Chapter 862: Time Travel

"Oh, you're awake? The surgery was a success—you've succeeded."

Dorothea heard someone speaking to her beside her ear as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

Instantly, she perked up.

What? Did my invincible second brother finally come back?

Her heart leapt with joy, then she instinctively reached out to feel—then pouted.

Pfft, didn't even touch a hair.

"Why are you here? What just happened? I remember I fell into a trap, didn't I?"

The Home Witch looked up at the Fallen Angel Witch sitting not far from her and asked curiously.

She turned her head to glance around and realized she was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room; from the room's layout, it was clearly a hotel.

On the bedside table, a beautiful woman with ten wings and a pure face was idly playing with a massive red diamond.

That was the Sage of Lies, Hermos, and the red diamond in her hand was naturally the Ancestor Blood Diamond.

In response to Dorothea's question, the Fallen Angel Witch Sage did not answer directly, but instead spoke with a touch of awe.

"I never expected you'd be this underestimated—you actually managed to obtain the Ancestor Blood Diamond without my help. That's impressive."

Hermos wore an expression of amazement.

Hearing this, Dorothea couldn't help but lift her nose in pride.

"Hehehe, not at all, Sage, you flatter me—it's just basic operation, nothing but basic operation."

She smiled humbly with her lips, yet inside she remained confused about the current situation.

She remembered clearly she'd fallen into a trap—so how had she suddenly appeared in this unfamiliar room, with Hermos right beside her? Had this Sage of Lies rescued her at the final critical moment?

But if that were true, she hadn't obtained the Ancestor Blood Diamond on her own.

Moreover, she'd already decided not to trade the Ancestor Blood Diamond with Hermos—it was the ancestral treasure of the vampire clan; giving it away felt like a betrayal to the Dracula family.

Just as she was pondering how to delicately express her desire to reclaim the Ancestor Blood Diamond without angering the Sage of Lies, the Sage across from her suddenly tossed the massive blood-red gem back toward her.

"Sage, what are you—?"

Dorothea fumbled to catch the precious diamond, clutching it to her chest, then looked at Hermos in confusion, unsure of her intent.

She hadn't even opened her mouth—why had the other woman given her the diamond already? Oh no, had she been read?

The Home Witch speculated.

Though she possessed the Bodhisattva's mindset and the Academy Head's mental sealing spell, making it hard for ordinary people to read her mind, this Sage of Lies was clearly no ordinary person—she was practically the top mind specialist under the Three Kings.

The illusionary forbidden spell, Mirror Flower, Water Moon, carried immense weight.

Besides, even the forbidden version of Mirror Flower, Water Moon in the Magic Web Library was merely a weakened copy of her power—the true Mirror Flower, Water Moon was actually the Sage's own Authority.

Hmm, Authority—Lies.

In short, the gap was too vast; before her, Dorothea might as well be naked.

Speaking of naked, Dorothea froze. She quickly touched her head, then her face—and her expression turned pale.

Damn it, Senior, you really drop the ball at the critical moment, can't you ever be reliable?

The Home Witch cursed inwardly in frustration.

And she realized another crucial point.

She wasn't wearing her previous banquet attire—the Fafnir battle robe—but a nightgown; her face, completely bare, now lay exposed before a powerful being she couldn't possibly resist.

This is bad—this is the greatest crisis in history. Did anything happen while I was unconscious? Has it already… happened?

Dorothea clutched the bedsheet tightly and eyed the other woman warily.

Yet, to her surprise, the Sage of Lies' gaze was startlingly clear—she showed no sign of being charmed by the Divine Face.

Wow, is this the Sage's will? Truly terrifying.

Still, Hermos' calmness eased Dorothea's nerves, and she felt no strange sensations in her body.

The only question was: could her senses be trusted at all before the master of illusions? That was questionable—after all, there was that classic line.

What made you think I didn't use Mirror Flower, Water Moon?

So, is this reality—or illusion?

I can't tell. I really can't tell.

At this moment, Dorothea deeply understood the terror of a top-tier illusionist—just their presence alone could make you paranoid, forcing you to outwit the air itself.

Fortunately, the Sage across from her soon spoke, breaking the Home Witch's delusions.

"Since you succeeded, I'll keep my promise. Here's a little surprise."

Hermos said.

Hearing this, Dorothea instantly perked up. She tossed aside her suspicions about illusions and stared at the Sage with shining eyes.

Wuhu, this is going to take off.

A speck of ash from the Sage's hand meant a mountain to a little witch like her—and if the Sage called it a surprise, this had to be a mountain of gold.

The Home Witch's anticipation soared to maximum.

Under Dorothea's expectant gaze, Hermos walked to the window and yanked open the curtains.

"How's that for a surprise?"

The Sage smiled cheerfully and asked.

The sudden flood of brilliant sunlight made Dorothea squint—and when her eyes adjusted and she saw the familiar yet alien scenery outside, she widened them in shock.

Hmm, the view outside looked familiar—she'd seen it somewhere before.

Her photographic memory quickly retrieved the source from her memory palace.

It was the scenery she'd seen during the Witch Opera's performance of "Lies and Deceit," crafted by the two Ladies' masterful acting.

This was still Venus City.

Or more precisely, Night City—or the City of Sin.

Hmm, Night City during the late Long Wang era, when the Demon Lord rose.

"Damn, I must not be awake yet—this has to be a dream."

Dorothea blinked, pulled the blanket over her head, and lay back down.

This must be from getting up too fast—how else could she dream of time travel?

But even with her eyes closed, the cheerful laughter by the window kept coming—she couldn't keep playing ostrich. She turned her head toward the radiant Sage.

