My setting is above yours!

Chapter 103: The Declaration of the Moment – ​​Rewriting Reality, Defeating a Saint in a Single Thought (4k6)

Ron heard a series of crisp knocking sounds, but faced with the gloomy sky on the horizon, which seemed to be cracked with each knocking as if it were about to break apart, he felt no fear.

His large hand might not have much force in Ideal City, but in the "Potion Era," it was incredibly effective at grabbing people.

How could a mere [7] possibly aspire to become a [mysterious] god, break through the spirit world, and smuggle himself into the ideal city?
Go tell me the moment I've already set!

With that thought in mind, Ron opened the Dimensional Update Manual and selected "Add to World Save File".

[World save file "Potion Era" selected, joined the world...]

The next moment, Ron found himself in a prickly pile of hay, and a disgusting stench filled his nostrils.

But if you turn your head to the side, you can see a girl in a white robe with gold thread lying on her side in a pile of hay. The afterglow of the setting sun shines down, outlining her porcelain-white profile and making the pearl earring on her right earlobe shine with a faint light.

Her long, golden hair was tied into a long braid, which was now draped over her chest and held in her arms. She frowned and mumbled some broken, mumbled sleep-talking, which was hard to hear clearly.

The last time, when they left during the true "Potion Age," Ron and Idrila were so exhausted that they had no choice but to hide together in a farmer's cowshed to rest.

Although Ron returned this time with no physical depletion and his spirit intact, aside from his original character traits being completely worn away, he was mentally exhausted from the battle in [Flowing Light and Shadow]...

Looking at Idrila sleeping peacefully, I was momentarily infected by her languidness and wanted to lie down in the prickly hay and lazily clear my mind.

However, Ron quickly banished this feeling of laziness—

The important matter of returning to the "Potion Era" hasn't been dealt with yet. Before completely resolving the trouble [7], Ron is still being hunted down in the "Potion Era".

How can one rest peacefully at a time like this?

Let's take care of the important matters first...

With these thoughts in mind, Ron looked at the Dimensional Update Manual, which had been glowing and showing clear signs of change since the very beginning of the "Potion Era"—

[Detected entry into the world save file: "Potion Era". This era has already experienced conflicts between the main storyline and the save file's storyline. Players are being given a timeline to change the conflict point.]

The next moment, as the text on the screen faded, Ron's soul heard a distant, resonant bell ringing. The sound seemed to emanate from the depths of his heart, yet also from the distant heavens, from a place thousands of feet above the clouds, where nothing else existed.

He immediately felt a subtle sensation, his spirituality was inexplicably stirred, as if some special, extraordinary power was condensing within him...

With a thought, Ron sent this power falling from his soul and landing lightly in his physical hands.

It was an illusory pocket watch, as if it were drawn with simple lines, like a simple sketch on a two-dimensional surface.

At this moment, it is rapidly solidifying, quickly becoming full, transforming from its shape, which was outlined by simple lines, into a three-dimensional reality, turning into a pocket watch with a bronze-colored shell, no time markings inside, only a hand turning.

The hand was spinning rapidly, and there was a small knob on the outside of the pocket watch that seemed to be able to adjust the rapidly spinning hand.

'This pocket watch... is it the [moment] that can alter cause and effect, anchoring the world line?'

Ron looked at the ordinary-looking, albeit somewhat strange, bronze pocket watch in his hand, and felt a little puzzled.

'But... how do I use it?'

The question had barely surfaced in his mind when he saw the watch face ripple as if it had melted, transforming into the image that had been anchored when the [moment] was fixed.

On the edge of the dial, there is also a time marker, under which are engraved fine, almost invisible patterns.

Ron couldn't make out what those patterns were, but they clearly carried an extremely mysterious power.

He glanced at the fine lines and immediately, without any instruction, understood their meaning—

This represents the failure of the promotion ceremony of "Yal Austin to become [Trick] Sequence Four 'Drama Actor', [7]".

'So... as long as you stop turning this button, this "moment" is considered used up?'

Ron was deeply aware that as long as he turned the knob to a stop and the pointer pointed to the "moment" anchored on this scale, it would actually happen in this world.

'That's really simple...'

A thought struck him, and he was just about to turn the knob on the pocket watch to stop it when he suddenly heard a solid, deep chime in his ear—

"Boom, boom, boom!"

This time, it wasn't like before; it felt somewhat unreal, as if it were just the sound of a bell from the depths of my heart.

