However, before Cale could fall back off to sleep, Choi Han's voice upon the Palantír caught his ear, and he opened his eyes again to look toward it consideringly.
"And the moment the chief was about to fall, a young boy got in the way of the people trying to take the children."
"...Lock?"
"Yes. It was Lock."
"Oh!" TBOAH!Rosalyn turned her head sharply the moment TBOAH!Lock suddenly sagged, crumbling into his seat beside the goddess and burying his face into his hands, sobs were heard from between his hands, they weren't muffled enough to be hidden. TBOAH!Choi Han and TBOAH!Rosalyn turned pale. They both stood up and rushed across the room. Grigori moved to give them space to crowd around TBOAH!Lock - to hold the shattered boy even as the Palantír mercilessly criticized him for his inaction in their TBOAH!Timeline.
'Why would Lock show up this time? In the novel, he had stayed hidden, even when the children were killed. Did he think killing and kidnapping were different? Was it his instinctual need to protect his family members and his younger siblings, who were weaker than him? What would have made Lock's natural wolf instincts flare up?'
"I stopped the assassin. No, I tried to kill them." Choi Han said that as he looked back at Cale.
Cale did not show any emotions as he urged Choi Han to continue speaking.
"Keep going."
"...I realized that the people who did not have stars on their clothes used the same black power as the assassins I killed at Harris Village."
"Among them, there was just one person who had the red star with five white stars on their chest. That person was the one who killed the guard." Choi Han started to tear up. "And that trash of a human was drinking the Wolf Tribe's blood."
Several people turned away when Redika's image appeared upon the Palantír, more people regardless of which world they came from turned pale and hung their heads as they tried to control their breathing - anger, no rage and a thirst for violence, was pulsating rampantly within all their bodies. This time, Grigori raised her hand, and her unique misty mana washed over the room like a soft semi-transparent fog. The overwhelming aura of oppression and malice dissipated.
"In the end, I could not capture or kill them. The ones I captured committed suicide, while the rest disappeared when the person with the stars used teleportation magic."
'Why would the blood drinking mage, who is a highest tier mage and crazy for blood, try to kidnap the Blue Wolf Tribe children instead of killing all of them like in the novel?' Cale could not figure it out.
The question on everyone's mind now was whether or not the same had happened in TBOAH!Timeline and no one had ever known about it.
"Goddess-nim..." TBOAH!Choi Han respectfully called out to Grigori, his voice faint as his eyes continued to shake, however, Grigori shook her head and motioned toward the Palantír which was enough to provoke TBOAH!Lock's bloodshot gaze back onto the Palantír so he could fully witness how far he had fallen short in comparison to his counterpart - he was both punishing himself and seeking salvation by watching this record upon the Palantír.
"This is what the mage said." Choi Han continued in an angry and bitter voice. "How disappointing. They were perfect as seeds. These young ones probably have even tastier blood."
Seed. Cale didn't know what the mage meant by seed, but he kept the word on the back of his mind as he opened his eyes and asked.
"And the children?"
The guard, chief, and the rest of the Wolf Tribe adults were dead. The only ones left were the 10 children and Lock.
Choi Han avoided Cale's gaze. This was the first time he did that since they sat down at this table. Cale instantly figured out what must have happened, as Choi Han reported in a quiet voice.
"They are at the inn."
'I knew it.'
Choi Han opened and closed his mouth a few more times before finally adding on.
"We came together with Rosalyn's magic."
"Ten... at least ten of them could... could have... I-"
"It's fine." TCF!Lock suddenly spoke from across the room, where he sat once again in his human form. Sherritt and TCF!Gashan were still seated beside him.
"I did it, so even if we couldn't do it the first time, this time I did it for the both of us. Because that's what it means to be a wolf - it means to protect others." TCF!Lock meets the gaze of his TBOAH!Timeline counterpart - he looks him right in the eye - exactly like how Cale had told him to do, and he spoke confidently.
