Chapter 212: "Who Are You?!"

Chapter 212: "Who Are You?!"

Tessa and Gastro stood frozen, their breaths heavy, as their eyes swept over the underground chamber that unfolded before them. The remnants of their frantic showdown with the weeping willow still tingled in their limbs, but what lay ahead was unlike anything they had anticipated.

Rows upon rows of seedlings stretched endlessly, a verdant carpet of young life that seemed to pulse with an eerie vitality. The chamber was impossibly vast, its ceiling lost in shadow and its boundaries hidden by the dense clusters of saplings. The sheer scale left them awestruck.

"What the…?" Tessa whispered, she straightened up. She reached for her progress orb, its glassy surface pulsing faintly. To her relief, the orb indicated they'd completed the first quarter of the evaluation. The display read:

Progress: 27%

Pass Percentage: 12%

Tessa raised an eyebrow. The percentage increase was higher than expected, and she tucked the orb away with a faint frown.

Setting aside her unease, she pulled out the map tucked into her pocket. Her eyes darted over its worn parchment, only to find that the chamber they now stood in wasn't marked. The realization hit her like a cold wave.

"This… this place isn't part of the evaluation grounds," she muttered, her brow furrowing.

"What's wrong?" Gastro asked, his tone casual, as if they had merely wandered off a hiking trail.

"We've been transported somewhere else," Tessa replied, her voice tight. "I don't even know where we are…"

Gastro blinked, tilting his head like a curious puppy. "Is that bad?"

Tessa stared at him, incredulous. "You do realize we're lost, right?"

He shrugged. "We've fought a tree that cried, escaped a flying tiger, and outran the sinister plot of two deranged competitors before getting to this point. I think we'll be fine."

Tessa opened her mouth to retort but stopped herself, exhaling sharply. Gastro had a knack for defusing tension, but his nonchalance grated on her nerves. "Fine. But we need clues—something, anything—that explains what this place is."

She moved forward cautiously, her boots crunching softly against the cavern floor. Gastro trailed behind her, hands tucked lazily into his pockets, whistling a tune that echoed faintly in the vast chamber.

---

Meanwhile, in the Observation Room

The tension was palpable as the gods overseeing the evaluation stared at the empty screens where Tessa and Gastro had once been.

"They've disappeared," Riis muttered, his frown deepening as he leaned forward. His piercing eyes scanned the monitors, flickering with divine energy as he tried to locate them.

"Disappeared? How does that happen?" Hovi shot to his feet, his chair clattering against the polished floor. His fiery temper flared as his voice boomed across the room. "Who dares tamper with my representative on the evaluation grounds?"

The god's energy crackled dangerously, the air shimmering under the pressure of his Xanthex-level aura. Extending his god-sense across the competition grounds, he searched for even the faintest trace of interference. But there was nothing—no sign of foul play, no hidden hand manipulating events.

Elial, who had been watching Gastro closely with veiled interest, leaned back in his chair. His playful smirk faded into a serious expression. "Two competitors vanishing without a trace? This isn't normal. Something—or someone—is interfering."

The room fell silent as Nilma, Enka, and Tam exchanged uneasy glances. The three higher gods, though dwarfed in power by the Xanthex-level beings, understood the gravity of the situation. If even Hovi couldn't locate them, the odds of an external force at play were slim.

"Hovi, calm yourself," Riis said, his voice steady but firm. "If we intervene now, we risk disrupting the entire evaluation program. The Imogi-level gods watching from above will not tolerate such interference. The consequences could be… dire."

Hovi's nostrils flared, his fists clenched tightly. "So what do we do? Just sit here twiddling our thumbs while they're lost in some unknown realm?"

"We wait," Riis said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "If they're strong enough to be worth our attention, they'll find their way back."

Hovi seethed but didn't press further. He hated waiting. Always had.

"Fine," he spat, crossing his arms. "But if they don't return soon, I'm going in myself."

