Roel Ascart was cornered.

He had run out of mana, and his soul was so severely wounded that he was struggling to stay conscious. He didnt even have the strength to put up a fight against the strongest one of the Six Calamities anymore.

However, he had accomplished his mission.

After a night of flying at his full speed, he had left the geographical boundary of the Saint Mesit Theocracy to arrive in the heart of the eastern mountainous forests. Not even Shrouding Fog would turn back and go after Ascart City anymore after coming this far.

Alicia, Kayde, and the people whom he cared about were finally safe.

With that knowledge, Roel could finally proceed to the final step of his plan without any worries.

While he occasionally took risky gambles, he would never design a plan that concluded with his own death. It was the same this time around too. He calmly inspected the crystal containing a bluish-gold ring in his hand.

This was the item Ro Ascart had left behind for him. The other party claimed that it was a family heirloom of their Ascart House, as well as a key into the Witness State.

Roel didnt know what kind of Witness State awaited him on the other sideand there was a chance that he could land himself in an even worse situationbut he had no other choice here. The only outcome of staying here was to become fodder for Shrouding Fog, whereas this risk at least brought him a glimmer of hope.

This was a gamble he had to take.

His strong desire hardened his gaze, and he decisively wrapped his hand around the crystal and crushed it.

Kak!

The bluish-golden ring fell out of the crystal and came into contact with Roels skin. In response, his bloodline began resonating intensely with the ring.

The ancient monster backed off in fright.

Roel was perplexed by Shrouding Fogs response, but there was no time for him to think further into it. The intense mana pulsations were practically drowning his consciousness.

So, this is the Witness State that my ancestors have passed down from generation to generation? What could this power possibly

He had never felt such an overwhelming level of bloodline resonance before, even in the last few times he was transported into the Witness State. With a blinding flash of light, he vanished into thin air.

24062

Roel woke up to faint sorrowful wails and the familiar stench of blood. As if a switch had been flicked inside him, he immediately opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings.

This is a battlefield?

It was a complete mess around him. Dead bodies were strewn all over the ground.

Roel hurriedly took in the details around him to make sense of the situation. He wasnt too surprised, as it wasnt the first time he was teleported into a battlefield in the Witness State, but he was nevertheless stunned to discover that most of the dead bodies around him werent humans.

Instead, the mountains of carcasses that were scattered all around the plains belonged to beastmen, lycans, elves, and many other races.

Roel understood right away that he had jumped further back in time than he had anticipated.

Just then, a carcass around the size of a hill collapsed onto the ground with a loud thump. Fresh blood trickled out of its gaping wound and flowed down the barren land like a little stream. This was indubitably the carcass of a gianta race that should have disappeared thousands of years ago, in the distant ancient era.

Roels face turned grim. He quickly searched for cover before checking on the System.

Warning! Warning! Warning! The System has detected the symptoms of bloodline awakening. Bloodline Awakening Support System activating Activating the Witness State.

The crossroads of the future and the past, as the sun and the moon vie for the sky. The key to choose has been returned to your hands. Uncover your own path.

Roel knew that he had made the right choice coming to this Witness State when he saw the Systems notifications.

He was currently in urgent need of a breakthrough. From past experience, he knew that time in the Witness State flowed faster than in the real world, which meant that he would likely still have to confront Shrouding Fog when he returned to the real world.

By conquering this Witness State and advancing his bloodline from Silver-tier to Gold-tier, there was a high chance he could make a breakthrough to Origin Level 2. On top of that, he might be able to contract with another ancient god too!

Of course, it was not a guarantee that he could defeat Shrouding Fog even if he reached Origin Level 2, but at least he would be able to put up a fight against the latter. It would significantly increase his chances of survival.

But soon, Roel began frowning once more as he noticed that the System had failed to provide an extremely important piece of information: Countdown to the end of the Witness State.

Why is there no countdown provided? Roel questioned the System.

Resonance with a unique bloodline detected. The user is currently in substitution. Countdown to the end of the Witness State cannot be confirmed. The System recommends the user first resolve his immediate problems.

In substitution? What does this mean?

Roel was bewildered by the foreign term used by the System. He did notice that this Witness State was different from the others he had been through, in the sense that he didnt feel like a log floating aimlessly in the ocean.

There was a dreamlike quality to the Witness State that made him feel like he was nothing more than a visitor, drawing a clear boundary between the Witness State and the real world. Yet, it felt like this boundary had blurred.

As if to verify his guess, he noticed something inside his pocket.

Perplexed, he reached into his pocket and found a letter. It was not made out of paper, but of a glossy material that clearly didnt belong to his era. This gave him a further hint as to what the Systems description of in substitution meant.

Could it be that I have an identity here?

Roel spent a moment in thought before opening the letter to browse its contents. Just the very first sentence made him narrow his eyes.

To the respected Kingmaker, Sire Roel

Its my name Is this the effect of the substitution? Is there something I need to do in this Witness State that has been passed down by our predecessors?

Roels expression slowly turned grim. He carefully read the letter before slowly stowing it back into his pocket.

He had a rough clue to what time period he was in now.