As someone who had achieved things his counterpart and he himself couldn't have ever imagined achieving, TCF!Lock felt that now was a good time to take another step forward and to be more confident in himself, hust like Maes told him to be. He had worked hard, he had found his courage, he was reward for his suffering and he'd surpassed the fears, regrets, and traumas that could have chained him down the way they did to TBOAH!Lock. TCF!Lock spoke from a place of enlightenment because in his mind and in their TCF!World, the war was over, and they had already won.
The past no longer had any power over them, in fact the lingering envy of their past (TBOAH!Timeline) was the reason his family and friends in the TCF!World had been brought here to the goddess' realm, so TCF!Lock felt that it was necessary to remind not only his TBOAH!Lock self, but everyone from the TBOAH!World.
"We won the war; we ended it without losing too many loved ones or any needless sacrifices. So there's no need for you to be envious or jealous. We were you in the beginning, but our choices led us to take different paths and the Young Master-nim was there to guide us, so we wouldn't make the same mistakes you made. It doesn't matter." TCF!Lock looked at his counterpart, and then continued.
"I may be physically younger than you, but I think I'm mentally older because I've learned a lot more and everything I've learnt, you would have learnt eventually as well because where your timeline ended, mine is still going on... So basically what I'm trying to say is this..." TCF!Lock paused for a moment, trying to get his thoughts into order.
"The lives we are living now, is only possible because your timeline was recorded and given to us so we could do better. We're all here only to witness how much better your sacrifices and hardships motivated us to succeed." TCF!Lock said and then turned his head and noticed Cale was sitting upright and staring at him with a proud smile upon his face.
Cale nodded at TCF!Lock in approval.
"Nicely said Lock! Well done." Cale praised him, and TCF!Lock smiled, radiantly glowing with innocence and youthful delight at Cale's praise. TCF!Choi Han went over and ruffled TCF!Lock's hair playfully with TCF!Rosalyn not far behind him. She embraced TCF!Lock and affectionately poked his cheek.
"Ahhh... Our Lock is growing up so well! So well! This noona is so proud!" she teased, making a show of dashing away nonexistent tears from her eyes.
Grigori gave everyone a chance to breathe and process TCF!Lock's declaration. His words had an impact even on the dissonance - which both surprised and pleased Grigori as it meant that she would not need to forcefully coerce the people of the TBOAH!World to relinquish their envy and jealousy toward the TCF!World which succeeded where they of the TBOAH!Timeline had failed.
Grigori smiled tenderly; this is why she never got tired of observing the timelines of the worlds. The potential and capacity of these children and their ability to adapt and grow and change for the better always proved to her that she was right in her choices to lend her aid whenever it was asked of her.
"Let's proceed to the final record pertaining to Lock, and then everyone can take a break and rest."
Adhering to the goddess' suggestion, everyone that was moving about, returned to their seats, and Cale corrected his posture, so he was sitting comfortably beside TCF!Alberu who currently had Raon upon his lap. He was handing Raon cookies at Raon's request and listening intently as Raon critiqued them before eventually declaring that these were definitely better than the White Radish's cookies. Of course, TCF!Alberu began to pout at hearing this, only for a piece of notepad paper to suddenly appear on the armrest of the couch near his hand.
Curiously, he picked it up and then blinked in surprise to find a recipe written elegantly upon the page. TCF!Alberu caught the tail-end of a smile flutter across Grigori's expression before she turned her gaze back to the Palantír. He thanked the goddess in his mind, graciously going so far as to sincerely bow his head to her as well. Grigori pretended not to notice this and instead spoke to Naur.
"Naur, please begin the final record for today. Chapter 245."
<Chapter 245: Will Block It (1)>
The shield above his head broke. Lock could see the bright light coming in through the shield. His heart was beating crazily. If that thunderbolt lands on him, then-
Lock suddenly thought about two people. His current tasks.
