Legend of the Embroiderer

Chapter 458 The Hourglass Illusion

The golden hourglass slowly turned in the old man's hand, and the sound of each grain of sand falling was like a heavy drumbeat, striking the tense nerves of everyone.

Mysterious runes flowed across the surface of the hourglass, and as the runes flickered, the entire space trembled and emitted a deep hum.

The fused entity felt as if the buzzing sound had penetrated into her bone marrow, and the blood vessels under her skin bulged slightly with the buzzing, as if countless tiny insects were wriggling inside.

The guardian gripped the sword hilt tightly. The blue blood seeping from the gaps in the damaged armor suddenly condensed into ice crystals in the air, refracting an eerie seven-colored light that was particularly dazzling in the dim abyss of time.

"The test begins."

The old man's hoarse voice, like the rubbing of withered leaves, carried an undeniable air of authority.

As soon as the words were spoken, the sand in the hourglass suddenly accelerated its fall, as if time had been fast-forwarded at that moment.

The ground beneath the fusion body suddenly cracked open, emitting a teeth-grinding "crackling" sound. Countless mirror fragments shot into the sky, like a group of out-of-control blades, enveloping the three of them in a spherical mirror array.

The scene in the mirror changed rapidly: the guardian's blade pierced the fused body's chest, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

Xiao Ying transformed into a burning black shadow, letting out a shrill scream.

The merged entity itself wore the gatekeeper's mask, its eyes empty and crazed, and gouged out its star-like eyes to offer to the Time Watcher.

"Don't be fooled by illusions!" The fusion bit her tongue, the taste of blood spreading in her mouth, the pain briefly bringing her back to her senses.

She strained to gather three-colored light, which flowed around her, forming dazzling bands of light.

She swung her sword with all her might, trying to shatter the mirror. However, the moment the light blade touched the mirror, it reflected an even stronger attack, like invisible daggers, scorching her arm black and causing her skin to instantly peel off, revealing bright red flesh.

The guardian's longsword suddenly trembled uncontrollably, and black patterns once again crawled from the hilt up his arm, like evil venomous snakes spreading rapidly along his veins. The purple light in his eyes intensified, and his once clear gaze was gradually replaced by indifference and madness.

At the critical moment, Xiaoying suddenly reached out and touched the mirror.

Golden runes lit up at her fingertips, their light soft yet resolute. The illusions within the mirror array began to twist and deform, as if being wantonly kneaded by an invisible hand.

The fusion entity seized the opportunity, combining the power of the Star Eyes with the light of Little Firefly. The moment the two powers converged, a dazzling pillar of light shot straight into the sky, illuminating the entire Time Abyss.

The mirror array collapsed under the impact of the beam of light, and fragments fell like raindrops, but they turned into starlight and disappeared the moment they touched the people.

But before they could catch their breath, the sand in the hourglass flowed upstream, forming twelve black-robed figures in the void—the very enemies who had been chasing them in the Star Sand Space.

The black-robed man's mechanical arms emitted a piercing sound as gears whirred, each sound like metal tearing at each other, sending chills down one's spine.

Their fingertips sprayed out dark purple corrosive liquid, which drew strange arcs in the air, causing ripples in the space wherever it went, as if corroding black holes.

The fusion entity hurriedly erected a defensive barrier, the surface of which glowed faintly. However, under the erosion of the liquid, the barrier hissed and cracked, with tiny cracks constantly appearing.

The guardian swung his sword, and a blue sword light flashed out like a bolt of lightning. However, he found that after the blade passed through the black-robed man's body, his own arm began to show signs of becoming transparent, and the bones and blood vessels under the skin were clearly visible, as if it would disappear at any moment.

"They are time illusions! Physical attacks are ineffective!"

The old man's voice came from all directions, tinged with anxiety, "Only by finding the time anchor point of their existence can we truly defeat them!"

Xiao Ying suddenly pointed to the shadow on the ground, babbling incoherently, her eyes filled with determination.

Following her gaze, the merged entity discovered that each black-robed figure had a faint golden thread beneath their feet, the thread extending like an umbilical cord into the depths of the hourglass, where it seemed to connect to the origin of their existence.

The fused entity took a deep breath, mobilizing the power of its twins. Golden and dark purple light condensed in its hand into a golden arrow of light, with mysterious runes flowing across its surface, radiating powerful energy.

