The Final Volume: A Tiny World in the Dust - Dance (II)

"Together, devour time and space!!!"

(Author: Physics buffs, don't get too excited or nitpick the relationship between time and space.)

Within the devoured time, I devoured space. Blood spread like a gaping maw, completely engulfing Jili and a vast swath of space. Then came the sound of insects, and the bloody maw snapped shut. Space was utterly destroyed—

—but nothing of the sort happened.

Space remained perfectly intact. Only a few pale-red afterimages of blood bore witness to what had just happened. Jili was unharmed, still frozen in place.

After all, no outcomes existed in devoured time. I could only attack; whether the attack had worked would become apparent only once time resumed its normal flow.

That was the whole process of Time Devour as I saw it. Surprisingly unremarkable, wasn't it?

But all that mattered was that it worked.

I had devoured only five seconds of time.

And now they were almost up.

Whoosh!!!!

The blood-red tint that had stained the world receded at once, and everything began moving again: time, space, Jili—

At that very moment, the results of my actions during devoured time came to light.

The space Jili occupied vanished. It didn't collapse or shatter; it disappeared completely, without the slightest warning. By the time anyone noticed, it had already happened! Though he would never notice, because Jili had vanished without a trace, completely erased into nothingness along with the space around him!

"...Did it work?"

Well... I knew it couldn't possibly have.

So when his lazy, mocking voice sounded behind me, I wasn't too surprised.

"I see. So this is the most basic way to use Time Devour? It's certainly interesting."

He strolled along a nerve-like rock, carelessly tossing back his hair. The Past Sight Eye glimmered faintly.

"I'd figured one move wouldn't be enough