In the name of the true god

Before his time travel, Jude had read some films and literature about the theme of "time" and had learned the most basic theories.

For example, the two most common ones—

The grandfather paradox: Suppose someone travels back in time and kills their grandfather before their father is born. Then the father would never have been born, and the person would not exist. Since the person doesn't exist, who went back in time to kill their grandfather?

The prophet paradox: one foresees future misfortune and thus avoids it in advance. But if that misfortune doesn't happen, it would have been impossible to foresee it in the first place.

In conclusion, past decisions influence the future, and the future, in turn, influences the past due to the existence of cause and effect.

As a native of another world, Edmund had no opportunity to come into contact with these rather profound theories.

After Jude briefly explained his concerns, he couldn't help but think deeply and carefully consider the risks involved.

"However, I didn't mean to lie to you," Jude clarified the misunderstanding. "I do indeed intend to compile a list of major events that occurred between 419 and 448 of the Divine Calendar. If there's anything suitable to provide you, I—"

"Even the flapping of a butterfly's wings can cause tremendous changes, so what information can be revealed to me while ensuring the future remains unchanged?" Edmund interrupted Jude. "I understand your decision."

Jude opened his mouth slightly, but didn't know what else to say.

Edmund was an exceptionally emotionally stable person; even knowing that he lacked sincerity, he did not become angry about it.

But the more he did this, the more ashamed he felt.

If it weren't for Edmund, he might not have been able to find his brother Connor to change the situation, and his understanding of the laws of contact and similarity was completely blank.

What is a healthy relationship?

At least there should be mutual recognition and mutual assistance; one-sided demands are not a sustainable solution.

The problem is, Jude doesn't know how he can help Edmund either.

It seems that no matter what kind of help is provided, it will affect the past.

Influence……

When their eyes met briefly, Jude suddenly realized something.

If we're talking about influence, didn't it already begin the moment the two of them first met in the mysterious space?

Even Edmund's decision to make the Kingdom of Florence his final destination had its own reasons.

The past has most likely been changed...

Jude was startled and quickly recalled the details from before.

She first revealed to Edmund where her brother Connor was born, and only then did she learn at the dockside tavern that Edmund had died in the capital of the Kingdom of Florence.

Knowing where his brother Connor was born is equivalent to knowing that he is from Frenz...

—I come from Nordonia, and I'm planning to travel the world to change people's prejudices against witches and resonance sorcerers. And the final destination of this journey, I intend, is the Kingdom of Florence…

Edmund's words from our last meeting still echoed in my ears.

Jude couldn't help but wonder if Edmund's idea of ​​going to the Kingdom of Florence had gradually developed after his contact with him, leading to his arrest by Leonard, the then-Crown Prince of Florence, and his public execution in the capital's square.

However, this single clue alone is not enough to determine whether Edmund's death is related to him.

If it weren't for his influence, Edmund might not have considered the Kingdom of Florence as his final destination, and therefore wouldn't have died at all.

Perhaps without his intervention, Edmund would have arrived in the Kingdom of Florence by a series of coincidences and ultimately met with an accident.

It's also possible that the timeline itself possesses the ability to correct itself; everything is already predetermined, and regardless of one's influence, all things will unfold according to their intended path. In other words, Edmund would die in the year 427 of the Christian calendar, no matter what.

It's too complicated...

For a moment, Jude's views also began to waver.

After all, even before he traveled through time, no real time travel had ever been achieved in that technologically advanced world. Therefore, the grandfather paradox, the prophet paradox, and so on can only be considered as conjectures and cannot be used as completely reliable evidence.

"Edmund," Jude persisted, "if we hadn't met, would you still have chosen the Kingdom of Florence as your final destination?"

Edmund was equally astute and immediately grasped Jude's meaning: "Before meeting you, I didn't have very detailed plans for the journey, so... you still influenced the past."

Jude hummed in agreement: "Perhaps that's true... Or perhaps even if you hadn't met me, you would have gone to the Kingdom of Florence for other reasons. But in any case, from the moment we made contact across different timelines, the past has already been affected to some extent."

"Well..." Edmund was unsure of Jude's next move.

"I must admit that my theory is logically sound, but since even illogical things like mysterious spaces exist, many things probably can't be judged by common sense." Jude hesitated for a moment, then his eyes hardened. "...We need to take the initiative."

How to take the initiative?

Jude said, "We need to find ways to verify how the past has influenced the present, and how the present has influenced the past. Only by figuring out exactly how we influence each other can we find reliable ways to help each other and solve problems together."

A series of crises followed one after another.

This forced the usually cautious Jude to adopt a more aggressive approach to seize the initiative.

