MTLNOVEL Chapter 292: Eagle Of Time
Meanwhile, inside the temple…
Without a moment of pause, the space around him shifted again. The crystalline lake vanished, and Daniel found himself in a massive cavern, its walls lined with silver hourglasses, their glowing sands flowing with a strange, mystical rhythm.
The cavern's ceiling was like a curtain of stars, and the light of a full moon shone down from above. In the center of the cavern, a massive creature appeared, immediately drawing his attention.
An eagle — its wings woven from silver light and darkness, each feather representing a phase of the moon: new, crescent, full.
Its eyes glowed like twin hourglasses, and with every beat of its wings, the air rippled with lines of time. Daniel spun his sword in his hand as he looked at it.
[ Welcome to the third trial ]
[ Defeat the Eagle Of Time, embodiment of Time and Cycle ]
"So this one's about the Time Cycle aspect," he muttered.
The moon, with its shifting phases — new, crescent, full — represents change, renewal, and cycles of time.
In other words, with the Law of Moon, one could tap into the concept of time, though naturally in more limited ways.
Still, this left him slightly confused. His instincts were starting to tell him that this temple wasn't just a simple place tied to the moon's power — that it was hiding deeper and more important secrets.
The reason was right before him: the Time Eagle itself. The Time Eagle was a manifestation of the higher Law of Time, and technically, it shouldn't have anything to do with the Moon Law. Sure, one of the moon's aspects touched on time cycles, but only at a limited level.
Yet here he was, facing a Time Eagle, and he had to fight it… Slowly, he began to doubt if this place was really just a Moon Temple.
"Who even decided to call this the Eternal Moon Temple? The founder of the Everlight Moon Guild? Why? Just because of the Eternal Moon Orb? But that orb isn't even an orb — it's the eye of a goddess."
"Maybe they called it that because it's the goddess's eye." He frowned, and honestly, that did make some sense.
Still, something about this whole qualification process set off alarms in his head.
"Maybe I'm overthinking it," he sighed. Maybe he'd just become too cautious and paranoid after everything that had happened recently.
The eagle struck with a single beat of its wings, releasing a wave of temporal energy toward Daniel.
The air grew heavy, and Daniel's body slowed, as if seconds had turned into hours.
He felt phantom wounds along his arm suddenly age, as if years had passed in an instant.
The voice of the Eternal Moon Orb echoed in his ears again: Feel the moon's cycle. Time is a current you can swim through.
He listened and forced his mind to interpret the orb's words… though he didn't realize that each time it spoke, dark stains began to form on his soul.
Daniel fortified his body with Death Energy, the black aura coiling around him like a shield, nullifying the slowing effect of time. With a quick leap toward the eagle, he charged Heaven's Honor with its white aura.
The white glow shone like a sacred blade, and with a slash, he grazed the eagle's left wing.
With a temporal screech, the eagle rewound the moment, repeating the same strike at Daniel.
"Old trick! You think I won't notice?" He dodged the repeated strike with a sharp sidestep.
The eagle then summoned two smaller versions of itself, each with wings displaying different moon phases.
"Why does everyone love making clones of themselves?"
The three attacked in unison, sending waves of temporal energy that shook the cavern floor and cracked the hourglasses along the walls.
One of the eagles accelerated time, and Daniel felt his body grow heavier, as though his energy was draining away.
He focused on his inner sense, and the Eternal Moon Orb projected the image of the moon's cycles in his mind — new, crescent, full, then back to new.
Daniel synchronized his body with the cycle using Death Energy, feeling his phantom wounds begin to heal. With his sword's aura, he fired a concentrated beam of light at the smaller eagle.
The white glow pierced the cavern like a meteor, and the smaller eagle shattered into drifting silver particles.
The main eagle and the second clone beat their wings in fury, creating a wave of reversed time aimed to nullify Daniel's previous strike.
But Daniel spun sharply, channeling Death Energy into the ground and unleashing a surge of darkness that shattered the temporal lines. With a high leap, he closed in on the main eagle and delivered a spinning slash with Heaven's Honor.
His blade shone like a crescent of light and darkness, engulfing the main eagle entirely.
The cavern shook, the hourglasses cracked, and the eagles dissolved into drifting silver motes that vanished into the air.
"That's that… Interesting how their strength is capped at a certain level and doesn't go beyond that."
The cavern stilled, the light of the full moon once again shining down from above. Daniel drew a deep breath and rested Heaven's Honor on his shoulder.
[ You have successfully completed the third trial ]
[ Your comprehension of the Law of the Moon has increased by another 10%, reaching 22% ]
"So now the Moon Law is officially the one I comprehended the most."
The Eternal Moon Orb projected visions of tides and lunar cycles into his mind, and he felt a new aspect of the Moon Law etch itself into his being.
Now, he could sense the flow of time and, with concentration, accelerate the healing of his minor wounds or predict enemy movements for a brief moment.
Of course, these were only low-level applications. He could also slow enemy movements or delay their actions for a short period.
But something like reversing time or traveling through it? That would first require actual comprehension of the Law of Time itself, and at the very least, a Demi God rank prowess
Still, even these abilities were good enough to be useful in battle.
Another one of the silver pillars in the real world lit up.
But this time, Lana didn't even have the chance to pay attention — her eyes were locked on the beautiful woman standing in front of her.