Yes.
If Ian had not been able to truly defeat Cthulhu.
Saruman, with his millennia-old memories, knew very well that the history that had now been altered would be like Mirror Flower, Water Moon, existing only briefly and no longer holding any meaning.
It is even possible that history will slide into an even worse direction.
certainly.
Since a point in history has already been shaken, it is not unfounded to think that history could be completely changed.
Saruman understood.
According to the original "history," he and Karg should be on the verge of collapse under the pressure of Cthulhu's will, and Lina's rescue should have failed due to the delay. But in reality, Lina was successfully rescued, and although they were in a sorry state, they were still alive and were moving away from the core area. All of this was because of the mysterious Ian Prince.
And I also had some minor involvement.
In fact.
The fact that the opponent was able to completely escape with him in the normal Timeline after several of his teammates died proves that the opponent does indeed have the power to fight Cthulhu head-on.
Knowing this is enough.
He is our only hope.
Saruman finally spoke, his voice trembling slightly from exhaustion and excitement, but his tone was unwavering. "The only thing we can do is trust him and not become a burden to him."
He glanced at Lina beside him again.
Although the Girl was weak, her eyes had regained their clarity, and even possessed a depth that she had never had before, as if she could see into the future. The aura of the " Raven Prophet " on her was very faint, but it could not escape Saruman's observation, thus making him even more certain of his guess that he had inherited from his thousand-year-old memories.
"And... he has accomplished what we thought was impossible."
Saruman added, a complicated light flashed in his eyes, which was the emotion of changing the course of history, and also the awe of the unfathomable strength of his "Crown".
"That's all we can do."
They traveled a little further and found a relatively intact crevice, made up of several huge, twisted green boulders, where they could temporarily take refuge.
Saruman signaled to stop; he could no longer hold on. The light of the force field flickered a few times before going out completely. He leaned against the cold stone wall, breathing heavily, sweat mixed with blood streaming down his forehead. The borrowed Legend power dissipated rapidly like the receding tide, and waves of intense weakness and instability of the fused soul body washed over him.
Borrowed power is, after all, borrowed power.
Even if it's power borrowed from your future self.
It's not easy to afford it.
This is a serious mismatch for Saruman at present, since his body has not been baptized by the Proof of Legend and cannot be considered the physical strength of Legendary Wizard.
The fact that they've managed to hold on this long is due to the perfect harmony of their powers and their unwavering willpower. If it were someone else, their power would probably have overwhelmed an ordinary Wizard.
That's the power of Legend.
Sure enough, as the borrowed Legend power dissipated rapidly like the receding tide, a sense of weakness pierced Saruman's consciousness and soul like countless tiny needles.
Karg and Lina quickly helped him up and helped him sit down to rest.
How are you?
Lina asked worriedly, as she could sense that Saruman was in extremely poor condition, his soul fluctuations were disordered and weak.
"I'm alright, I won't die." Saruman leaned against the cold, rough green boulder, his face as pale as paper, his forehead covered in fine beads of cold sweat, and his body trembling slightly uncontrollably.
The forced fusion of a soul spanning a thousand years with a young body was already in an extremely unstable "adjustment period," and after undergoing repeated high-intensity spellcasting and willpower struggles, the backlash was particularly severe at this moment.
He felt his consciousness was like a fragment floating in icy seawater, sometimes pulled towards the abyss of wisdom accumulated over thousands of years, and sometimes dragged back to the sensory and emotional waves of his young body.
The two clashed violently, almost tearing his existence apart. However, of course, he couldn't let his teammates worry; after absorbing a thousand years of sedimentation, his soul had become much gentler.
You don't look like it at all.
Karg and Lina stayed by his side anxiously.
"Have something to drink." Karg tore off a relatively clean lining, dampened it with the little water he had left, and carefully wiped the cold sweat from Saruman's forehead.
Lina knelt to one side, trying to use her newly acquired, still very weak, " Raven Prophet " power to sense Saruman's soul state.
However.
She felt only a chaotic vortex and an unfathomable weariness, leaving her at a loss and filled with anxiety.
"I'm fine... just exhausted, my soul... a little unstable, I just need a rest." Saruman forced out a sentence, his voice terribly hoarse. He knew his current situation was terrible, but at least Lina had been rescued, and they had temporarily escaped the core battlefield.
