The Dawn of the New World

1438 Let them know

Incensed, Hyde raised his hand before the would-be father but could not dare to bring it down.

"I should kill you for what you did, for what you will do again to my brothers and...me..." he haplessly mumbled to himself but it only made Hao Xuan's smile wider.

"I won't. I am not that stuffy old man. I am neither arrogant nor foolish enough to fall for it a second time," Hao Xuan reiterated.

With a weak chuckle Mr. Hyde lowered his hand, "Do you think he was always like that? No...he was once like you but look how that ended."

"I am stronger than him, he made sure I was."

"...I thought you said you weren't arrogant."

"I'm confident, there is a difference. You will see yourself..."

"I will, won't I? That's something only time can tell. Fine, so be it. What do you ask of me? Why bring me all the way here?" Mr. Hyde asked looking around.

Hao Xuan pointed in the direction the coffin was moving, "I am supposed to go somewhere but I don't trust the one who set it all up. I need you to help me get there a few weeks earlier so I can be prepared in case it was a trap."

Hyde turned to look where he was pointing but shook his head soon after.

"Not possible. If this is what I think it is-"

"This is the river of time, and we are slowly going back up," Hao Xuan confirmed.

"-Even less of a possibility that it will go how you want it to," Mr. Hyde pointed at the yellow waters, "Every ripple, wave, and current can be from a century ahead or back. To not only pinpoint a location but a time is next to impossible, at least for someone of my abilities," he had no shame in admitting this was out of his league.

He floated closer to inspect the coffin and noticed Claudia sleeping inside, "What about her?"

"She will stay with the coffin as it stops at the designated location and time. I must traverse the remainder of the course by myself and meet her later on."

Hyde gave the coffin a once over before looking at Hao Xuan up and down in excruciating detail, "Not possible. You won't even survive the attacks let alone the journey down. This treasure can protect you but to dive into the waters of time unprotected is nothing short of madness. Are you not aware of the ones who live here??"

Hao Xuan looked back and forth, "Seems pretty empty. Maybe they are asleep? Besides I won't be out for too long. I can just go in and out to see if that current is the right one for me."

*Sigh*

Hyde rubbed his eyes in frustration, "What is 'long' when there is no measurement of time? A second could be a lifetime or vice versa and you want to swim through time itself with your defenseless physical form? Do you understand what could that do to you? Your soul will be pulled into a dozen different instances across the planes. You could be down there for a fraction of a second but it could mean decades of years lived. This-this-"

He paused for a moment to reorganize some thoughts and regain his composure before continuing with a deep breath.

"Best case scenario, you will go in and out of different planes and in different times, living years or decades without regaining your memories for who knows how long. Worst case scenario? Your soul can't handle the stress and implodes. But the most likely one is that you might never remember who you were. Your conscious mind will not be able to make sense of what has happened to you, leaving behind a drooling empty husk of your former self. Are you prepared for that?"

Hyde thought that after listening to all the ways it could go wrong Hao Xuan would at least reconsider but he didn't even hesitate, "I understand, I'm ready."

"YOU!-" Hyde yelled in exasperation but his voice quickly fell, "Why are you like this? Like- him? You really are too similar, it's disgusting."

"Hey, that's no way to talk about your 'kind-of' father...and I believe we are here," Hao Xuan knelt as the coffin began to slow down.

There was a small whirlpool not too far ahead and the coffin was headed right for it. He quickly held Claudia's hand in his and channeled some of his spiritual power through to awaken her.

Her eyelids fluttered, "Master..."

"I'm here- stay down! Don't try to get up."

"Are we...there...yet..."

"Almost. But I need you to go there before me and prepare things for when I arrive. Some people will come to find you, tell them you are a priestess of the 'chosen one' and they will protect you. Tell them I will reveal myself when they need me the most but they should do everything they can in the meantime. Do you-"

*Shake*

The coffin suddenly changed directions and began circling the whirlpool.

"I have to go but don't worry, I will keep in touch with you somehow."