Auril wiping the prickly man’s memory—was he helping the Time Stasis Bearer, or blocking Lucimia from claiming Time Halt?

It sounds the same at a glance, like twin shadows on a wall. Think deeper, and the gap opens like a ravine.

If he was helping, erasing memory would fog Lucimia’s path, hiding the target like mist over a lake. It would shield the Bearer’s identity.

His blocking would sprout from the same soil, a hedge grown to keep hunters out.

But here comes the snag, a thorn under the skin.

The Time Stasis Bearer doesn’t need shelter; she wants Lucimia’s power, like a river thirsting for the sea. If Auril was helping her, he shouldn’t do this. He might even let Lucimia in.

Besides, why would he cooperate at all, like two chessmen sharing a square?

So, the odds of cooperation feel thin, like a thread stretched too tight.

Then comes another snag, and another, like stones skipping across a pond.

If it isn’t cooperation, why did time freeze? Who said a Duel demands Time Halt, like drums demanding silence?

What’s the gain in freezing the world, a frost with no harvest?

Everyone here already knows Auril, the king of the Lowegar Kingdom, like a banner on the wind. He doesn’t need Time Halt to sneak in.

Do people here Duel only under Time Halt, like ritual under a full moon? That seems unlikely.

This halt has two paths. First: the Time Stasis Bearer used the freeze like a glass lens. She knew Auril would block Lucimia, so she stopped time to see up close if Lucimia was immune, and to study her power.

Second: the prickly man’s failed Duel gave Auril a shot at Time Halt, like a borrowed blade. He used the freeze on purpose, to make Lucimia think the two were in cahoots.

Either way, the signs weigh heavier toward opposition than cooperation, like storm clouds piling against the sun.

If they’re opposed, his memory wipe keeps Lucimia from intel, blocking the road to Time Halt. His barricade grows from that same intent.

Auril knows Lucimia holds an Authority Power—Devouring—like a black tide eating runes. He’d judge the Time Stasis Bearer likely to lose to her.

He doesn’t want Lucimia to gain Time Halt, so he throws up walls, like snowdrifts before a pass.

Whether Auril knew her Authority Power before or not, the moment Lucimia used Devouring to crack the Magic Array, his eyes would open. Even without the details, he’d see her for what she is—a Dark Deity.

And whether he’s guarding someone or simply blocking Lucimia’s harvest, the Time Stasis Bearer certainly wants Lucimia’s power. She wants Lucimia to step into Lowegar Kingdom, like luring a hawk into a ring.

Why? Lucimia feels a wild guess stirring, bold as lightning behind clouds.

Auril said it himself. Any Duel’s outcome is enforced by Authority Power, like iron law branded into stone.

So Lucimia guesses the Time Stasis Bearer will Duel her inside this realm. She wants Lucimia to enter.

If Lucimia loses, the Bearer can “plunder” Time Halt without killing her, like taking the blade but sparing the hand.

Compared to a skirmish outside, playing Duel here feels fairer to the Bearer, like fighting on leveled ground.

Saying this, she sneaks a glance at Rexi, like a bird checking its wingman.

Clarity settles in Lucimia’s chest, cool as night water. The answer forms—opposition.

Yes. Opposition, not enmity, like two rivers running contrary without colliding.

As for why Auril blocks her, that fog still hangs. She doesn’t know.

Lucimia gathers her thoughts like fallen leaves, checks the weave, then rises and brushes off the dust.

Rexi springs up, eyes bright like sparks. “Well? Well? You decided?”

“I decided.”

“For real? So what’s the call? Want me to go first?”

“No.” Lucimia shakes her head, steady as a pine. “I’ll go. I’m sure this is right.”

“So badass?” Rexi stares, surprise blooming like a firework. “I’ve got no clue, but I feel it’s either cooperation, or that kind of almost-cooperation that isn’t.”

“Almost-cooperation?” Lucimia thinks, feeling a veil lift then drop, like a glimpse through smoke. The pieces still don’t fit.

“Forget it. I’ll guess.” She steps forward toward the longsword sigil etched in the ground, sharp as a blade under frost.

Auril seems to sense her move. His voice drifts over like wind through banners. “Your guess?”

“I guess you and the Time Stasis Bearer are in opposition.” Lucimia’s voice is clean and crisp, an arrow flying true toward Auril.

He falls silent right after, like a bell muted mid-swing. No verdict comes.

The hush stretches. Lucimia waits, calm as a lake. Rexi fidgets, bristles rising like a cat.

She already dislikes Auril. She rakes her hair and yells, “Why the silence? Did we nail it and you’re stalling? If you try to cheat, I’ll… I’ll…”

Then nothing. The threat jams like a sword in a sheath.

She wrestles with it, face red as embers. After a long beat, she blurts, “I’ll rewrite your memories so you think you’re a little dog!”

“…”

The air turns extra quiet, thick as wool.

Whether Rexi’s threat landed or the silence ripened, Auril finally speaks after she finishes.

He ignores Rexi and asks Lucimia, “Are you sure you want that answer?”

Lucimia opens her mouth, but Rexi fires first, hot as pepper. “Don’t pull that dirty trick. You just want to sway us on purpose. I’m telling you, I—”

“Enough.” Lucimia presses a hand to Rexi’s mouth, soft but firm, then answers, “I’m sure. Your relationship with the Time Stasis Bearer is opposition.”

“Reason?” Auril asks, his voice a blade tapping the whetstone.

“Why do you need a reason?” Rexi breaks free and shouts, steam rising off her words. “If we don’t give one, you won’t pass us? That’s so cheap… mmph—”

Lucimia covers her mouth again, thinking, Rexi’s bias against Auril runs deep, like a knot in old wood.

She continues, calm as ink spreading on paper. “The logic’s simple. I started with three choices: cooperation, puppet, and unity.”

“Based on my intel, I ruled out unity, like cutting a dead branch. I planned to let Rexi pick one, and if she was wrong, I’d pick the other.”

“But Rule Five says every participant can win, an iron rule like a seal. That made me think those two options were likely wrong.”

“So I searched for a fourth path. With the current information, I ruled out puppet and unity again, and kept two new choices: cooperation and opposition.”

“Your goal is to block me. The Time Stasis Bearer’s goal isn’t to block me. Add the sailboat incident to this Duel—clearly handled by two different hands.”

“So I judge it’s opposition.”

“Though I still don’t know why you’re blocking me.”