The River of Time.
That was the name Charlie gave it when he used his raw power to tear and sever the dimension of space and time in the realm he entered.
This river was not filled with ordinary water, but rather a glowing crystalline liquid that radiated an aura of millions of colors. Its flow pierced through the endless void.
Within its waters lay billions of visual illusions or bubbling fragments.
Every bubble or ripple of water displayed flashes of history: the birth of a planet, the collapse of an ancient empire, and even the smile of a mortal human thousands of years ago.
Its breadth spanned hundreds of thousands of light-years. From the banks of the river, Charlie observed galaxy swirls and giant nebulae that served as 'river stones' along its path.
The River of Time held the past, present, and future of every living being in the World of Danmachi!
Except for the gods, all living creatures were bound within the River of Time. Every ripple or shift in this river possessed the capability to erase their very existence.
Altering the past to save someone—such as reviving a deceased lover—was one of the most taboo and dangerous acts imaginable.
If a powerful individual attempted such a feat, terrible consequences lay in wait.
The air surrounding the river felt impossibly heavy. Being near it made time feel chaotic; a single second on the outside could feel like millions of years inside one's mind, or vice versa.
That was precisely what Charlie was experiencing right now.
The coldness of the River of Time stemmed not from ice, but from the chill of the void. A coldness that felt as though it could freeze one's 'existence' and memories, rather than merely the physical body.
(Even a god risks falling into the River of Time if they aren't careful. No wonder those troublemakers don't mess around with time.)
Charlie immediately understood just how dangerous the River of Time truly was.
His objective of altering a death in the past would shatter the chain of cause and effect in the future. As a consequence, he would have to bear an insanely overwhelming Causality Backlash. This punishment was a conceptual attack capable of instantly erasing his existence from history, as if he had never been born at all.
Regrettably, no matter how severe the backlash launched by the River of Time against Charlie was, it did not affect him in the slightest.
For Charlie, whose strength was at the 4-Digit tier—with his true 3-Digit power sealed away—based on the power scaling of Little Garden, many 4-Digit entities possessed the ability to trigger a Paradigm Shift, a historical turning point capable of influencing, disrupting, or altering the course of fate across infinite parallel worlds.
What Charlie desired was not an Ais from a parallel timeline, but to alter the history of Ais's death in his own world!
Traversing the River of Time, Charlie caught glimpses of Bell's various lives across numerous parallel timelines.
✲ The Jester who Traveled Across Time
Bell was accidentally thrown into the past roughly seven years prior, right in the golden age of the Evilus conflict—Orario's Dark Age.
Stranded in the past, Bell was temporarily adopted by the Astraea Familia. Since he was forbidden from recklessly disrupting the timeline, he concealed his true identity and adopted the alias "Ar."
Bell acted foolishly like a jester in order to move freely, anonymously sharing secret intelligence and tactics with the Loki Familia and Astraea Familia to minimize casualties caused by Evilus's schemes.
✲ Blue Bird
In the original timeline, Alfia and Zald chose to become villains alongside the Evilus organization in Orario so they could die honorably while simultaneously igniting a heroic spirit in the new generation.
In the Blue Bird timeline, following the destruction of the Zeus Familia and Hera Familia by the Black Dragon, Alfia and Zald tracked Zeus down to a remote village. The moment they laid eyes on baby Bell, who possessed red eyes and a purity of soul strikingly similar to her twin, Meteria...
Alfia broke into tears.
Her love and maternal instincts awoke, causing her to abandon her suicidal intentions and choose to remain in the village to raise Bell alongside Zald and Zeus.
Unlike the main version of Bell, who set off for Orario without any technical preparation, the Bell in this timeline obtained the finest mentors in the world.
Bell was trained from the age of 7 until 14 by Alfia, one of the Hera Familia's strongest genius Mages, and Zald, the formidable swordsman of the Zeus Familia.
He grew into an exceptionally disciplined child possessing veteran reflexes, sharp combat instincts, and a mature grasp of tactics long before setting foot in Orario.
