The two orcs brought Horus and Vi deep inside the cave as if they were hostages.
Over time, the orc escorting Horus kept shoving him because of the side talks.
Every time he shoved Horus, Vi felt enraged. "I swear, if he pushes you one more time, I'll cut off his head," she threatened.
He glanced at her; of course, he was surprised. Vi was the first person he believed to be truly loyal to him.
If she said she'd cut off the orc's head for his sake, then he'd believe her. "It's okay," he said, calming her down.
However, the orc only shrugged it off; if they hadn't reached the red steel door, he would have put Vi's threat to the test.
Volka's inner throne room was far more majestic than the outside.
The inside was lined with a red carpet leading to the orc clad in a tattered hooded robe. As he walked in, Horus couldn't see Volka's face, only a pair of glowing purple eyes.
The color of Volka's glowing eyes was no different from the lights etched into the pillars of the room, with several orcs standing in the dark corners behind them.
Horus felt like he was going to die; after all, the energy Volka emitted was more suffocating than welcoming.
"Hmm, you finally came," Volka said with a grin.
"Yes, I have come to bargain for the release of my people," Horus replied.
At his words, Volka and the orcs lurking in the dark corners began to laugh.
Lady Vi clenched her fists tightly; unlike the emperor who had come to negotiate, she was here for blood.
"Bargain? No, you have come to meet your end," Volka said, waving his hand. "I shall cleanse this world of its ruler until I become the one and only king," he added.
By this time, Volka's men had already surrounded Horus and Vi.
But Horus' confidence did not falter. 'I just hope I'm reading this correctly.'
[Cosmic Time Gaze] - [Active]
Description: You have obtained the gaze of time; experience possible future outcomes within a minute.
(Cooldown: 90 minutes)
[Time Domain] - [Passive]
Description: Inside the time domain, enemies will move a hundred times slower than you, or you will be a hundred times faster.
(Cooldown: none)
[Time Rewind] - [Active]
Description: The player is able to rewind ten seconds back into the past, even after death.
(Cooldown: 10 minutes)
[Time Expansion] - [Passive]
Description: This expands the time domain, covering over two hundred meters.
[Time Freeze] - [Active]
Description: Grants the player the ability to instantly stop time for ten minutes.
(Cooldown: 10 minutes)
These were the abilities Horus had acquired after binding with Lady Vi; however, there was one that wasn't part of her abilities.
This one seemed to have come from the 10x reward system; the time ability had evolved to its highest form.
[Infinite Time Loop] - [Active]
Description: Enables the player to relive any moment over and over again until they decide to stop. This does not come with a cooldown.
The only thing Horus was worried about was whether he could trust what he was reading; dying and waking up in another body was already real.
He wouldn't be surprised if he were reading everything upside down.
"Horus!!!!" Vi screamed, her voice rising far beyond normal human limits.
He was so focused on the system that he didn't notice when an orc stabbed a blade through his heart.
Horus' breath seized as his heartbeat gradually faded; he dropped to his knees, coughing out blood.
"Fuck," he groaned in agonizing pain.
Vi, on the other hand, had gone into a rampage. The moment Horus was stabbed, she lost control, slaughtering every orc who stood in her way.
Before Horus finally died, he heard the familiar system notification.
-Ding
[Infinite Time Loop has been activated]
[Would the player like to repeat this moment?]
[Yes] [No]
Horus smiled; he had been right after all. 'Yes, please.'
---
In less than a minute, the entire scene rewound to the moment Horus first stepped into Volka's throne room.
"Hmm, you finally came," Volka said with a grin.
Horus' heart jumped with excitement; he clearly remembered a blade piercing through his heart just moments ago.
'It really worked.'
Long before Horus began this journey, he had already used Cosmic Gaze to search for a future where he saved everyone without casualties.
In every outcome, there were losses; he even saw his second wife here, but she died.
Or another possibility where Lady Vi died saving him, or one where half of his people perished.
Out of all these, he found one. This was it.
"Yes, I have come to bargain for the release of my people," Horus replied.
At his words, Volka and the orcs in the shadows laughed just as they had before.
But Volka felt something was off.
"Bargain? No, you have come to meet your end," Volka said, waving his hand. "I shall—" He paused.
He straightened slightly to get a better look at Horus. "Is this an illusion? I remember saying those words."
"No, this is real," Horus replied with a smile.
After hearing that, Volka grinned and waved his hand again. Once more, Horus died the same way; nothing changed, not even the slightest movement of Vi's blade.
Yet again, he returned to this moment.
"Hmm, you finally came," Volka said with a grin.
"Yes, I have come to bargain for the release of my people," Horus replied, wasting no time as he cut straight to the point.
This time, Volka did not laugh. "What is this?" he asked. "I have killed you before."
This was only the third time, and Volka had already seen through the trick, but Horus wasn't surprised. From the countless possibilities he had witnessed, he felt a lingering sense of dread.
Volka's destructive strength was unmatched; he had confirmed that in a timeline where he fought the monster head-on.
He stood no chance, even when Volka used only ten percent of his power.
This was the only way.
"Of course you have. Would you like it to stop? Release my people."
"Fool, make it stop or you'll die over and over again. You cannot do this forever."
Horus chuckled. "Believe me, death has become an old friend."
Volka felt provoked; this time, he transformed into a gigantic demon, even crushing his entire throne room just to squash Horus beneath his feet.
"Here we go again," was all Horus could say.