Mr. Popo pushed open the heavy wooden door studded with brass rivets.
Beyond it lay a monotonous world of pure white.
There was no horizon, no reference points, only a bleak white light.
"This is the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. One year inside equals one day outside.
"The temperature swings between fifty degrees and minus forty degrees Celsius.
"The gravity is ten times that of Earth.
"Worst of all, the emptiness in here can drive people mad. Those without strong willpower can easily start hallucinating.
"A person can only enter twice in their lifetime, which amounts to two years inside.
"Once you exceed forty-eight hours, the exit disappears.
"You'll be trapped in this white box forever."
Celestial stood beside the door, leaning on his staff as he explained the chamber's function to Zhang Qi.
"Two days, which means two years."
Zhang Qi nodded. "That's enough."
He stepped across the threshold.
The instant his toes touched the ground, gravity crashed down on him.
It was not a metaphor. It physically slammed into him.
His stomach dropped straight toward his pelvis, blood rushed uncontrollably into his legs, his heart began pumping madly to maintain blood flow, and the pressure made his eardrums buzz.
Zhang Qi bent over. Without that tireless power furnace, his current body was merely an exceptionally pure carbon-based body.
The sweat that had just seeped from his forehead instantly evaporated in the fifty-degree heat, leaving only a fine layer of salt frost on his skin.
He closed his eyes and activated Higher-Dimensional Vision.
He had seen quite a few things capable of manipulating time.
Whether it was the Emiya Family's magecraft known as Time Alter or the Stand ability of that blond vampire called DIO, both could accomplish such things.
Yet within their respective systems, those abilities all had traces