Looking at Cale's back.
Holding onto Raon.
Those were his two tasks.
'Is that really all I need to do?'
His heart that was beating with fear and despair started to beat to a different rhythm. Thunderbolts continued to fall around Lock, Cale, and Raon at that moment. Lock started to move while following his heart. He was following his instincts. However, there was someone who was moving based on instincts even more than Lock.
Lock could see someone jumping into the air. Lock started to speak.
"Hyung!"
Choi Han and his sword that was covered in black aura slammed into a thunderbolt. The thunderbolts were made of the light attribute. His incomplete darkness instantly disappeared after slamming into the thunderbolt.
"Ugh!" Choi Han was flung away from the impact of his aura breaking.
'I didn't know that it would be so strong!'
TBOAH!Choi Han flinched at the mention of his attribute. In the final battle that he had fought against White Star, then too his incomplete attribute hadn't been enough to properly land a blow or deal any damage to him, he had been practically powerless even though he was a swordmaster. TBOAH!Choi Han grit his teeth and clenched his fists, silently waiting to see how different his TCF!World counterpart had become - after all the time he'd spent around the people of the TCF!World he could now clearly tell that his counterpart was stronger than him, but TBOAH!Choi Han could not tell how much stronger TCF!Choi Han really was.
The strength of the berserk Dragon Half-blood was much greater than the strength of Choi Han's darkness.
Several people flinched.
"I'm sorry... the what now?!" TBOAH!Eruhaben exclaimed in alarm, his head turning sharply to look at Grigori when TCF!Eruhaben avoided his penetrating stare and coughed lightly. The TBOAH!Dragons all started to stare at the back of Cale's head which made Cale sigh heavily and pretend not to notice - to be honest their stare was a little uncomfortable, but he didn't feel inclined to go into all the details about this child whom he'd taken in, in the end, especially not right now when the Palantír was depicting him as an enemy.
Naur continued the record upon the Palantír and since no one wanted to answer the Ancient Golden Dragon of the TBOAH!World, TBOAH!Eruhaben grumbled and decided he would annoy his counterpart during the break to get the answers he needed to satisfy his curiosity.
Choi Han could not destroy the thunderbolt. But he was relieved. He was able to change the direction of the thunderbolt, even as he was flung away. The thunderbolt struck down on empty ground.
The Palantír showed Choi Han pivoting midair so he could avoid another thunderbolt only for him to realize he needed to change its direction.
"Lock." He could see his younger brother who was frozen stiff after seeing the thunderbolt. "Run!" Veins were visible on Choi Han's face as he shouted. However, Choi Han's eyes became large at that moment. Lock did not run away.
Lock had not been frozen stiff after seeing the thunderbolt. He was just unable to move as he was watching Choi Han. Seeing his hyung-nim fighting against the thunderbolts without any hesitation was making his heart pound. His heart that was covered in fear and despair was slowly being broken down by Choi Han's sword.
His heart was beating like crazy. The blood pumping out of his heart was the blood of a Wolf. His animalistic instincts were beating on his body. And finally, it was the moment he saw the laughing Dragon half-blood and the thunderbolt heading their way.
"Hmm..." Cale quietly made a sound of displeasure; he didn't like seeing this side of the child who, while technically was older than him, was still very much a child and now one of his people. He also didn't like being reminded of just how much danger this child had put his Raon in during his First Growth Phase. Cale closed his eyes and drew in deep steadying breaths to calm himself.
The Wolf's heart broke through the chains called fear and despair. At the same time, the human Lock thought about a few things.
My task is...!'
The young boy starting to think about what he needed to do instead of Cale's orders. His will that had been sleeping deep in his mind was telling him what he needed to do.
'My tasks. I must protect!'
TCF!Lock smiled shyly to himself, he would never forget this moment. The feelings he'd had at that time would stay with him forever no matter what.
