Black Holes to the rescue

I stepped over the overgrown moss and scurried through the dense wall of trees impending my vision.

'Finally'

A trace was found.

I wasn't so dumb as to completely dismiss the aftereffects of using Tera-scale magic. There would surely be Asuras investigating the cause of their atmosphere shifting so abruptly.

"Tch. Should've arrived sooner." I muttered under my breath as I investigated the dummy I implanted inside the dummy.

It was an arduous task for me to perform with my current core but I succeeded albeit at the cost of 0 combat prowess.

The replica of a human was lying down on the ground it's mana core harvested form a beast now split in two.

"Two silver coins say it's Windsom's act." I didn't know how he looked like, but if the scripts remain accurate, he was probably in his cat form. And judging by the lack of claw marks, but a shattered core, most possibly from a hard object, it is likely that he noticed it after transforming back.

But there is something he missed…..

The dummy had head trauma, causing its dolichocephalic skull shape to be caved in and the supra-orbital fissure was…. deformed?

The nerves passing through were quite literally squashed from the heavy blow…meaning it was not a sword but a blunt weapon

The eyes I invented were intact. Carrying just enough mana to go below the radar and only activating for a split second to capture an image…

"WK-IV, definitely the creator of Dawn's ballad—the one Arthur used in script. But it's not a sword…."

The instrument was a blurred in the picture but a reference usage cleared it up to provide some suggestions about it.

A cane…..with a derby handle, no….a Fritz handle. If I took the same estimation as a normal cane back on earth, it is probably half his height with an inch or two of difference. Meaning Windsom was approximately seven-foot tall in height.

Why is that detail necessary?

Why is it not? Knowledge regarding your opponent's body can give you as many advantages in a sword fight. Even as I inspected the picture displayed as a hologram using photon magic based on the principle of illusions as Aya Grephin did, I was designing a battle plan for the future.

Because like it or not, in the end I have to end up fighting them when I take control over fate….

"No residual trace of mana so he used brute force…..but why is the ground so clean?" If he had used brute force, you'd suspect the grass he stepped on to be torn off its roots, but they are fine, as if there had never been a presence nearby.

"Definitely static void." An aether art that lets you stop time completely. Even mana cannot be moved while at this phase…..to the outside only of course.

While it is impossible to cast magic during static void, it is possible to use it internally, thus augmenting your body and not leave a residual trace behind in the process.

He must've been caught off guard and proceeded to attack before looking closely at the dummy.

Meaning I will lose to him no matter what I do, unless I can get over this aether art…

I went back to my room and scribbled on my notebook before pacing back and forth unconsciously. By the time I was pulled out of my reverie, the sun was already peeking from outside the window.

I had unknowingly stayed up all night trying to figure out what he gained from this inspection.

How long was he here? The question was none of my concern.

It was obvious he was looking snooping around the castle, but I don't think I'm the one he noticed. Afterall, there is someone else in this castle with a dragon's egg with him.

"Is that how they found out about Arthur in the script?" Cutting that train of thought, I opened the doors again to have breakfast.

After all, to develop a counter against aether arts, I need sugar!

Hmm, come to think of it, according to Einstein, time is relative. Following that law could get me somewhere if I use the principles of black holes….

Eh? Didn't I try to make a more efficient portal using the same methods as I'm doing now?

What is with me and my solutions always leading to black holes?

[Maybe it's because you're infinitely dumb, forming a singularity across the multiverse.]

I think I heard an irrelevant voice right now, so I'll g back to having breakfast….

[Why are trying to make a black hole in this magical world, numbskull?]

"It is the easiest solution. Time is relative. Time does stop at the event horizon of a black hole, but only as seen by someone outside the black hole. it's because any physical signal will get infinitely redshifted at the event horizon, thus never reaching the outside observer. Someone falling into a black hole, however, would not see time stop."

[I get that, but how does that help in countering static void?]

"Doesn't the case seem similar? Windsom the user who initiated static void, aka the observer sees us frozen. But for us, we see time going forward as usual, like the person falling inside the black hole."

[….No wait! Isn't that too farfetched? I see the similarity but surely they are not intelligent enough to understand black holes and develop an aether art similar to its workings.]

"Who know, babe."

[Un?..]

"Is Harleen alright?"

[….Errr…yes, she's safe and…..happy? She's venting, you could say]

"Venting how?"

[It's better to confront that can of worms when you get there.]

"Will I even get there before her death? It has been more than five years right?"

[Not really, no. Beardy god slowed down time to a ridiculous degree in his world. We can't tell you the exact scaling since the he wants to keep it private, but it's more than enough for you.]

"You can't tell me?"

[Ughh…I'm under a contract. I can breach it, but it'll lead to a whole new problem that'll be used against us later in the future.]

"Ah! Then it's okay, I don't need to know everything."

[No! To hell with the contract! I'm telling you! Listen, the scaling is—ACK

[Oi brat, don't go around causing trouble on impulse. Sorry kid, I'll restrain her. You do your job]

"Thanks Buddha"