Rather, it truly comes from the horizon, from the heavens above, a realm beyond the comprehension of mortals, from another world above this mortal realm—

From that mysterious and vast boundless wilderness!

The gentle chime of the bell was not harsh, but it was so powerful that it could instantly wake someone from a daze.

Ron was fine; seemingly because he possessed the [Time Capsule], the bell's chime had no effect on him. However, Idrila, who was fast asleep beside him, seemed to have been struck by something heavy, her heartbeat momentarily stopping—

The next moment, she suddenly stood up, panting heavily, with a fine layer of cold sweat on her forehead.

"Fa, what happened?"

She looked at Ron, a trace of fear and boundless confusion lingering in her eyes.

Seeing Idrila's expression, Ron was stunned for a moment, then frowned instantly.

'Was it that bell that rang that made Idrila react like that?'

'That bell sound was similar to the one that rang when I took out the [Time], but it rang suddenly. It seems that something was affecting Idrila that didn't happen to me…'

Ron immediately realized what had happened and quickly asked:

"There was a bell that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, but nothing else happened... Are you alright?"
"Did you have a nightmare, or..."

Hearing Ron's question, Idrila closed her eyes, recalling the scene she had just witnessed, and gradually calmed down, saying in a dry voice:

"It really felt like a nightmare..."

"However, I suspect that it was an unspeakable being, an unspeakable adult, who inadvertently influenced me in some way..."

She shared her deductions, and then carefully recounted to Ron what she had just seen in her dream.

She heard the bell the moment it rang, and was awakened from her slumber by its deafening sound.

But while she was conscious, she wasn't fully awake—

The sound of the bell shattered her dream, causing her spirit to tremble violently, and in a daze, she saw a magnificent image...

An endless array of bronze clocks and gears formed a bronze palace.

She seemed to fall into it the instant the bell rang, and saw a figure whose face was indistinct, as if outlined by shattered lenses, holding a lantern that illuminated a giant clock in the hall—on the clock face, seven grooves were lit up, and within the grooves flowed shimmering, crystalline light like fragments.

The remaining five markings were dim and without light, but one of them was undergoing a strange change. A faint light flickered in the groove that should have been empty, making it difficult to see clearly.

At that moment, the figure seemed to smile. Although Idrila couldn't see his face clearly, she could clearly sense that he was quite happy.

Although there was no one else in this strange, bronze-colored hall, only this figure outlined by shattered glass, He still turned slightly, raised the lantern, and let its light illuminate the dial of the giant clock, with a proud air of inviting others to admire His masterpiece—

At that moment, Idrila was suddenly filled with horror, realizing that there was someone else in the bronze hall...

This person invited someone like her, someone who came to this bronze-colored hall in her sleep!

Moreover, this person was definitely not just inviting her...

At that moment, this unknown being in a high position might have invited everyone who heard the bell!

The moment she realized what had happened, she saw the hands of the clock move sluggishly to the dimly lit mark, and a deafening chime rang in her ears. She felt an extremely terrifying fear, and her heart stopped for a moment.

Then, she found herself awake, back in reality...

After listening to Idrila's explanation, Ron's eyes flickered, and he immediately realized that what Idrila had seen was probably not just wishful thinking.

'A bronze-colored hall, a giant clock, twelve o'clock, a reflection in a mirror...'

'Idrila… in that dazed state after the bell tolled, did you see the master of the [Hall of Memories], the god who controls the sequence of [Time]?'

'Is this change because I brought up a specific "moment"...?'

Ron seemed thoughtful, but he didn't feel any sense of crisis because of this.

Just from what Idrila said, one could sense that the Lord of Time seemed quite pleased.

The anchoring of this new "moment" seemed to Him something to be so delighted with that He could announce it to the whole world; He was absolutely thrilled with it...

Moreover, the [Moments] produced by the Dimensional Update Manual clearly didn't cause Ron any trouble; the God of Time seemed unable to track down the whereabouts of the [Moments].

Otherwise, given the immense power of this Lord of Time, if He could trace back time, He would probably already be standing before Ron, enthusiastically discussing matters related to the concept of "time"...

Ron was thinking to himself, while Idrila, who was standing next to him, calmed down after recounting everything she had just witnessed.

Thanks to the Lord of Time, although she had only fallen asleep for a short while before being awakened, Idrila was inexplicably free of all her fatigue, and her whole being was full of energy and spirituality.

