"Have you advanced to demigodhood? Aside from those methods that abandon one's independence and mortal identity, does that make you the first demigod of the Sixth Epoch?"
Shade looked at her in astonishment, but Miss Isabella did not wish to discuss the matter:
"The Doomsday Era no longer belongs to the Sixth Epoch. In any case, you are not yet capable of glimpsing the fundamental Power of Time. Even something like 'Adele's Time Stop' is merely a minor branch of Time Stop Thaumaturgy. This time, I will teach you a thaumaturgy derived from the power of 'returning to the past.'"
"Is this also a thaumaturgy you created yourself?"
Shade asked. The witch nodded lightly, yet showed no pride whatsoever. Windblown sand brushed through her golden hair, and the tear mole at the corner of her eye made her beauty all the more striking:
"Yes. And the creation of this thaumaturgy was related to the previous Great Witch of the Moon. She once watched the shifting stars with me and spoke with me of the return of sun and moon. On a plain beneath the starry sky, I came to understand the meaning of return, and thus created this thaumaturgy—Adele's Regression Principle."
The name alone sounded highly distinctive. Shade once again worried that even if he learned it, he would not dare use it in front of the Witches.
Naturally, Miss Isabella had no idea what Shade was worrying about:
"This thaumaturgy I created is very special. As long as one has a talent for time, one can perform the ritual, but to truly master it requires gradual exploration; one cannot use it simply because the ritual succeeds. Although Adele's Regression Principle is not the most powerful thaumaturgy I possess, it is the one I am proudest of. Now I will