The greatest flaw in this timeline was that Bell lacked the Liaris Freese Skill—the love-and-longing-based fast-growth acceleration.
His soul was already 'fully filled' by Alfia's affection, leaving him with no 'emotional longing' to trigger the awakening of that cheat skill. Bell grew strong through normal means via rigorous, structured training.
As a fellow member of the Hera Familia, Charlie was left speechlessly amused by Alfia being overly protective toward her nephew.
Bell's social life and romance were completely altered due to his aunt's overprotectiveness.
Zeus could not freely brainwash Bell with perverted obsessions or teach him peeping tactics because every time Zeus tried, Alfia would instantly pummel him with Gospel magic.
Charlie felt it was no exaggeration to call Alfia a terrifying trial for girls.
Alfia acted as the 'Final Boss' for any woman who dared approach Bell.
Girls like Ais Wallenstein, Hestia, Ryuu Lion, or Lili had to undergo grueling physical and mental evaluation tests directly under the intimidation of Alfia's Level 7 aura before being permitted to so much as hold Bell's hand.
Seeing Ais approach Bell in that fragment, Charlie remained indifferent; there was not the slightest hint of jealousy. He knew that Ais was not the Ais he knew.
"Haaah... In the end, you still died young, Alfia." Charlie sighed.
He witnessed that even though this timeline appeared happy like a family comedy, there was a melancholic side written within it.
Both Alfia and Zald suffered from incurable congenital illnesses and monster poison effects. The sole reason Alfia was able to survive beyond her lifespan was sustained entirely by her unyielding willpower (Mother Power) to see Bell grow up.
Knowing that his aunt and uncle did not have much time left, Bell made a sacred promise to Alfia that he would train hard to become The Last Hero who would finalize their past duty: slaughtering the One-Eyed Black Dragon.
"..."
Charlie was in no rush. After all, for a power of his caliber, time was nothing more than a concept he could play with as he pleased. Since he was already inside the River of Time, he spectated the protagonist of the Danmachi World across various other timelines.
✲ Aedes Vesta Timeline
At a crucial turning point in the holy battle against the ancient divine flame, Bell failed to save Hestia.
As a result of losing his most beloved goddess, Bell's mind shattered completely. He transformed from a cheerful rabbit into a cold, dark knight consumed by deep trauma—resembling a tragic hero from the ancient era.
✲ Arrow of the Orion Timeline
Bell met Artemis, the goddess of the hunt who utterly detested men, yet found herself captivated by the purity of Bell's soul.
An ancient monster named Antares took Artemis hostage and fused with her body. At the end of the story, Bell was forced to wield a legendary spear to kill Artemis in order to save the world.
Before dissipating, Artemis promised she would reincarnate and pursue Bell's love once more after 10,000 years. Artemis's death left a deeply profound emotional scar on Bell in this timeline.
✲ Ryuu What-If
Bell fell in love with Ryuu Lion instead of Ais Wallenstein following the horrifying ordeal on the 37th Floor.
Because Bell shifted his love away from Ais to Ryuu, the Liaris Freese Skill—which was triggered by his admiration for Ais—instantly burned out and vanished. His rapid growth came to an abrupt halt.
To protect the Hestia Familia from the wrath of Freya, who was obsessed with Bell, Bell and Ryuu decided to flee Orario together. They sought out Astraea in the countryside to ask for her blessing and guidance.
Because Bell's growth stopped and Orario lost one of its finest heroic pawns, humanity failed to defeat the One-Eyed Black Dragon. The dragon awakened, destroyed Orario, and triggered the apocalypse in the Lower World.
This timeline focused on the survival struggles of Bell and Ryuu in a world already ruined.
*RUMBLE!*
"Insolent fool! Who dares enter the Time Tunnel!"
A voice filled with rage suddenly interrupted Charlie, who was thoroughly enjoying watching the fragments of the protagonist's lives.
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