CHAPTER 352: ONE STEP AT A TIME... HUH

A cold, unyielding barrier that stretched endlessly in every direction. His energy, his concentration, his will—all of it would smash against that wall, accomplishing nothing.

Nothing he did seemed to even scratch it. Not a dent, not a crack.

The more he tried, the more he realized just how far he was from grasping it.

Harry closed his eyes, exhaling slowly, his jaw tight. The weight of it pressed down on him, mocking his efforts. He had never feared difficulty, but this—this was like staring at an ocean he could never cross, no matter how many times he swam.

Still... he couldn’t give up. Not with what was at stake.

Harry let out a long breath, the tension inside his chest swirling with thoughts too heavy to simply dismiss.

His mind had been calculating, rethinking, and circling around countless ideas, yet in the end, the only thing that slipped past his lips was a muttered sigh.

’So confusing...’ he thought to himself, his brows furrowing deeply as if the very weight of the problem was dragging them down.

It was in this moment of frustration, when he was drowning in his thoughts, that the familiar presence stirred within him. Leon’s voice, calm and resolute, cut through the storm of doubts.

[You shouldn’t beat yourself up about this,] Leon spoke inside his mind, his tone steady, almost teacher-like. [You just have to take it one step at a time.]

Harry’s eyes narrowed faintly, and his lips pressed together. The words weren’t what he expected, but as soon as they echoed within him, he felt their truth. His thoughts steadied, the racing mess slowing into something more focused.

’One step at a time, huh...?’ he repeated inwardly, the words lingering as his gaze sharpened. A glint like steel flashed across his eyes, subtle but undeniable.

Leon was right actually. He couldn’t afford to overwhelm himself with the enormity of everything. He simply had to move with calmness, to take measured steps, each one precise and deliberate. Rushing ahead blindly would only destroy the foundations he was working so hard to build.

Patience and clarity—that was what he needed.

Even though he hadn’t made progress with the time element, he couldn’t ignore the fact that in other areas, he had achieved much more than he had once thought possible. The path of time was sealed behind a wall he had yet to break, but that didn’t mean he was stagnant.

No—he was still advancing.

His understanding of other elements had expanded far more than he had anticipated.

Water and light in particular—elements he had initially regarded as mere sidelines to distract himself when time comprehension frustrated him—had blossomed in ways that surprised even him.

He could recall the countless hours spent pushing at the boundary of time affinity, only to meet resistance, silence, and nothingness.

Yet when he shifted, when he played with the gentle flow of water or tried comprehending the element of light, the progress came naturally. Almost effortlessly.

It was ironic. He hadn’t even dedicated his main focus to them, but somehow, they welcomed his comprehension.

Water moved under his control with a rhythm that felt more instinctual now, like a river finding its course through soil.

He could sense its essence not just as a physical element but as a concept—adaptability, patience, ceaseless persistence.

The more he worked with it, the more he realized how fitting it was, how aligned it seemed with his own way of advancing.

Light, on the other hand, was a different kind of mystery. It was elusive, bright, and overwhelming. Yet he had touched it, grasped its fleeting purity and let it resonate with him.

His progress there had shocked him, the principles unfolding in ways that once felt impossible to reach.

A faint smirk tugged at the edge of his lips as he leaned into these thoughts.

"I’ll fully comprehend them soon," he whispered under his breath, his tone filled with conviction rather than arrogance. "Especially water..."

The thought alone stirred his blood.

’Then I’ll be able to use five elements... or maybe even six soon enough.’ he thought, a slight smirk spreading across his lips.

He let his gaze wander absently as his thoughts unfurled.

A few years ago, this kind of possibility would have been laughable. Something beyond him, beyond anyone. The kind of ambition that only fools or dreamers whispered about. But now... now he stood at the very brink of it.

The possibilities before him were endless. Limitless.

The weight of that thought sank into him, but instead of crushing him, it lifted him higher, pushing his will to sharpen, harden, and prepare for the road ahead.

***

Three days later...

The world around Harry seemed unnaturally quiet, as though the silence itself was holding its breath.

He stood firmly on a wide, empty tarred road that stretched endlessly in both directions.

And there, at the center of it all, Harry stood.

The faint breeze carried dust across the surface of the asphalt, brushing against his figure like whispers of ghosts.

But Harry’s attention wasn’t on the surroundings; instead, it was on the three figures gathered around him, each of them radiating an aura of intensity and resolve.

The first was a girl whose beauty would have stolen the breath of any ordinary man.

Her long black hair cascaded smoothly down her back, gleaming faintly under the muted light of the cloudy sky.

Her eyes, sharp and piercing green, seemed to burn with a determination that couldn’t be faked.

She wasn’t smiling—no, her expression was fierce, resolute, the face of someone who had already steeled herself against whatever was to come.

Miranda.

Harry’s gaze lingered on her for a moment longer, and he recognized that same fire he had seen in her before.

Even amidst uncertainty, she stood with unwavering conviction, as though nothing could sway her. Her presence alone carried strength—not physical, but the kind born from willpower, from an unyielding refusal to back down.

Beside her, standing like a towering wall of muscle, was a man with a physique so large and burly it seemed almost unnatural.