---

Back in the Underground Chamber

Tessa crouched low, running her fingers over the soil. It was warm to the touch, faintly pulsing with life. These seedlings weren't ordinary plants—they thrummed with energy, their roots glowing faintly beneath the surface.

"What are you thinking?" Gastro asked, leaning casually against a nearby boulder.

"That this isn't just some random cave," Tessa replied. She stood and dusted her hands off. "These seedlings… they're alive in ways I don't understand."

Gastro tilted his head, a rare flicker of curiosity crossing his features. "Alive how?"

"Like they're connected to something. Or someone," Tessa said. She glanced around warily. "We need to be careful. This place feels… alive, like it's watching us."

Gastro's eyes narrowed slightly.

As they ventured deeper into the chamber, the seedlings grew larger, their glow intensifying with each step. The air thickened, growing warmer and heavier, and an unshakable sensation of being watched enveloped them. The further they went, the more the environment seemed to hum with an unseen energy.

The rows of glowing plants, each bearing a translucent, egg-like fruit, pulsated faintly, their light resembling tiny heartbeats. Tessa's curiosity soon got the better of her. She extended a cautious hand toward one of the luminescent orbs, its surface smooth and inviting, yet oddly cold.

Suddenly, the space around her warped. The seedlings and Gastro dissolved into a swirl of radiant mist, leaving Tessa standing in an endless void. Before her, two enormous eyes materialized, their size dwarfing anything she'd ever seen. They glowed with a piercing, otherworldly brilliance, both terrifying and captivating.

Tessa's heart leapt into her throat, and instinctively, she screamed—except no sound came out. Panic surged through her as she realized the space was enveloped in an oppressive, deafening silence. Her breaths were shallow, her pulse a thunderous drumbeat in her ears, yet she could hear nothing.

The eyes stared back, half-lidded, radiating an aura of indifference tinged with obligation. It was as if the entity behind them begrudgingly fulfilled its role, exuding an air of: I don't have much choice, but here we are.

A deep, resonant voice echoed within her mind, bypassing the soundless void.

"Ever since you began in the lower realm, I have observed your boundless determination and relentless drive. Few catch my attention, but you…" The eyes blinked languidly. "You have the capacity to be my representative."

Tessa's shock mingled with confusion, and she managed to wrest control of her spiraling fear. Gritting her teeth, she mustered her courage and attempted to speak, though her words were soundless in the void.

"Can you shrink or something? Those eyes are terrifying."

The entity chuckled, its voice a low rumble that vibrated through her very bones. "Better?"

The oppressive silence lifted, and Tessa gasped as sound rushed back into existence. The void brightened, its overwhelming darkness softening into a muted glow. Before her, the colossal eyes began to shift, their massive form condensing and reshaping. What once dominated her entire vision was now a simple man standing calmly in plain robes.

His appearance was unassuming, yet unsettling in its simplicity. By his temple, a faintly glowing analogue clock hovered, its hands ticking with an almost hypnotic precision, as if counting down to some unseen moment.

Tessa swallowed hard, her voice trembling as she forced out the words. "Who… who are you?"

Though his form was less intimidating now, the memory of those enormous eyes lingered, casting an unshakable shadow over her courage.

The man tilted his head slightly, his gaze steady yet enigmatic. "I am Zorath, the Third god of Time," he began, his voice resonating with an eternal cadence. "And I am dying. Before I fade away into the abyss of forgotten moments, I wish to name a successor."

His words hung heavily in the air, each syllable carrying the weight of millennia. "I have watched you, Tessa Caldwell. Your determination, your resilience, your spirit—they caught my attention. I believe you could bear the mantle of time."

Tessa's pulse quickened, confusion and awe warring within her. She opened her mouth to speak, but he raised a hand to silence her.

"However," he continued, his tone darkening, "this will not be given freely. To inherit my power, you must first pass one final trial. A condition that I will check for, if it is satisfied then you would earn my mantle."

His eyes seemed to pierce through her soul as he asked, "Tell me, Tessa Caldwell—are you willing?"