A translucent holographic window flickered open, displaying the system’s inventory. Highlighted right at the top was a pulsing, luminous item carrying a staggering description: [Blue Dragon’s Heart]—priced at an eye-watering 30,000 Fate Points.
Ethan stared at the glowing holographic item, his breath catching in his throat. Shock paralyzed him completely.
The Blue Dragon’s Heart?! Ethan’s mind raced.
In this world, there are three legendary dragon lineages regarded as supreme treasures above all else: the Golden Dragon, possessing infinite wisdom and ancient knowledge; the Red Dragon, wielding apocalyptic destructive power; and the third...
The Blue Dragon, legendary for commanding an immeasurable, boundless ocean of mana alongside the mysterious authority of Time itself!
With wide, disbelieving eyes, Ethan looked back at the system interface. "You actually have the heart of a Blue Dragon in your inventory?!"
The system’s smooth, mechanical voice chimed in with absolute confidence.
[Indeed, Host. If you wish, I can directly transplant this divine heart into your physical core. Not only will it grant you an inexhaustible, boundless reservoir of mana, but it will also supercharge your affinity with the Element of Time since the heart naturally holds the core essence of time manipulation.]
The system elaborated further, [Considering you already possess the Time element in your core, merging this heart with your soul will create a terrifying resonance. Whenever you wish to construct spatial-temporal formations or execute high-tier spells, your mana and time attributes will synthesize seamlessly, reducing casting difficulty to absolute zero.]
Ethan stood frozen, staring blankly at the glowing prompt, utterly captivated by the sheer magnitude of the temptation.
He cast his consciousness inward, peering deep into his mental sea.
There, his newly forged First Mana Ring spun steadily, split sharply between the contrasting shades of black and white.
Yet, despite holding the terrifying power of Space and Time, he had been severely bottlenecked by his lack of profound knowledge regarding the Time element.
But if he were to integrate the Blue Dragon’s Heart... not only would his mana deficiencies vanish instantly, but he would also gain deep, innate comprehension of time laws.
More importantly, a fierce urgency gripped his heart. I have to stop Kael from seizing his supreme opportunity at all costs. With this kind of overwhelming power at his fingertips, the race against destiny was back on.
"Do it right now! Transplant it immediately!" Ethan ordered, his voice echoing with desperate resolve.
[Understood, Host,] the system replied smoothly.
Suddenly, two translucent, ghostly pale hands emerged directly out of the holographic system screen.
Before Ethan could even blink, those ethereal hands phased right through his chest wall, reaching deep inside his torso.
Ethan’s eyes bulged in pure horror. "Wait, what are you—"
But Before he could finish his sentence, an agonizing, soul-tearing shriek tore from his throat.
To his absolute terror, he watched with his own eyes as those ghostly hands pulled his beating, physical heart right out of his chest cavity.
Bizarrely, there was no bloody wound or torn flesh left behind on his ribs, yet his actual heart was hovering in front of him, still pulsing weakly in the pale grip.
A mouthful of dark blood sprayed from Ethan’s lips as he gasped for air, his vision turning violently gray. "You... what the hell are you doing?! I thought you were just going to replace it normally!"
The system’s voice remained eerily calm. [Host, I said a ’transplant.’ A transplant literally means removing the old to make way for the new. Besides, given that your core currently houses the active Time element, your physiological baseline is reinforced—even without a biological heart for the next two hours, your soul essence will keep you from dying.]
"Then Hurry up and give me the Blue Dragon’s Heart right now!" Ethan choked out, his vision flashing black from the excruciating pain.
Recognizing the critical state of her host, the system didn’t waste another second. The pale spectral hands retracted for a moment before plunging back into the void, pulling out the legendary Blue Dragon’s Heart.
The heart was an absolute masterpiece of divine creation. Roughly the size of two adult fists, it radiated a deep, celestial azure glow, etched with intricate, natural silver scales across its surface.
Countless miniature temporal runes drifted around it like stardust, while arcs of frozen, crackling blue lightning danced across its veins, pulsing with a heartbeat that sounded like the heavy, rhythmic ticking of an ancient cosmic clock.
Ethan’s face was deathly pale, his body wracked with tremors. "Hurry..."
Without slicing or harming his physical body in the slightest, the pale hands smoothly guided the glowing Blue Dragon’s Heart straight through his chest, locking it perfectly into the empty spiritual cavity where his original heart once beat.
The moment the divine heart settled into place, color violently rushed back into Ethan’s pale face.
Boom—!
An overwhelming torrent of pure, blinding white energy erupted from his body. It billowed outward like a dense, heavy fog, swirling around him in violent gusts. Wisps of crystalline, stellar-like energy—resembling ethereal wisps of condensed time—threaded through the air from his pores, making the space around him warp and ripple.
An immeasurable, boundless ocean of mana flooded his meridians, filling every single corner of his body with a terrifying vitality.
When Ethan flexed his fingers and looked down at his arms, he could vividly feel that his mana constitution had undergone a monstrous qualitative leap, becoming sturdier and more resilient than any ordinary mage could achieve in a lifetime.
More importantly, a profound, crystal-clear clarity bloomed within his mind sea. The abstract concept of time no longer felt distant; he could instinctively sense the subtle deceleration and acceleration of ambient particles around him.
So this is the true essence of the Time Element, Ethan realized with a surge of awe.
Time is not merely an invisible river; it is the ultimate absolute authority over motion, space, and decay. By bending the temporal flow around oneself, one can erase distance, anticipate strikes before they happen, and freeze the very world in its tracks.