She cautiously looked around, glanced at the simple, unadorned cowshed, and earnestly said to Ron:
"For some reason, I feel like I've recovered... How is Mr. Ron doing now?"
"That knight who dared to impersonate a judge is probably still chasing us. We're not far from Fog City. If possible, I'd like to continue our journey now."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "Of course, if you are still very tired, I can carry you on my back for now, but that will make our escape a little slower..."

Idrisla is quite aware of the potential danger...

Ron shrugged. "There's no need to be in such a hurry..."

But before he could finish speaking, a clear, slightly spirited young voice rang out beside them:
"Yes, Your Excellency, I think you don't need to rush."

The Silver Knight, gripping his pure silver spear, strolled leisurely into the cowshed, a smirk playing on his lips as he looked at Ron and Idrila.
"You two gentlemen, you can't go anywhere."

"...Villain!"

Upon seeing the Silver Knight suddenly appear, Idrila's pupils contracted for a moment, and she felt immense pressure.

But she still stood up without hesitation, grabbed the Inquisitor's standard weapon, the Bloodthorn, and was prepared to perish together with the Silver Knight.

However, before she could draw her sword, a sudden surge of gray mist bound her hands, instantly rendering her unable to fight and turning her into a prisoner.

Feeling this utterly irresistible power, Idrila grew anxious, turned to Ron, and shouted:

"Mr. Ron, hurry—"

But before she could finish speaking, another cloud of gray mist drifted over and instantly choked her, rendering her speechless.

At this moment, a hunched old man wearing glasses emerged from thin air and calmly gave an order to the silver knight beside him:
"Alright, the 'protagonist' has been recaptured. Let's head back to Evening Bell City. I'm going to reset the script..."

From the moment he appeared, He never once looked at Ron, simply ignoring him as if he were ignoring a worm pupa under his feet.

But before He could finish speaking, before He could arrange the next steps with the Silver Knight, Ron, the insect He had ignored and was about to crush at will, suddenly spoke up, interrupting Him:

"A re-enactment of the Evening Bell City script?"

Ron asked in a calm tone, seemingly unaware of the immense power [7] that far surpassed Sequence Seven:
Did you ask me?

Upon hearing this, the silver knight's expression froze, and a hint of doubt arose in his heart:
'Why does this guy dare to say something like that at a time like this... He didn't seem like a fool when he fought me before, so why is he so confident now?'

'Something seems off about this person...'

Meanwhile, the person standing to the side, who had been cautiously observing Ron for a long time after he added his pen to the [World Script], finally saw through Ron completely and knew that he had no rank and was only a mere Sequence Seven before deciding to take Idrila away, was slightly taken aback and couldn't help but feel a little amused:
'A Sequence Seven [Spiritual Medium], who doesn't even possess any special abilities related to divinity, has become this arrogant. Truly ignorant of their own limitations…'

He didn't pay much attention to Ron, glancing at him briefly before looking away.

With a casual wave of his hand, a semi-transparent thread suddenly appeared in the air and stabbed towards Ron, ready to crush the noisy insect with ease.

but……

He clearly didn't have that chance.

Ron calmly turned the last screw, fixing the hands of the pocket watch in his hand.

The hands of this pocket watch, seemingly visible only to him and completely unknown to everyone else, finally stopped, freezing at the "moment" he needed, just as Ron wished.

The next moment, Ron spoke softly:
"Now, because of your contempt and disregard, I hereby declare...[7], your ambitions are shattered."

"Yal Austin will become a [theatre actor], while your ascension ceremony will fail completely, your avatar will be destroyed... You will only be able to eke out a living in the spirit world, unable to take a single step outside!"

'What is this person saying...'

The thought of astonishment had just arisen in the minds of [7] and the Silver Knight when the world suddenly changed.

Countless memories and powers were poured into the Silver Knight's body out of thin air, and he inexplicably ascended to the position of demigod, becoming the "drama actor" of the [Trickery] sequence four.

The once arrogant and domineering figure, who seemed to control everything, suddenly appeared as if subjected to boundless divine power, its entire form cracking inch by inch...

His body decayed and turned to dust.

In the blink of an eye, this avatar, carrying His shock, anger, and fear, shattered instantly, along with the countless avatars of Evening Bell City that had long since died and been turned into puppets by [7], collapsing completely and disappearing from the world!
(End of this chapter)