Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1440: Section 1441 Multiple Choice Questions

Angel turned his head abruptly.

But on the doorframe that he had used as an anchor, suddenly, there appeared a shadow.

The shadow was initially as dark as ink, but as a light chuckle sounded, ripples of space began to emerge, and the shadow, as if blurred by water, gradually revealed its form.

It was a man wearing a wide robe and a tall hat.

The clothes on his body were made up of countless gold and silver clocks, interlocking and rotating like gears, and shimmering with a brilliant light.

On his head, he wore a round hat that resembled a clock. If someone else wore this kind of hat, it might seem ridiculous, but on him, there wasn’t the slightest incongruity.

As if that was how he was meant to dress.

As for his face, it was still a pitch-black expanse, although the positions of his features were vaguely visible, the specific details remained indiscernible.

At this moment, the man was smiling. The corners of his mouth were turned up, like an inverted crescent, standing out starkly against his dark face, that row of white teeth was particularly glaring.

When he locked eyes with the man, Angel’s expression became very serious, and his body even trembled slightly.

Even though the man’s attire had changed, even though Angel had never seen the man’s true face, he immediately recognized his identity upon hearing his voice.

“Angel, what’s wrong?” Sanders looked at Angel with suspicion, not understanding why Angel had suddenly stopped. Judging by his look, he seemed to be staring at someone.

Angel looked back at Sanders with confusion, a slight frown on his brow, “Mentor, can’t you see him?”

“Him?” Sanders keenly caught the pronoun, and looked carefully in the direction of Angel’s gaze with caution. However, in his field of vision, besides the doors, he saw no one within sight.

“He’s sitting on the doorframe of the anchor,” Angel said softly.

Sanders immediately looked over, but still saw nothing. Sanders didn’t believe that Angel would lie, he thought for a moment, and his eyes were covered with a thin layer of clear light.

Spell Technique: Eye of Lawbreaking.

The Eye of Lawbreaking could peel off all illusions, revealing the truest form.

However, Sanders still found nothing; there was no one on the doorframe, just empty stillness.

Yet, in Angel’s field of vision, the man sitting on the doorframe of the anchor had a pair of profound eyes that casually glanced over Sanders, the corners of his mouth still held a lazy smile.

“I didn’t expect to see two seeds at once,” the man said with a smile, glancing at Sanders, then turning to Angel, “But, today has nothing to do with him, so he cannot see me.”

“Does that mean, your arrival is related to me?” Angel paused slightly, “Lord Cassini?”

The man nodded with a smile, not denying the title Angel had addressed him by.

On the other side, Sanders’s expression changed. He could not hear the man’s voice, but he clearly heard Angel’s response: Cassini!

In Sanders’s mind, either Angel was deceiving him, and there was no one here; or this person was so powerful that he could hide from his detection.

Sanders didn’t think Angel would deceive him, so there was only the second possibility left: the other party’s strength was immense, so much so that even Sanders couldn’t perceive it; combined with Angel’s address to him—Cassini.

Immediately, an image sprang to Sanders’s mind.

It was the loathsome fellow he often dreamt of in the dead of night.

In the hearts of most other wizards from the Southern Domain, they longed to meet this person. But Sanders was particularly averse to this man, who fancied himself a thief; a man who, after granting a minor favor, would steal your future. In Sanders’s eyes, such a person was extremely vile.

And Cassini was that person.

That is to say, the infamous Thief of Time in the Wizards’ Realm!

Upon confirming the man’s identity, Sanders’s expression became very stern. Facing someone so powerful, Sanders did not dare to flee with Angel. Instead, when Angel looked at him, he spoke solemnly, “Choose… wisely!”

Angel understood Sanders’s meaning, nodded slightly without speaking, and continued to focus on the Thief of Time opposite him.

“Yes, it indeed has something to do with you,” said the Thief of Time, not minding the subtle interaction between Angel and Sanders, and continued with a smile, “Young man, you don’t need to be wary of me.”

The Thief of Time sat on the doorframe, his feet even tapping to the rhythm, exuding a youthful air.

“I am very willing to take part in your life,” said the Thief of Time, his voice remarkably crisp, like the sound of a spring bubbling against the stones on a hot summer afternoon, bringing deep comfort from within.

Even though Angel kept warning himself internally, he couldn’t muster a trace of revulsion at the moment.