This is infinitely better than the original "history".
Karg and Lina were worried, but there was nothing they could do. They were also in poor condition. Karg had exhausted his Battle Qi and stamina, and he was still tired from fighting Ian.
Although Lina's soul pollution had been cleansed and she had gained new power, her body was still weak, and her use of the new power was extremely clumsy. "Let's rest for a bit and observe the situation."
The three of them hid in the crevice of the boulder, taking the time to recuperate.
All around them was the eternal gloom and deathly silence of R'lyeh, with only the faint, unsettling energy fluctuations and dark aura emanating from the direction of the core battlefield in the distance, reminding them that the crisis was not far away.
Of course, R'lyeh's malice is not limited to the core battlefield.
This land, tainted by the power of the Great Old Ones for countless years, has naturally bred all sorts of twisted and dangerous "residents." Although Ian had previously cleaned them almost entirely, it doesn't mean there weren't any who escaped.
The Legend force field that Saruman had previously erected, and the terrifying pressure emanating from Ian as Dark Tiga when confronting the will of Cthulhu, were like lighting torches and beating war drums in a dark forest.
While it intimidated most of the creatures, it also attracted the attention of some more cunning, or even more recklessly predatory "predators." Just as the three were slightly relaxed and Hard Work to recover...
"Shh... shh..."
A very faint, yet chilling, scraping sound came from not far outside the crevice, as if something wet and sticky was slowly crawling on the rocky ground.
"What's going on!" Karg asked instantly, alert. Despite his exhaustion, his warrior instincts made him immediately grip the greatsword beside him, which was already badly damaged.
He lowered his voice. "Something's approaching!"
"It's those damned filth!" Saruman forced himself to concentrate, a glint of light flashing in his silver eyes as his senses extended outward, and he immediately "saw" the newcomers.
They were three bizarre creatures. They were about the size of wild dogs, with streamlined, dark green bodies covered in slippery, Toad- skin-like bumps. They had no obvious limbs, but instead moved forward by wriggling through countless tiny, octopus-like suckers on their abdomens. Their heads were flat, with only a mouthpart covered in spiraling, sharp teeth that opened and closed constantly, and above the mouthpart several pairs of compound eyes that rotated and emitted a faint phosphorescence.
They are truly disgusting, polluting creatures.
They emanated a polluted odor similar to that of R'lyeh, but more primitive and chaotic, clearly indicating they were the "scavengers" or "carrion eaters" of this area.
Now they are drawn here by the previous energy fluctuations and the presence of living beings.
"It's a ' Stealth Devourer,' a common low-level derivative of R'lyeh. They move using suckers, are fast, and excel at ambushes. Their mouthparts contain strong acids and paralyzing toxins." Saruman recognized these creatures based on the remaining knowledge of his older self. He quickly whispered, warning his teammates, "Be careful of their spits and close-range bites. Avoid their suckers; their suction is very strong." With his older knowledge, at least he was no longer completely ignorant of these monsters.
That's not bad.
The difficulty has been reduced.
Before the words were even finished, the three Stealth Devourer seemed to realize they had been discovered. They stopped hiding and suddenly accelerated! The suckers on their bellies emitted a series of "poof" sounds, propelling their bodies like arrows released from a bow, rushing towards the three people in the crevice from three different directions! The monsters opened their mouths wide, spitting out dark green mucus with a pungent, sour smell!
"Protect Saruman!" Karg roared. Despite his exhaustion, he stepped forward, wielding his broken greatsword with unwavering determination, to meet the oncoming beast head-on!
The sword swept across, and although it lacked the force to cut the monster in two, it still struck the monster's side hard, sending it flying and crashing into a nearby boulder with a dull thud.
The other two, one attacked Lina from the left, while the other cunningly tried to bypass Karg and pounce on Saruman, who was leaning against the stone wall from the side! Lina's heart pounded; fear gripped her instantly as she faced the ferocious monster's attack. But the next moment, the newly formed " Raven Prophet " imprint deep within her soul warmed slightly, and a cold yet clear sense of "premonition" flowed through her heart—she seemed to "see" the trajectory of the monster's attack! And the extremely brief charging motion before it spat out its mucus!