He could see Choi Han and Mary's wyverns. He could also see the thunderbolt. However, Lock turned away from the thunderbolt. His body then instantly grabbed the bent-over Cale. He then used his body in order to hide Raon and Cale from the thunderbolt.
'Our family cannot get hurt.'
Cale opened his eyes and smiled widely in amused affection toward Lock's thoughts upon the Palantír.
"I like that... but also not..."
"Yes... yes, we know, Dongsaeng." TCF!Alberu replied casually from beside him and then lightly pat his shoulder before returning his regal and equally as proud gaze toward the Palantír once more.
TCF!Alberu also agreed greatly with Lock's sentiments and he knew that if their roles had been reversed Cale would never have even considered an alternative - the self-sacrificing slacker-wannabe that he is would run headfirst into danger if it meant protecting their family. TCF!Alberu sighed once more, feeling relieved that the war was over and he could chain down his troublesome dongsaeng somewhere safe to keep him occupied and out of danger.
His instincts as a Wolf and his thoughts as a human were the same right now. It was at that moment. His body that had chosen, 'us,' over, 'me,' started to change.
"Ugh!" Lock's internal organs started to vibrate like the ground underneath him.
'My task is. My task is!' That was the only thought on Lock's mind as the young boy's skinny body started to change.
Choi Han could clearly see what was going on. Even others from Cale's group who were rushing over had their eyes wide open. Choi Han, who knew about Lock's current condition, started to speak.
"...His berserk transformation!"
Deafening silence fell upon the entire room as TBOAH!Lock and the rest of the people from the TBOAH!World watched with mouths hanging ajar in flabbergasted awe as the video upon the Palantír revealed TCF!Lock evolving.
The skinny body started to quickly become firm. His body was changing extremely quickly compared to the first time he went berserk. Lock grew taller and his skinny body was starting to become muscular. At the same time, sharp claws grew out of his hands and feet. The fur of the Blue Wolf tribe turned dark blue when they went berserk. The fur that covered Lock's body during the first berserk transformation had been dark blue as well. However, something happened the moment Lock's body grew larger than the last time he went berserk, when it became even larger than the Tigers when they went berserk.
"That's..." TBOAH!Gashan was shocked too, he was clutching the staff in his hand so tightly it was a wonder how the wood didn't crumble beneath his palm. Likewise his counterpart made an appearance upon the Palantír.
"This-" The shaman Gashan was shocked at Lock's size, as well as the color of the fur covering Lock's body. It was not dark blue fur. It was shining. Lock's gray hair was starting to shine. It turned into silver hair that continued to grow out as silver fur covered his body. There was also a hint of blue in the silver fur.
The Blue Wolf tribe. He had gotten rid of his dark blue fur that resembled the night and replaced it with silver fur with a blue hue that resembled the early morning. Lock was able to go berserk in this new transformation because he had thrown himself away. However, he did not look at his body.
Is that it? TBOAH!Lock wondered in awe. He thought about TCF!Lock and how he had grown this much because he really had thrown himself away and chose to use his strength not to harm or seek revenge, but rather to protect something precious to him. It seemed fitting for the pureblooded member of the Wolf Tribe which valued the pack over their individual selves.
Lock curled up his body that was now larger than the Tigers. The thunderbolt would land soon. He got as low as possible to the ground. He then used his body to hide Cale and Raon, who was wrapped up in a blanket.
Lock's bloodshot eyes returned to their original color. His large and sharp claws scratched into the ground. It was so that he would not run away. His pupils that had returned to normal seemed to be happy.
'I found it. I finally found what I have to do.'
Lock saw Cale slowly raise his head and started to smile.
While on one hand Cale was happy that TCF!Lock had found and opportunity to grow stronger and understand his strength better, however he was not pleased about the fact that this child was putting himself in harm's way for his sake. Cale despised the thought of what could have happened to TCF!Lock if his Super Rock ancient power had been even a second late to activate back then. He huffed, but decided to remain quiet, acknowledging that this had been the past, and a lot had changed since then.