"Yes." Edmund, being someone from the past, would bear far less risk.

"Next time we meet, I'll gather information from the past and then select one incident to reveal to you. You'll try to change the outcome," Jude assigned the task.

Edmund understood immediately: "Then what can I do for you in 419, in advance, to try and bring about change in the 448 you are living in?"

"Yes! For example, you could arrange for a trusted person to secretly investigate the fat wizard who just rented a basement at the docks of the capital city of Florence in mid-September of the year 448 of the Divine Calendar. Then, have this trusted person find me and tell me the fat wizard's background! In this way, we can follow the clues and find out the origin of the ring, as well as the reason why I possess the laws of contact and similarity!" Jude became increasingly enlightened.

Edmund Ravenscrown, isn't he his own "golden touch"?!

Not only can I change his past, but I can also entrust him to change my own past!

As long as one can find a way to safely control time and cause and effect, just by changing the past, one can become as powerful as a god!

Edmund nodded slightly: "I can try, but it spans twenty-nine years, and setting up such a distant agreement will inevitably be fraught with difficulties."

"I'm just using an analogy. With this kind of 'distant water to quench an immediate fire' approach, there's actually a lot we can do!" Jude said. "Of course, there's no need to be discouraged even if we fail. After all, the time span is too long, and failure only means that the difficulty is high, not that the approach is wrong."

"Alright, I will keep this in mind. Whenever conditions permit in the future, I will do my best to arrange for people to help you find out the fat wizard's identity." Edmund solemnly agreed.

He was well aware that he and Jude were on different timelines by a full twenty-nine years. If he wanted to do something in advance to help Jude in the future, he had to maintain extremely high execution capabilities.

Otherwise, they'll just talk about it, then do it half-heartedly, or even forget to do it altogether.

How could the future possibly change?

more importantly.

Even after making this decision, Jude in the future stated that his situation remained unchanged, and he still had to continue to implement and carry it out.

Otherwise, it's the same logic.

If you give up just because you know you won't succeed, then giving up will inevitably lead to failure.

Who can know whether the final failure was due to unsatisfactory results after trying one's best, or because one didn't even try?

In short.

Using a mysterious space, the past and future can influence each other.

Jude, standing in the future, faces enormous risks. Edmund, situated in the past, will have to endure the test of time in terms of his execution abilities.

The cost was not light, but the benefits were naturally extremely considerable.

The more they thought about it, the more excited they became.

"I hope it will succeed." Edmund extended his hand.

Jude gave him a firm grip: "I believe it will."

Before long, the mysterious space trembled and cracked again.

Their consciousnesses were drawn back into two bodies in different timelines.

-

July 1, 419 (Saturday) afternoon.

In the Kingdom of Nordonia, in the city of South Thermo, in a prison holding more than twenty heretics.

Edmund Ravenscrow, an intern reporter for the South City Daily News, is interviewing a priest of the Church of the Holy Land who was arrested.

The priest spoke eloquently, recounting how he bravely fought against multiple opponents during that arrest, defusing a major crisis lurking in South Hot City.

"There was a Resonance Mage who was incredibly fast, leaping and bounding like a cat, scratching several people. I—wait, why don't you remember?" The priest noticed Edmund's somewhat dazed expression and the pause in his grip on the pen. "Was I being a bit too verbose?"

Having just returned from the mysterious space, Edmund regained his composure, maintaining a pleasant smile, and explained without changing his expression, "No, I just couldn't help imagining that thrilling scene. It's fortunate you were there, otherwise the church might have suffered unnecessary casualties."

The priest waved his hand modestly, "Hehe, I'm just a little faster at reacting than others."

Edmund asked, "You just mentioned that these heretics will be taken to the City of Giant Trees for unified imprisonment in about two weeks?"

"Yes. The ordinary prisons in Nanre City are not suitable for heretics to stay in for a long time. If something goes wrong, no one can afford to take the blame."

Two weeks...

There wasn't enough time to wait for the next meeting with Jude...

I must start the rescue as soon as possible...

Edmund knew that once the entangled wizards and resonance sorcerers temporarily imprisoned in South City were sent to the City of Giant Trees and placed under the care of the Holy Temple of the Church of the Holy Land, which was stationed there, they would have no chance of regaining their freedom.

He hastily jotted down a few more paragraphs in his notebook, then closed it and stood up to ask the priest's opinion: "I've almost remembered the detailed process of this arrest of the heretics. I wonder if you could take me to the cells where the heretics are being held so I can take a few pictures?"

"this……"

"Please rest assured, your photo will definitely be on the front page of the newspaper."

The priest, realizing he could make a big splash, lowered his guard: "Alright, follow me!"