Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation(Vol 5)

Vol 5/ Chapter 53: Out of Control

"But I..." After hearing what Nicola said, I realized her feelings for me were because of that reason. Looking at the six-winged angel drawing in my hand, I felt a bit sad and didn't know how to respond to her.

"Feliciana said she doesn't have those special feelings for you," Adrian said, trying to help me out. "If you care about her, stop making things hard for her!"

Sadly, no matter what he said, his presence only made things worse.

"Mind your own business!" Nicola shouted at Adrian. "If it wasn't for you messing things up, Feliciana might already be my woman!" That was a bit much. What did she mean by 'be her woman'?

"Don't you get it? It's because you don't respect her that she didn't accept you!" Adrian argued back. This made me more worried. He couldn't beat Nicola in a fight, so why was he picking a fight with her?

"You dare talk back to me, human? Wasn't losing an arm last time enough? No one will save you this time. You think I won't kill you?" Nicola was really angry now. No matter how I tried to stop them, their fight just got worse.

"Aren't you going to help stop this?" I asked Galadra next to me. But I saw she had pulled out some sunflower seeds and was watching them fight like it was a show.

I was confused. Were those real seeds? She didn't even have a body, how could she eat seeds? But Galadra calmly said, "Why stop them? This is fun to watch. I didn't expect Liana to still be like this after so many years. It brings back memories!"

"Is this the time to be nostalgic? Adrian can't win against her!" I felt like my head was going to explode. How could she joke at a time like this? Galadra really showed her love for gossip and drama!

"Let's stop this! Nicola is too angry now. Maybe we should talk to her later when she's calmer," I said, trying to convince Adrian to back down.

"No need for that! You know she'll always be angry about this. I won't back down. I won't let her have you, and I need to get revenge for my arm!" Adrian refused to listen to me. Wasn't he usually the calm and smart one? Why was he being so stubborn now?

"Good! I'll give you what you want!" Nicola laughed coldly. She disappeared and then suddenly appeared in front of Adrian.

This was her time-stopping power! She had used it many times before when fighting Adrian and Michelle. Adrian probably couldn't defend against it!

But surprisingly, Nicola missed. Adrian had already escaped to a nearby tree. He shot an arrow at her that could even blow up an angel.

"Huh? What?" I was totally confused. When did Adrian learn to counter Nicola's time powers?

They started fighting again. Adrian was still not as strong as Nicola, but he wasn't losing as badly as before. His magic arrows were tricky and caught Nicola off guard several times.

"Don't worry," Galadra explained. "See that necklace on your lover's neck? The future Liana probably gave it to him. It has lots of wind magic with time powers. It's activated now. Since Liana hasn't fully awakened her powers yet, the necklace protects the wearer from her time abilities."

So that was the reason. I noticed the white glow from the necklace. It was faint, so I hadn't seen it before.

"Okay, but is this really alright?" I was a bit relieved, but I still didn't want them to keep fighting.

Nicola got smarter and focused on her sword skills. With her wings, she moved faster than Adrian. He was having a hard time in close combat. Nicola's Condensation Sword was still super strong and could cut through almost anything.

"Oh no!" After a few rounds, Nicola managed to cut Adrian's bow in half! Without a weapon, Adrian kept backing away. He was in big trouble again.

"Don't panic!" Galadra held me back. "The Chronos Sword (the real name of the Condensation Sword) has the highest time reversal power. The closer to the blade, the stronger the effect. It can even turn things it touches back into energy. That's why it's always so sharp!"

"But Adrian is in danger..." I said, wanting to help.

"If you rush in carelessly and get hurt, that would be worse!" Galadra warned.

Even though I was really worried, I couldn't break free from Galadra's grip! She used to be just a ghost, but now she had become solid in the Cycle of Rebirth projection and was really strong.

"I told you, the necklace's power is no joke! Even if he dies, it can probably bring him back to life. You can't stop this anyway, so it's better to let it play out!" Galadra said seriously.

But could I really just watch Adrian get cut again? I really didn't want to see that happen, especially if he might actually die this time!

"You're dead!" Nicola had gone crazy with anger. She cornered Adrian and raised her sword high, ready to strike.

This attack was way worse than when she cut off his arm before. I couldn't get there in time. Was I going to have to watch Adrian get cut in half? I couldn't bear to look.

"Huh?" Galadra sounded surprised. I looked and saw Adrian had taken off his necklace. He held the chain straight in front of him and blocked the Condensation Sword!

"What are you doing?!" I panicked. Adrian must have figured out the necklace was special, but why did he take it off? That was his only lifeline! Without wearing it, he might not be able to come back to life!

I broke free from Galadra somehow and rushed at Nicola with my Water Abyss Sword.

"My sword... what's happening?" Nicola didn't try to defend herself when she saw me coming. Her Condensation Sword seemed stuck to the necklace. She couldn't pull it away no matter how hard she tried.

"Adrian, are you okay?" I kicked Nicola away and helped Adrian up, checking if he was hurt.

"I'm fine, but this necklace..." Adrian was focused on the necklace.

I saw that the cross necklace and the Condensation Sword were stuck together. They were floating in the air, giving off a strange light.

"I feel like something bad is about to happen. Maybe we should move away?" Adrian suggested worriedly. Just then, Galadra shouted a warning to us.

"This is bad! The Cycle of Rebirth is out of control. It's trying to open a space portal here. Get away from that spot!"

"Huh?" Adrian and I turned around, confused. The space maze around us had disappeared. The whole Sylvanvale Wood where the Cycle of Rebirth had appeared was back to normal.

The cross necklace and the Condensation Sword were gone. In their place was a black ball about the size of a football.

I knew what this was. It was a portal of the 3D world! I had seen it many times with Reed's magic scrolls. But I didn't know where this portal led to.

What was more worrying was that the portal kept getting bigger! It started as big as a football, but in a few seconds, it was as big as a small room.

"Run!" Even though I was upset at Nicola for being so violent, I still cared about our old friendship. I warned her as she got up, looking confused. Then I grabbed Adrian and we ran away.

"Feliciana! I'm here... Huh? What's that thing?!" Suddenly, I heard Cyra's voice! She had found us after the space maze disappeared. But when she flew in from another direction, she was shocked by what she saw and froze in the air.

"Get away from there!" I shouted a warning. Cyra was curiously getting closer to look. I couldn't fly back to save her.

But in the next second, the portal grew super fast. It became ten times bigger, as big as a large building! Cyra was sucked in without making a sound.

"What's that?" Adrian pointed at something inside the portal. Because it was so big now, we could see the other side through the twisted image.

I saw it too! There were straight roads, tall concrete buildings over ten or even dozens of stories high, and lots of cars and people on the streets!

No way, was the other side Earth?!