"My prophetic abilities have increased? No, I'm not Prophecy the future, I'm facing Destiny head-on!" Without time to think, instinct drove her to roll sharply to the right!
"Sizzle!" The dark green acid grazed her clothes and shot into the air, landing on the ground where she had just stood, immediately corroding a small pit and emitting white smoke.
The monster that lunged at Saruman was about to succeed, but Saruman didn't even have the strength to lift a finger. He could only watch helplessly as the mouth full of sharp teeth rapidly enlarged before his eyes!
"Don't want!"
At that critical moment, Lina, who had just rolled away to dodge the attack, felt as if a cold raven feather had brushed through her mind. She didn't look in Saruman's direction, but she seemed to "sense" the danger there, and... the "weak points" and "guideability" of certain energy flows in that area.
The authority belonging to the " Raven Prophet," the ability to see Destiny and possess partial spatial and temporal perception, was spontaneously activated under a life-or-death crisis! "Die!"
Before she could stand up, she knelt on the ground and slammed her hands down! Not to cast any magic she knew, but to follow the guidance of the new power imprinted on her soul.
She forcefully injected the faint " Power of the Raven " within her body, along with her will, into a specific "node" in the spatial structure of that area that she perceived!
"Offset!" she murmured to herself.
There were no incantations, no radiance.
But the Stealth Devourer that lunged at Saruman seemed to be gently "distracted" by an invisible, subtle force just before it touched Saruman!
Thus, the trajectory underwent an extremely subtle yet significant deflection that was enough to alter the outcome!
"Puff!"
The monster's maw missed Saruman's neck, but grazed his shoulder and slammed into the stone wall behind him! The hard green rock was cracked with fine hairs!
"Roar roar roar roar!"
The monster itself was also disoriented.
"What's going on?!"
This sudden turn of events caught both the monster and Saruman off guard.
"Damn contaminated monster!"
At this moment, Karg had already dealt with the one he had knocked away. Seeing this, he roared and turned around, his greatsword leaving afterimages as he slashed fiercely at the monster that had crashed into the stone wall!
"Crack!"
This time, the force was immense, cleaving the monster in two! Dark purple blood and entrails splattered all over the ground.
"Awooooo!"
The last monster that missed its attack on Lina, seeing its companion die instantly, seemed to feel fear, let out a sharp screech, and turned to flee.
"Trying to run?"
Lina had already stood up, her eyes still showing lingering fear, but even more so, a sense of exhilaration and calm from successfully using her new power. She raised her right hand, her index finger pointing at the fleeing monster.
This time, she tried to actively guide that new power. With focused concentration, the Raven imprint deep within her soul glowed faintly.
"Feather Fall - Stagnation!"
An extremely fine, almost invisible dark silver ray, like Raven's feather, shot from her fingertip at astonishing speed! It instantly caught up with the monster and entered its body.
"Aaaaaah!"
The monster's fleeing movements suddenly froze, as if bound by invisible ropes. Its speed instantly dropped several notches, and its movements became sluggish and clumsy. The suction cups on its abdomen even struggled to grip the ground.
"Okay! Watch this!"
Karg wouldn't let this opportunity slip by. He swiftly caught up, and with a swift stroke of his sword, ended the monster's life.
The battle began in the blink of an eye and ended just as quickly thanks to their seamless teamwork.
Silence returned to the crevice, broken only by the heavy breathing of the three people and the stench emanating from the three lifeless, melting corpses of monsters on the ground.
"What ability did you just use?" Karg leaned on his sword, looking at Lina in surprise. Lina's two attacks just now—one an invisible spatial deflection, the other a strange stunt—were completely beyond his understanding of Lina's original abilities! Those were not the water-based Healing Magic or support spells that Lina used to know!
" Lina, what you just did was..."
Saruman couldn't help but ask as well.
Lina looked at her own hands, her face also showing surprise and a hint of excitement.
"I... I'm not quite sure either. It was when Prince saved me that he gave me this new power... He said I am now 'his prophet,'" she tried to explain.
"It seems... I can vaguely sense a hint of danger, and it can slightly affect the flow of the surrounding space... That was used subconsciously just now."
Lina realized it too.
Ian's so-called Raven Prophet.
It could be some kind of priesthood.
She wasn't using magic, but rather divine arts.