"What's going on? This isn't a surprise—it's a shock!"

She was genuinely baffled by the situation.

Hermos finally stopped laughing. "The Twelve-Ring Forbidden Spell—Time Travel. You've heard of it, haven't you, Witch of the Woods?"

She said.

Dorothea froze at the words.

She had indeed heard of it—and she'd been wildly tempted by it.

After all, she herself possessed a time talent—how could she remain unmoved by the ultimate time magic?

And as its name suggested, the spell granted the user the ability to travel freely across infinite timelines.

You could go to the past, the future, or explore countless parallel worlds—it was just that magical.

But why bring it up now? What did Time Travel have to do with her current situation?

Dorothea suddenly realized something.

"Sage, are you saying the trap enchantment on the Ancestor Diamond is Time Travel?"

The Home Witch asked, astonished.

She was now thoroughly impressed by the vampire witches—wait, shouldn't trap spells normally be attack or control magic? Why did they use Time Travel?

Send someone on an impromptu trip?

"Mm-hmm, I sold it to them myself back then."

Hermos nodded, smiling even more cheerfully.

Dorothea: "."

Every time I ask a question, it's not me who's confused—it's you.

Well, so the culprit's right here in front of me.

"Hahaha, don't be angry, don't be angry—the world is beautiful, yet you're so irritable. That's not good."

The Sage flashed aside from Dorothea's angry punch and lay down on the very bed Dorothea had just vacated, continuing to explain with a grin.

"Didn't you wonder how I stole the Ancestor Diamond originally? This is exactly how I did it."

"My future self stole the future Ancestor Diamond and sent it back to my past self. How's that for a technique?"

Hermos said with a boastful tone.

Dorothea: "."

The Home Witch fell silent, eyes wide—she was genuinely stunned by the Sage's genius method.

"But didn't you say earlier that you never actually got the diamond—you only stole the idea of the Ancestor Blood Diamond, and never even saw the real thing?"

She recalled the Sage's words during their tavern transaction and now didn't know which statement was true.

"Mm, that was also true,"

Hermos nodded, admitting it.

"But lies must be mixed with truth to be effective. The past me stole only the idea of the diamond—but from now on, it's no longer just a lie."

The Sage Lady pointed at the true Ancient Ancestor's Jewel in Dorothy's arms and spoke thus.

Dorothy: "."

Holy crap, is this what a Dalao 's OCD looks like? So all this elaborate circling was just to swap the fake artifact you once held for this real one?

But what's the point?

The Home Witch was speechless; she could only think that she didn't understand the Dalao 's world at all.

"But now it's a bit problematic. I originally intended to send back only this Jewel—but now you've been sent along too. That's not good."

Yet the Sage Lady suddenly spoke again.

This instantly made Dorothy tense up.

Not good? How not good?

"Can't you just send me back?"

Dorothy asked hastily.

"Of course not. Do you think time travel is some casual stroll you can take whenever you please? Time-shifting is extremely dangerous."

The Sage Lady shook her head, speaking with grave seriousness.

"How to put it? Think of ripples on a river—every time you travel through time, you create ripples on the river of the past. Until those ripples fully settle, you cannot make another time jump, or you risk temporal chaos and getting lost in the river of time."

"Hmm, yeah, I've heard that before."

Dorothy nodded, accepting the reasoning—she had indeed encountered this idea in some magical theories before.

This was essentially the cooldown period for time magic.

"Then how long must I wait to return? I remember time travel has other taboos too—you can't just wander around freely, or you might accidentally alter the future and trigger unimaginable disasters."

The Home Witch's head began to ache; she recalled many other taboos surrounding time travel.

Time travel is meant to be just observation—you should treat it like watching fish in an aquarium, always behind a glass barrier. If you actually dive into the water and interact with the "fish," even slightly, it could trigger chain reactions like the butterfly effect.

It's dangerous, because every person's birth is a tiny miracle. If the past changes, the tiny miracle that led to your own birth might never occur—and you might simply cease to exist.

You weren't born. You don't exist.

In short, endless complications.

Of course, any Dalao capable of time travel usually has ways to prevent such accidents, minimizing their impact as much as possible.

But Dorothy? She had absolutely no such means.

Thus, her mere existence in this past world is an error. She dares not step outside—even a single glance from someone of this era would leave an "imprint" of "Dorothy from thirty thousand years ago."

Think of it like a modern person using a phone and traveling to the past, only to be seen by an ancient person who happens to be a skilled painter—and draws a picture of this strange figure playing with a phone. Who knows what expression an archaeologist would wear a million years later, opening the painter's tomb and seeing that image?

That alone is enough to alter the future.

Of course, in a powerful world like the Witch World, the future isn't so easily changed—worlds have strong self-correcting mechanisms. So if such an accident occurs, it might trigger the world's consciousness to auto-correct, making things even worse.

Damn, now I get it—using time travel as a trap spell really does make sense for vampire witches. For a novice, it's far more troublesome than any other spell.

"Relax, I've thought of a solution. I'll lend you my identity. From now on, you are Hermos. You'll take my place and fulfill everything I was meant to do in this era."

The Liar Sage blinked, suddenly making this proposal.

"Huh? Can you even do that?"

Dorothy blinked, stunned once again by the suggestion.

"Of course you can. After all, the me of this era isn't nearly as famous as the Great Forest Witch. Playing me would be child's play. Otherwise, you can just stay locked in this room for a month—about a month should be enough for the cooldown to end."

Hermos said.

The plot has been revealed. (End of chapter)

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