "No way…" he muttered bitterly. "My soul took a hit. Even loops won't save me… so it's true."

After a few moments, he asked, "Then why is my soul so weak to soul attacks?" He simplified, "Since my will barrier was cracked by Authority… a fraction of it was left behind. It's causing the problem—"

He was cut off as the shadow took over. "Yes. You understand."

"That fraction of Authority is stopping your will from healing back—and it's stopping other magic like sealing magic." His eyes narrowed. "And it contains Vael's intent."

"That authority was used to attack you; So it won't stop any attacking spells or skills." He spoke coldly. "That's why you're vulnerable to soul attacks."

'What a power…' Blue Jelly's eyes twitched. 'Even its remaining power is following its master's intent.'

The shadow warned sternly, "Remember—you cannot take Vael lightly. He attacks perfectly, every time, with calculations—"

Blue Slime cut him off. "He didn't use the Authority of Time in the first attack.1 He only used Shadow of Tomorrow and Edict of Yesterday… why?"

The shadow pointed at the blue cloak. "Didn't you notice Vael fainting…or even getting zapped?"

Young Slime shook slightly. He hadn't seen anything when the energy blade hit.

"Despite possessing future-seeing abilities, if Vael tried to use them, the sealed artifact's seal would brutally suppress him," the shadow explained, clasping his hands behind his back. "So he didn't."

"But during the second attack—when he used the energy blade—he didn't care about the suppression." The shadow's voice lowered. "He wanted things finished."

'So I need another authority to heal the injuries I suffered from…' Young Slime understood.

"It's a long way to go," the shadow whispered, staring into the nothingness beneath them.

"Any other way?" Young Slime asked, glancing at him. "Since you used authority to come back to the past, you might have found a solution."

Bitterness rose in his core, 'He won't tell me the future.'

As expected, the shadow replied in a low voice, turning his head away and refusing to meet his gaze.

"It's not that I don't want to tell you." He sighed. "Telling you would change the future…"

"In the next loop, you might rush straight to the solution instead of doing what you should have done." He hesitated, "But I'll give you a hint… Immortal Soul. And it's far harder than controlling the authority you already have."

"Huh… Immortal Soul." Blue Slime mused, recalling the system's reminder from before. 'I need it to separate from Vael.'

He clenched his fists and took a deep breath. 'Since my future self is here, I should have succeeded. I'll just find it the hard way.'

Shadow smiled faintly at his younger self. "Don't take it too lightly."

"Since I'm here, you might feel you will succeed."

He paused, then shook his head. "But no… There are many versions of you across timelines."

"I'm just one version that survived." His voice turned heavy. "There are thousands—maybe more—versions of you who died."

'…It's really, really serious.' Young Slime closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down.

A small hope had bloomed when his future self appeared.

Now he understood: things were far more out of hand than he'd believed.

"Wait… soul essence leak…" Blue Jelly asked, remembering the first time. "Didn't I lose my entire will before?"

"How did I survive back then? And who saved me?" He narrowed his eyes. "You should know, right?"

Future Slime stared into the nothingness. "I explained it to you. The golden chains came from the sealed artifact's seal, didn't they?"

He rubbed his forehead. "It was the one who saved you before as well."

'That's clearly a lie…' Blue Blob noticed it instantly—his future self's avoidance, his posture, the refusal to look him in the eye.

"Okay…" Blue Jelly whispered. "Then I'll bring them out and find the answer myself."

He recalled the two bright glows from before—and the voice that asked about his dream, back when he'd lost all his will.

Shadow sighed, knowing he was caught. "Fine. I'll give some details…"

He glanced at Young Slime. "Your soul didn't disappear due to some power. After will is lost, soul essence leaks—but someone, or someone's power, stopped it and made you regain your will."

'As I expected,' Blue Jelly thought, a thin grin appearing.

'If you learn the Time God saved you… You'll be utterly pissed off,' Shadow mused, lips twitching. 'And that Lady.....'

After a moment, he pointed his index at Present Slime#47.

A dark-white orb of light manifested and shot toward him.

Blue Jelly—lost in thought—didn't notice it.

He only felt a sudden coolness as the orb fused with him.

[ Ding! E%$%??/ has passed a skill to you! ]

Present Young Slime raised his eyes as another notification flashed.

[ Ding! You have acquired the skill Soul Chronicle Lv.Max {Mythic+}! ]

"What?" he exclaimed, staring at his future self in doubt.

Shadow grinned sadly. "That's all I could do for you…"

He took a deep breath. "Remember to use it before you start a loop—and once in a while."

"A time will come when you start to lose your memories—" Shadow took a few steps back.

"Memories…?" Blue Slime muttered, freezing.

"Yes…" Shadow's voice cracked slightly. "Your personality will also be lost, little by little."

'I experienced it myself,' he thought.

"And this skill will record those memories intact," Young Slime said, forcing a grin. "Thanks, future self."

"Not so easy…" Shadow muttered as his body began to glow.

He added, "You'll need to experience all those memories in first person."

"Meaning—you'll have to live through all the emotions and pain again… because that's what creates the personality."

"Wait—!" Blue Jelly yelled as the shadow started to disintegrate.

"I hope you succeed, my younger self… Since I—"

Tears flowed from his eyes as he turned into particles of black energy.

'I failed to protect them… and I am dying.'

His body scattered as the black particles disappeared.

End of the chapter.

for those who are wondering...He did use it lightly to suppress Saint King Haruka's power in the first attack...But couldn't unleash it fully like when he did in the second attack without getting suppressed.

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