From Kevin's ten fingertips, countless strands of energy so fine they were almost invisible stretched out and connected to the puppet.
The puppet came alive, its heavy mechanical body moving with unexpected grace. It leapt before Morgan and began to perform a scythe dance.
Morgan stared wide-eyed at the puppet, his expression full of fascination. He had always been passionate about puppetry; otherwise, he wouldn't have founded the Puppet Club.
Seeing his passion about to reach a whole new level, it would be a lie to say he wasn't thrilled.
"What magnificent art," he nodded in admiration, eyes gleaming with awe.
Kevin, seeing his reaction, smiled in satisfaction and nodded. He said, "As expected of someone destined to meet me. You truly understand art."
"To me, puppetry is the highest form of art. Now that I've seen a puppet of such refinement, it feels like witnessing a masterpiece." Morgan nodded and spoke earnestly.
Kevin waved his hand, and countless images of puppets appeared—ranging from the lowest to the highest ranks.
Morgan's eyes widened as his heartbeat quickened, as if he had wandered into a museum filled with priceless masterpieces.
"Do you see it? The one I'm controlling now is just a low-ranked puppet. There are far greater ones waiting for you. There are even SSS-rank puppets I've always dreamed of, yet could never reach." As Kevin spoke, his face turned heavy with regret.
His deep eyes rested on Morgan as he sighed, "In the past, I was too confident in my own strength and walked the world alone. In the end, I still couldn't defeat the monsters. Don't make the same mistake as I did. Build your own force, and find comrades you can trust."
Then he waved his hand again, and a thick book floated out of the void.
"This is the knowledge I've gathered throughout my life. I hope it will help smooth your path toward mastery. My final wish was to build an academy, but I never had the chance.
If you could fulfill that dream for me, nothing would make me happier. My time is almost up. I wish you to reach the pinnacle of art. And may you venture to the deepest part of chaos to become the greatest puppeteer of all."
After saying that, Kevin's projection slowly faded away. Morgan clasped his hands and bowed deeply in solemn respect.
"Master, I will never let you down."
Though Kevin had never formally acknowledged their bond as master and disciple, even half a word of teaching makes one a teacher.
Kevin had passed down vast knowledge to him. Refusing to call the man his master would make him someone without honor.
He opened the enormous book, its pages filled with several main sections: a bestiary of monsters, detailed information about puppets, techniques for controlling them, and methods to strengthen a puppeteer's power.
There were eight elemental types: fire, water, ice, lightning, wind, earth, wood, and metal. Each element countered two others in a delicate balance.
Additionally, puppets ranked S or higher had a rare chance to awaken one of two powers—holy or abyss.
As Morgan read further, he finally understood that the pendant had been forged from both holy and abyssal forces. Near the end of his life, Kevin had sacrificed everything to chaos to create it and asked chaos to find his heir.
The ability to reverse time was merely a passive mechanism of the pendant—a promise from chaos itself to fulfill Kevin's final wish. Kevin never possessed the power to turn back time.
Morgan lost himself in that endless sea of knowledge. He didn't know how long had passed when he finally reached the final page.
He froze, his eyes slightly damp, emotion welling in his chest. He murmured, "I never thought a master I barely met would be this kind to me."
At the end of the book was a final message from Kevin:
"My successor, most of my possessions have been sacrificed, but I managed to leave you a small gift. This puppet is modeled after the very first one I ever owned. Its power is not immense, but its meaning is.
I know the early stages of your journey will be difficult, so let this be your strength to grow. I've done all I can to help you. The rest of the path, you must walk it yourself."
A box appeared before him. Inside were six distinct components of a puppet: the core, frame, armor, conduit veins, sensor unit, and weapon.
"The debt I owe my master can never be repaid. I'll make sure our art shines brighter than ever, until puppeteers become the emblem of this era." Morgan spoke, his eyes blazing with determination.
…
He slowly opened his eyes, then quickly glanced at the clock. The moment he saw the date and time, his face froze. Then curved into a satisfied smile.
"Perfect. Time inside that space flows several times slower than outside. That means I can train my puppet control much faster." He let out a deep breath, his gaze shifting toward the six boxes scattered around him.
"It's time to create my first puppet. This is the hope my master entrusted to me. I can't let him down." Morgan said, his eyes sharp and unwavering.
He recalled every detail of the magic circle used to create an E-rank ice-type puppet. Then he fetched ink and a brush, kneeling down to draw the formation on the floor.
Morgan's hands were deft—naturally so for a professional puppeteer. His drawing skills weren't bad either, and he succeeded on the very first try.
He placed the six boxes in their exact positions, and then something miraculous occurred. Both the magic circle and the boxes began to emit a mystical gray light.
Everything slowly transformed into streams of energy, merging together until they became one. The energy condensed into a puppet—small in size, harmless-looking, almost like a miniature robot model.
Morgan wasn't surprised, knowing there was still one final step in puppet creation. He took out a small knife and made a shallow cut on his fingertip. A drop of blood fell gently and landed right on the puppet.
The puppet suddenly flared with light, shot upward, and then dove straight into Morgan's forehead. At that instant, he felt eight empty nodes within his mind, and one had just been filled by the puppet.
"It worked." Morgan smiled, his breathing steadying as the weight on his shoulders eased.