He swallowed and nodded. "So the only way to leave this place alive is to defeat Cronus and Serena Wright. Otherwise, even if we've won, we would still die."

"That is correct."

"Okay." Shun Yin glanced at the machine, still feeling the chill run down his spine. "So what does that have to do with that?"

"It will grant us power." Angelica took a deep breath as she turned toward Shun Yin and looked into his eyes. "I need you to tell me that you love me."

"Huh?"

For a moment, Shun Yin wasn't sure if he had heard her right. He stared at her, completely dumbfounded.

"I love you?"

"Not as a question. Be firm." Angelica glared at him. Shun Yin swallowed, and nodded for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"I love you, Angelica. But what…?"

He never got to finish his question. Angelica was stepping toward the machine. Feeling a sense of panic, he reached out to seize her hand.

"Hey, wait! What are you…?"

"Doing what must be done."

"How will this help defeat Cronus Wright?! What's going on? Explain this to me properly!"

Shun Yin's voice was rising, and he squeezed her hand more firmly, refusing to let go of her. There was something wrong with this thing, and his innate paranoia was at its peak. Angelica was hiding something from him, he was sure of that.

"That time magic that Cronus Wright wields…I can counter it. Theoretically. If I can amplify the power of my purification flames, I should be able to nullify his time magic and prevent him from rewinding time and restoring himself every single time."

"And that machine amplifies your power?"

Shun Yin found the whole thing dodgy and suspicious, but he wasn't able to place his finger on what he thought was amiss. Even so, his intuition told him it wasn't so simple, so he continued to grab her hand tightly, refusing to let her go.

"I have to do this, otherwise Cronus will just continue to rewind time again and again, until his mana runs out. We need an equal amount of mana, and equal quality of spells to counter his magic. Or something that surpa.s.ses his time magic…"

Angelica turned toward the machine, her eyes narrowed in determination.

"And this will help us achieve it."

"How?!" Shun Yin snapped, his patience fraying. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm not an idiot. You're lying to me, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not." Angelica smiled sadly.

"You are hiding something from me, at the very least," Shun Yin accused. "Come on, Angelica. Don't do this to me."

Angelica sighed and turned back to him.

"It's been so long since we've reunited like this. Nine years, was it?"

"…" Shun Yin closed his eyes briefly and nodded. It truly had been a long time. Almost enough to make him forget about her, but he had stubbornly clung into his memories of her, refusing to let go.

He was telling the truth when he said he didn't become stronger for her sake. He had a specific goal in mind, and it was his dream to follow in Michael's footsteps and become a hero. An ally of justice who could save other people.

However, Michael Porter was dead. Reality was harsh. He was forced to make some hard choices, and sacrifice the few to save the many. And right now, he had a feeling that he was about to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Angelica, as if sensing his mood, embraced him.

"Thank you, Shun Yin. I…didn't want our reunion to be so fleeting. You know, I've always dreamed that we would be together forever after all of this. that we will elope to a distant land, away from the Federation and the ten Great Families, get married, have children, grow old together and then live out the rest of our days in a nice, little cottage in the countryside. n.o.body would bother us, except our children, and we will leisurely pa.s.s the days by reading, knitting, cooking and eating. In the winter, we would huddle together in front of the fireplace while watching a movie. Maybe one of those cla.s.sic Federation movies we can smuggle into the Empire. In the summer, our children will come visit us, maybe bringing their own spouses and children. And those kids will play in the garden that you so meticulously tended to, growing your own plants. I remember you like tomatoes? I always pictured you planting your own tomatoes in our garden."

"What are you talking about?" Shun Yin demanded, even as he returned the embrace, refusing to let her go. He wrapped his arms around her, his chest feeling increasingly scared. As if this would be the last time he would see her. "Why are you speaking in such a manner?"

"No matter what happens, we'll always be together. At least believe me on that."

"No matter what happens?" Shun Yin echoed. "Angelica, what do you intend to do?"

"I'm sorry."

"?!"

Angelica reached up with both hands and kissed him. Stunned, Shun Yin loosened his grip on her. Then Angelica suddenly broke out of his embrace and kicked him. Shun Yin parried her foot, but white flames suddenly erupted and blasted him off his feet, hurtling him across to the other side of the laboratory. As Shun Yin flipped himself over and landed upright in a kneeling position, Angelica headed straight for the machine.

"Remember, it's the bond between us that will keep me here with you on this world. The bond of our love."

"What?" Shun Yin dashed after her, but he was too late. Angelica had reached the machine. She turned around to give him one last look.

"I love you. No matter how much I change…no matter how I transform, that will always be true."

Then she plunged her hand into the revolving orb.

Boom!

The entire place was engulfed in flames in an instant. Almost blinded, Shun Yin staggered backward, s.h.i.+elding his eyes. He could see the bright, white illumination piercing through his eyelids, almost scorching his retina.

"Angelica!" he yelled.

There was no reply.

A ma.s.sive shockwave struck him. It wasn't a physical shockwave that knocked him over, but something gentler, yet at the same time more powerful. The ethereal mana waves resonated across the entire cavern, causing everyone to pause.

"This is…?!"

Back in the computer mainframe room, Glen glanced up while his White Tiger stiffened. He was still in the midst of purging the data from the cloud server and tracking down whatever physical hard copies they might have, but his work was somewhat interrupted by the immense magical shockwaves that had surged through the entire compound.

"Angie…?"

Boom!

"?!"

Meanwhile, in the cavern, Lionel Stuart paused when he felt the ma.s.sive shockwave of arcane mana ripple outward. Yue Guang felt it too, pausing momentarily to glance around in shock. Meanwhile, Cronus and Serena – who had been healed when her husband rewound her time to a moment to before she sustained her lethal injury – halted, dismay on their faces. The two of them in particular recognized the particular shockwave that was reverberating throughout the mountain the Dark Church had chosen to locate their headquarters.

It was one that they were very familiar with, one that they had experienced themselves right before this day.

"It can't be…those kids…" Serena's hand flew to her mouth. In contrast, Cronus remained grim, his consciousness melded with the spirit dwelling within his body. He merely lowered his head, acknowledging the birth of a brethren.

Outside, the soldiers and a.s.sa.s.sins froze when they sensed the tremendous shockwave. The a.s.sa.s.sins did recognize it, but along with their recognition was the knowledge of the significance, and they hesitated for just a second. They didn't know if the new spirit was friend or foe, but they knew that either way, it would tip the balance of the battlefield without fail. As for the soldiers of the Federation, they were more bewildered by the exotic energies that pa.s.sed through them without any effect.

"Angelica…"

Inside the laboratory, Shun Yin lowered his head and stared at the being who was hovering in front of the metallic contraption, siphoning away the mystical mana that saturated its mechanism. The person in front of him still resembled Angelica somehow, but there was something different about her. In terms of presence…no, her very existence itself.

Wings of crimson fire spread out from her back, enfolding her hovering body and sending countless fiery feathers fluttering around. A blazing halo crowned her head, illuminating her long, crimson hair. Her ruby eyes opened and fixed a stare upon him, a gaze that seemed to pierce through the depths of his soul.

"Yes and no," the person who was once Angelica said. "I'm Angelica Porter, and yet I am also someone more."

She then floated toward Shun Yin and stopped right in front of him. Unexpectedly, she knelt before him, her wings drooping to either side of her, and lowered her head. Offering him her hand, she asked in a clear, powerful voice.

"And I answer the call to your summons. I ask of you, are you my master?"