Faced with the questioning of the mask's phantom, the silver-haired old woman couldn't help but take a deep breath, gripping the armrest of the chair slightly, and firmly refused:

"I don't want it!"

"You don't want it, but it's not that you don't wish to have it, right?"

"I also..."

"Bekinsel, lying is meaningless. You can deceive me with words, but you can't deceive your own heart."

It seemed like talking not to an enemy but to a close friend. After gently calling the silver-haired old woman's name, the phantom of [Narration of Nonexistence] turned into a crow, flapping wings like smoke and lightly landed on her thin shoulder.

"From the first time I saw you a hundred and thirty years ago, I knew you were a person full of love, loving the wind and rain, the earth and mountains, flowers and birds, and your parents and friends... Your love for this world has never diminished, as strong now as it ever was.

And as someone who loves the world, you love your life more than anyone else. If you could, you would want to live forever, continuing to embrace everything you love happily."

The black feathered wing brushed the silver-haired old woman's cheek, with a casual, slight sweep, erasing the marks of time on her face and revealing a youthful face full of vitality.

Tilting its black head, [Narration of Nonexistence] softly said in a distant voice:

"Your heart holds too much love, and also too many regrets, you haven't lived nearly enough!

Bekinsel, although you resolutely refused me, you are indeed resisting from the depths of your heart moving toward another unknown world. You sincerely wish that time could stay with you... and you indeed have that ability!"

"..."

Gazing gently at the silent Great Sorcerer King, the black crow flapped its wings twice again, and after these two light movements, the Great Sorcerer King's silver hair swiftly turned black, and her slightly hunched back straightened up.

The grooves on her arms, neck, and ankles—all exposed skin became smooth, and the grayish-yellow unsightly age spots disappeared silently. The silver-haired old woman, who had once reached the end of life, found her most youthful and beautiful appearance anew.

"Time, ah, is truly something extraordinarily cruel."

Gazing at this face that spanned a hundred and thirty years and appeared before it again, the black crow tilted its head, and said in a soft and wistful voice:

"You really look a lot like your mother when she was young. I even thought I saw another her, and you indeed have the same remarkably outstanding talent. Before you were forty, you had already successfully touched the threshold of time.

Bekinsel, join us! As soon as you are willing to take that step, you can grasp the authority of time at any moment, breaking free completely from humanity's brief and pathetic life, becoming the only True God who controls the authority of time!"

"..."

Confronting the sincere persuasion of [Narration of Nonexistence], the Great Sorcerer King did not answer immediately. Instead, she reached out a slightly trembling hand to touch her smooth face, then blinked her eyes that turned from murky to clear, and looked dazedly at the world that hadn't been this clear for a long time.

"So, are you satisfied with the gift I've given you?"

After flying up from the silver-haired... black-haired girl's round shoulder and landing back on the shoulder of "Princess Catherine," the crow incarnated by [Narration of Nonexistence] said warmly:

"Bekinsel, I understand why your lineage keeps rejecting my invitation. You worry that once you control the authority of [Time], it will lead to the imbalance of the [Watcher's Palace].

Your guess is indeed correct. Although the [Watcher's Palace] of the Clean-up Bureau is wondrous, in the eyes of the Pillar Gods, it's merely an artificial True God that has mastered [Humanity], [Watch], [Time], among other authorities.

When a True God who has mastered the authority of time emerges from within its protection, the originally perfect balance of the [Watcher's Palace] will indeed be broken... But what's wrong with that?"

The black bird head slightly turned, as [Narration of Nonexistence] calmly narrated:

"You, your mother, your grandmother... At least half of your ancestors in this line possess the talent to control time, and are eligible to gain eternal life, yet you are the only one who has survived till now, and you are about to reach the end of your life too.

Your lineage has protected humanity for long enough. It's not that you owe humanity, but humanity owes you! And this debt has reached a point with you that can end completely. You should have taken what rightfully belongs to you long ago."

Pausing for a moment, the black crow then slightly raised its tone and said:

"Bekinsel, although I can't see the future, I vaguely feel that whether you agree to my terms or not, the [Watcher's Palace] that the Clean-up Bureau relies on will completely shatter in this generation, and you should be able to see all of this.

So there's no need for you to burden yourself too much; the final winner will only be us, and you merely choose the slightly more favorable future out of two fundamentally similar outcomes. Why make it hard on yourself? You are just choosing the future!"

"..."

The future, huh...

After silently listening to [Narration of Nonexistence]'s persuasion, the rejuvenated Great Sorcerer King bowed her head, glanced at the shoe print on "Princess Catherine's" calf, then couldn't help but press her lips into a light smile.

"You do make a point. Starting about three years ago, the fragmented futures I saw, although still constantly changing, had mostly only differed in details. The truly significant differences have become minimal, indeed the trajectory of the future is becoming basically the same."

"?"

Surprised by the somewhat abrupt response of the Great Sorcerer King, [Narration of Nonexistence] was momentarily taken aback, then frowned and said:

"What do you mean to say?"

"What I mean is, you are right in your feeling that the [Watcher's Palace] of the Clean-up Bureau has a possibility of being broken, but maybe what happens at that time is not what you think... Well... but you don't have to worry too much, after all, you might not even see that day."

"?!!!"

Casting a mischievous smile towards the [Narration of Nonexistence] whose eyes were filled with uncertainty, the black-haired girl sitting on the wide chair happily kicked her nimble legs, then said with a cheerful smile:

"For those of us who can see the future, to avoid dying by revealing too much of it, our words are always mixed with truth and lies, maybe I just bluffed you just now, don't take it too seriously... Oh, right!"

Upon saying this, seemingly remembering something suddenly, the Great Sorcerer King sized up the "Princess Catherine" with a confused gaze, then raised her hand to give him a thumbs up.

"I think I recognize who you are... Go for it, the future of the Slaughter King Association rests entirely on you!"