“If you’re willing to let me be a part of your life, why not start with this door?” The Thief of Time hopped down from the doorframe and pointed to the door behind him, “Since you find it useless, why not give it to me?”

After saying this, the Thief of Time looked at Angel with a smile.

But in his heart, Angel silently thought: Here it comes.

Every appearance of the Thief of Time was an act of “stealing” your choices. Like a scavenger floating through time nodes, he would stealthily take away any choices you abandoned, be they from the past, present, or future.

If life were likened to a long journey, each choice in your life would extend into new paths. Sometimes, when you find the new path displeasing, you might turn back to take another; however, not all choices in life can be regretted.

Just like when the Thief of Time presents you with a choice, once you make it, he won’t afford you the opportunity for remorse.

Even if your choice leads you to a dead end, there’s no turning back.

And now, it was evident that the Thief of Time was intending to present Angel with such a binary decision.

To choose the door, or to give up the door.

Angel’s instinct was to blurt out: he wouldn’t give up the door.

But before Angel could speak, the Thief of Time, with a smile, said, “Don’t let the biases of your heart blind you. If you refuse me just because he…” The Thief of Time motioned towards Sanders, eyes narrowing slightly, “because you’re influenced by him, I would be very upset.”

“Why not think it over, what does this door mean to you?”

Angel furrowed his brows; indeed, upon deeper reflection, he couldn’t figure out what significance the door held for him. In many instances, a Spatial Beacon could completely replace the door—so why not trade it away?

The Thief of Time did not urge Angel, leaning casually against the door frame, waiting with a smile, “Young man, this isn’t a profound choice, why not try, let me be a part of your life?”

The words of the Thief of Time were of no concern to Angel; he was caught in a memory.

It was back in the Abyss, when he had told Sanders about the Thief of Time.

Sanders had said to him, “When you can’t escape the Thief of Time’s shackles, facing the choices he offers, you must follow the decisions of your heart.”

Follow his heart.

Because Angel was making choices for his own future.

With this in mind, Angel looked up at the Thief of Time and shook his head, “I won’t give up this door.”

The Thief of Time, “Even if it’s useless to you?”

Angel remained silent.

“The door holds little significance for you. Your description was very accurate; it indeed simply acts as a target anchor, with no other effect.” The Thief of Time, “Are you really not considering giving it to me?”

Angel nodded his head.

The Thief of Time was not annoyed, still smiling, and then he softly snapped his fingers.

The door began to disappear slowly before Angel’s eyes.

Angel showed no expression; though seemingly taken by the Thief of Time, the door was not truly gone. Angel sensed that it remained in place, yet the Thief of Time had done something to conceal it.

“Not giving me the door is also a choice. Since that’s the case, I shall grant you a wish~” The Thief of Time, “You wanted to conceal it, I’ve concealed it for you.”

After speaking, the figure of the Thief of Time began to fade slowly.

“Right and wrong, real and fake, existence and illusion, past and future. Countless choices lead to countless paths. Among these paths, there is always one that leads to truth. My visit, is it to eliminate your wrong choices, or to steal your correct ones? Young man, this is a multiple-choice question.”

As his voice faded, the figure of the Thief of Time completely vanished into the far reaches of time.

As if nothing had happened.

No ripples, no disturbances.

However, Sanders saw things differently. When the door vanished, he thought Angel had made a deal with the Thief of Time.

As Sanders wondered, Angel suddenly stepped forward.

With a gentle touch into the empty air, the door that Sanders thought had disappeared reappeared. There were no energy ripples, no fluctuations of illusion; it was as if it had materialized directly from the depths of time.

“He’s gone? You didn’t give the door to him?” Sanders asked.

“Hmm,” Angel nodded in agreement, his mind still in a haze; even though he had refused to give the door to the Thief of Time, was he still rewarded?

Sanders inquired about the details of the process.

After listening, he said to Angel, “That’s just the way the Thief of Time is, no matter what choice you make, even if he gains nothing, he will grant a favor.”

This is why many wizards are so eager to seek out the Thief of Time.

Yet often, the decision at hand is not the ultimate objective of the Thief of Time, but rather what lies hidden behind series after series of choices. Even if you receive a favor this time, as you succumb to the honey trap time and time again, what the Thief of Time truly desires might just slip away unnoticed.

As the saying goes, by the time you realize time is a thief, it would have already stolen all your choices.