This was the only kind of thing he had seen and learned. The adults of his tribe had died in order to protect the children, while his uncle, the chief, had told him to hide. Then there were Choi Han and Rosalyn who saved him, as well as Cale whom he met later. This was all he had seen while being around all of them. That was why Lock smiled at Cale, who was looking at him with a frown.
"It's okay, young master-nim."
'It's just a thunderbolt.' He had a sense of confidence and certainty. 'I am strong. I can do this.'
"Lock-" He could see Cale still frowning.
"It's o-"
"No." Lock flinched at Cale's annoyed tone.
Although his face now looked violent, the innocent eyes of the young boy started to shake. At the same time, his more sensitive intuition realized a change.
"...Huh?" He felt a different strong power at his back other than the thunderbolt.
It was the moment he realized that. Lock could see Cale holding the bundle of blankets with one hand while pushing his face away with the other. He could hear Cale's calm voice.
"Move over a bit."
"...Excuse me?"
Lock's cheek was pushed to the side by Cale's hand.
TCF!Choi Han smiled, he felt that the image of Lock on the Palantír right now was really adorable, he was also immensely proud of how much his younger brother had grown compared to when they had first met.
At that moment, Lock could hear a loud explosion right above him. Lock was able to see the explosion because his face had turned. His mouth opened wide for a different reason than before.
Jaws dropped open in shock and disbelief. There had been many strange and unbelievable things that the people from the TBOAH!World had heard from their counterparts, but even still, nothing could have prepared them for the sight being revealed upon the Palantír right now. Grigori smiled innocently while casually ignoring the looks she was getting from the audience. They were looking at her as if to ask her whether what they were seeing was actually real.
"Yes, these are the authentic Akashic Records of latter part of the Battle of the Gorge of Death of the TCF!World." Grigori assured them with an smile that was both amused as well as challenging them to contest her declaration.
Something was falling from the sky and hitting his large body before falling onto the ground.
"...Stones?"
Stones were falling to the ground. Lock could see a large stone spear crashing into the thunderbolt. The thunderbolt had exploded in the air after being hit by the stone spear.
"Children grow up so fast." Lock could see Cale patting him on the head as he stood up.
Cale conceded and nodded to himself, leaning his head onto TCF!Alberu's shoulder and relaxing again. If he could force himself to overlook this single instance where TCF!Lock had acted recklessly and endangered himself, he would be able to admit that he was quite proud of TCF!Lock and how wonderfully he'd grown up.
That made Lock think about when the ground started to shake. It was when the shield had become weaker. That was when the earth started to shake.
'Perhaps? Maybe the reason the ground started to shake is because of...?'
However, Lock could not ask Cale that question.
A noise that was not the sound of things exploding caught people's attention. Everyone quickly looked toward the source of that noise. Then they had to see an unbelievable sight. The earth was moving. No, to be more specific, the broken pieces of the Gorge of Death were fluctuating. It was the spot that was covered in debris after the cliffs were destroyed. Something started to rise up from there one by one.
"What in the name of the gods is that?!" Kim Rok Soo choked as the final image to appear as the Palantír darkened were the sight of the shards of the stone spears clustering together to point defiantly toward the Dragon Half-Blood's thunderbolts. Grigori chuckled under her breath and then stood up. She moved to stand directly in front of TBOAH!Lock and placed her hand upon his forehead. They both closed their eyes for a long silent moment before Grigori blinked her eyes opened and drew back her hand.
Crossing the room, she made her way over to TCF!Lock and placed her palm against his forehead to repeat the gesture before she stepped back.
"I will send you both to your rooms to rest now, you'll need to sleep for a bit, but other than that, you will both be fine." She reassured them quietly and then clicked her finger - immediately both TBOAH!Lock and TCF!Lock disappeared from the Palantír Hall.