She aimed at the silk thread and fired the light arrow with all her might. The light arrow streaked across the sky like a meteor. The moment it hit, the black-robed man let out an inhuman scream. The sound was sharp and piercing, as if it could puncture a person's eardrum.

Their bodies began to disintegrate, turning into black smoke and dissipating into the air.

But before they dissipated, they simultaneously pressed their palms to the ground, and countless black chains burst forth from the earth. The chains were covered with spikes and shimmered with eerie runes, binding the guardian's legs.

The runes on the black chains resonated with the patterns on the Guardian's armor, and his body moved uncontrollably toward the hourglass, each step filled with pain and struggle.

"Amalgam! Kill me!"

The guardian's voice was filled with pain, a glimmer of clarity flashing in his eyes, "These chains are awakening something within me..."

His words were interrupted by the tightening of the chains; the metallic pressure made it hard for him to breathe, and his face turned bright red.

The fused entity raised the light blade, but her hand trembled uncontrollably, and tears blurred her vision.

Just as she was about to strike, she saw a familiar look flash across the Guardian's eyes—the look he had given her when they first fought side by side, shielding her from a fatal blow.

Just then, the golden light on Xiaoying's body surged, transforming into a light dragon. The light dragon was agile, and its scales shimmered with dazzling light.

It roared as it coiled around the chains, opened its massive jaws to reveal sharp teeth, and bit through all the chains.

The chains snapped with a crisp sound. The guardian collapsed to the ground, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath.

The black markings on his arm had completely disappeared, replaced by a brand new silver mark, shaped similarly to the emblem of the first observer, exuding a mysterious and powerful aura.

The hourglass in the old man's hand suddenly shattered, and golden sand burst into bloom in the air like fireworks before reforming into a glowing door.

The surface of the door was covered with intricate runes, radiating a soft light, as if it were an entrance to another mysterious world.

“You’ve passed the test,” the old man said with a hint of surprise, “but the real danger lies behind the door.”

His figure gradually became transparent, dissipating like a thin mist. Before disappearing, his last words echoed in the void: "Beware of those breathing mirrors..."

The fused entity helped the guardian walk towards the portal of light. She could feel the guardian's weakness and was filled with worry.

Xiaoying suddenly began to tremble violently again, her small hands tightly gripping the fused body's clothes, her eyes filled with fear.

The merged entity followed her gaze and saw that the darkness behind the door seemed to be alive, emanating a chilling aura.

The moment they stepped through the portal of light, countless mirrors emerged from the darkness, each reflecting a different scene of time and space.

In a mirror, the merged entity saw the Time Watcher embed a crystal fragment into its chest, its body beginning to mechanize, with metal parts gradually replacing flesh and blood.

In another mirror, the gatekeeper is placing Xiaoying into a huge container labeled "Core of Chaos." Xiaoying struggles desperately inside the container, her eyes filled with helplessness and fear.

Just as the merged entity retreated in terror, all the mirrors suddenly shattered simultaneously with a deafening sound.

The fragments flew through the air and then formed a giant human face—the face of the first Observer, but with a gatekeeper-like grin on his lips and madness and evil in his eyes.

"Welcome to the Truth of Time,"

The face opened its mouth, and the sound was so loud that it hurt everyone's eardrums, as if the entire space was trembling.

"You think you're saviors? You're nothing but pawns on a chessboard."

Before the words were even finished, the ground began to sink, making a rumbling sound, as if the earth was crying.

The group fell into an abyss filled with glowing veins, the surrounding light flickering as if it were the heartbeat of the abyss.

At the bottom of the abyss, they saw the real labyrinth of time—the walls of the labyrinth were made up of countless beating hearts, each heart engraved with a different name, and the sound of the heartbeats came together to form an eerie symphony.

At the deepest part of the maze, the pair of giant, eerie purple eyes opened completely, and Xiao Ying's figure appeared in the pupils. The golden light on her body was being slowly drawn away and injected into a black sphere exuding an aura of destruction.

The laughter of the Time Watchers and the Shadow echoed through the abyss, sinister and maniacal, as if foreshadowing the imminent success of their meticulously planned conspiracy, and the Fusion and its allies facing an unprecedented life-or-death crisis...