[Gravity Modulation] was used to create specialized observation conditions in certain microscopic particle experiments.
Though the destructive energy within [Heart of the Black Hole] made even him wary, he found a way to utilize it to shield the laboratory’s aura from the spatial layer, achieving physical concealment.
As for [Heart of Fear], it offered little difference in terms of laboratory defense.
But the theories of gravity and spatial distortion undoubtedly provided the crucial inspiration for the core structure of the spacetime pocket watch.
The material requirements were even more exacting.
He needed “Sands of Time” capable of bearing temporal power, “Void Prisms” to stabilize spatial coordinates, and, as an energy core, the legendary “Eternal Moment,” said to be born only occasionally within temporal turbulence.
Many of these materials had nearly vanished from existing records in Teyvat.
“It seems I can’t just bury myself in research,” Dottore murmured, his gaze sharp as he studied the hopeless names on the list.
He would have to resort to unconventional methods.
His first target was the secret vault of Zapolyarny Palace and the Fatui’s continent-wide intelligence network.
Dottore carefully fabricated a materials list that appeared to be for “high-energy conduction research” and “spatial stability anchor experiments.” He buried the truly essential core materials within a heap of seemingly reasonable but ultimately redundant items and submitted it to Pierro.
A few days later, Pierro’s reply arrived, tinged with gravity.
“Dottore, most of the materials on your list can be allocated from the vault.
However, the Sands of Time and Void Prisms…
our stocks are scarce, and Her Majesty the Tsaritsa has other uses for them.
As for the Eternal Moment…
it is only recorded in ancient forbidden texts.
No one has seen a physical specimen in nearly five hundred years.” This outcome was well within Dottore’s expectations.
“Then what about the intelligence network?
Are there any clues regarding the sources of these materials?” “There are some vague rumors,” Pierro’s voice came through the communicator.
“Sands of Time are said to be connected to the temporal turbulence deep within the ruins of the Thousand Winds Temple, though that place is extremely dangerous, with spatial chaos.
Void Prisms may lie at the border of Enkanomiya, in that void region where light and darkness intertwine.
And the Eternal Moment…
clues point to the core of the ancient battlefield where Khaenri’ah fell.
Its spacetime remains twisted to this day, but it is a forbidden land that even we find difficult to explore deeply.” “That’s enough,” Dottore replied, his tone calm.
“Give me the known clues and whatever the vault can spare first.
I’ll find my own way for the rest.” He did not wait for Pierro’s response before cutting the communication.
His gaze fell upon the complex pocket watch flickering with an unstable, dim glow at the center of the secret chamber, the prototype of the spacetime device.
Though it was still far from complete, perhaps he could attempt short-range, low-precision “jumps” and observations.
At the very least, he could conduct a preliminary survey of those locations where material clues might exist.
It was an immensely risky decision.
Time travel was fraught with unknowns and paradoxes.
The slightest misstep could see him torn apart by temporal turbulence or lost forever in the endless river of time.
But he had no time to wait; the shadow of the future hung over his head like the Sword of Damocles.
He carefully slotted the small amount of Sands of Time and Void Prisms delivered from the vault into the corresponding slots on the prototype.
Then he took a deep breath and channeled his own spiritual power and a portion of pure energy converted from the [Heart of the Black Hole] into it, serving as a substitute drive.
“Initiating coordinate lock…
outskirts of Thousand Winds Temple, temporal anchor…
set to parallel observation point of ‘now.'” He issued the command in a low voice and activated the prototype.
A hum…!
A wave of vertigo even stronger than the previous experiment hit him.
The entire space of the secret chamber twisted and folded.
He saw countless channels formed by light and shadow hurtling past his eyes, as if he were plunging through a raging river composed of time and memory.
Immense pressure squeezed his body and consciousness from all directions.
The power of [Heart of Life] automatically circulated, repairing the microscopic damage caused.
But he could clearly sense that every use of the spacetime pocket watch for spatial traversal was consuming something more fundamental within him, his very essence.
After an indeterminate span, perhaps an instant, perhaps an eternity, the surrounding scene stabilized.
He stood in a desolate desert.
In the distance was the familiar, ruined silhouette of the Thousand Winds Temple.
But the silence here was terrifying, the air thick with a stench of decay and lifelessness.
He attempted to approach the temple but found an invisible barrier blocking his path, as though a thin, unseen membrane separated him from the world of this “time point.” “Observation state only…
unable to interfere?” He frowned and tried to scan the depths of the temple with his instruments, but all that came back was a chaotic mess of energy turbulence.
Forget the Sands of Time, he couldn’t even capture a slightly clearer spacetime structure.
The first attempt ended in failure.
He did not lose heart.
He activated the prototype once more, this time targeting the border of Enkanomiya.
The scene shifted.
He seemed to stand at the seam between light and darkness, with nothingness beneath his feet and a shattered sky above.
The space here was extremely unstable, and fragmented scenes of memory and light would occasionally flash by like mirages.
He saw ancient rituals, the alternation of White Night and Eternal Night, and even vaguely glimpsed a colossal serpentine shadow clutching a precious orb in its jaws…
but the Void Prisms remained absent.
Instead, a violent spatial tremor nearly dragged him into a rift, forcing him to immediately activate the prototype and retreat.
The second attempt was dangerous and just as fruitless.
The third time, he set his target on the periphery of the ancient Khaenri’ahn battlefield.
Even at the periphery, the oncoming aura of destruction and the temporal turbulence mixed with curses and wails made his heart palpitate.
He saw twisted metal constructs, bottomless scars upon the earth, and felt the residual horror of that ancient catastrophe.
The Eternal Moment?
Here, even a “moment” felt stretched into eternity by agony.
He managed to stay for only a few seconds before sensing his essence draining away at an accelerated rate and had to retreat urgently.
Back in the secret chamber, Dottore’s face was even paler than before, and a shock of stark silver hair now hung loosely over his forehead.
He leaned against the console and coughed violently several times, feeling the weakness radiating from within his body.
The continuous use of the spacetime pocket watch for temporal jumps had drained his essence far beyond his initial estimates.
Even with the slow repair granted by [Heart of Life], it was like trying to put out a wildfire with a single cup of water.
He looked at the nearly depleted Sands of Time and the Void Prisms now covered in cracks on the prototype, his eyes dark and brooding.
Three jumps, and aside from verifying that the parallel spacetimes of these locations were indeed anomalous and personally experiencing the immense risks and costs of time travel, he had gained almost nothing.
Could it be…
that all his efforts were in vain?
That every future led only to that single, frozen end?
A profound sense of helplessness nearly drowned him.
He slumped into the cold metal chair, staring at the blinking instrument lights in the chamber, and for the first time, doubt crept in about himself.
Dottore plotted his next steps in a low voice, speaking as if he were discussing the most ordinary of matters.
“This path, I will walk it to the end until I find that exact ‘node’ or until I can no longer wake up.” “No matter the cost…” he swore under his breath, a cold flame burning in his eyes.
“I will never let that memory become reality.” He began a new round of calculations, ignoring the silver-white strands quietly multiplying at his temples and the faint, cracking sound emanating from deep within his essence.
From that day forward, Dottore changed.
He grew more taciturn and even more reclusive.
Under the pretext of “conducting highly dangerous and classified research,” he applied to Pierro for almost total isolation.
Apart from periodically receiving supplies through a dedicated channel and submitting “routine” research results, mainly weapons optimization, he severed nearly all voluntary contact with the outside world.