Non, still processing what had happened, felt a wave of fusion.
His time-stopping magic had never activated on its own before. He had always been the oo i, struggling to maintain trol, but this time, it had been different.
Had the immihreat of death triggered something new in his ability?
Nohis wasn't the moment to analyze the development. Time had resumed, and every sed that passed in this state added to the cooldown before he could use his magic again.
He had to decide quickly.
Instinct told him he could use this pause to escape and save himself.
But as he looked at the girls around him, he felt uo leave them behind.
The healer had been helping him, Emily didn't deserve to be caught in this, and Iris, the princess...
He couldn't let them die like this.
'I have to rewind time…' he thought.
It was the only option.
But the question was, how much time?
If he rewound too much, his body would feel the strain, and he wouldn't be able to use his pain if something else happened.
If he rewound too little, there wouldn't be enough time to act before the explosion occurred.
And if he rewound too much, he'd lose the ce to see who phe explosive or stop them.
The pain in his chest began to intensify.
Every sed in this state weighed more heavily, and four seds had already passed with time frozen.
He couldn't afford any more.
Finally, Non made his decision.
'I'll rewind just until the princess entered.'
That would give him an advahough it would leave him vulnerable afterward. But there was no time for further calcutions.
Non closed his eyes and jured his magibsp;
The world around him began to move in reverse.
The explosion rewound, wooden splinters aal fragments reassembled.
The dust that had filled the air dissipated, returning to its p the walls and floor.
Emily, the healer, and the princess—everything reversed while he remaiill, frozen in pce, watg as time flowed backward.
When the door opened again and Princess Iris stepped through, time returo normal.
The healer, startled by Non's sudden surge of energy, jumped when she saw him rise, even though he should still have been in pain from the treatment.
The pain in his chest was real, but Non ig, fog on what was about to happen.
"Mr. Non, what are you doing?" the healer asked, bewildered, while Emily stared wide-eyed.
But Non didn't answer.
Instead, he moved quickly to the door where, in just a few moments, the attacker would appear.
He motioned for them to stay quiet, and all of them, fused, watched him silently.
Non ted the seds in his mind, taking deep breaths to bear the pain.
Just before anything could happen, he flung the door open, and there he was: a nobleman crouched down, pg dynamite at the entranbsp;
Without hesitation, Nohe man in the face, taking advantage of his vulnerable position.
The noble, uo rea time, let out a grunt as he fell backward.
The girls, still ihe room, watched the se in astonishment.
Non, staying calm, quickly extinguished the dynamite's fuse with his hands.
The heat from the explosive burned his palms, but he mao snuff it out before it could fully ignite.
The noble, gritting his teeth in frustration, tried to get up and flee. But Non was faster and grabbed him by the tunic, smming him against the wall.
The man tried to break free, but Non held him firmly in pbsp;
"What the hell were y to do?" Non growled, bringing his face close to the nobleman's.
Iris, shocked, immediately reized the man.
"Alistair! What are you doing?" the princess excimed, utterly incredulous.
Emily, uo tear her eyes from the se, felt her heart race. The healer was equally dumbfounded.
Alistair, a noble who had retly fessed his love to the princess but had beeed, now gred at her with hatred.
"Damn you!" he cursed at Non, though his eyes remained fixed on Iris, who took a step back, horrified.
More people began arriving, drawn by the noise and otion.
Guards and staff rushed in, asking what had happened.
Non, still holding Alistair, g the newers and, with tense calm, expined,
"This bastard tried to set off an explosive to kill us."
The room fell into absolute silenbsp;
Non's words left everyone in shobsp;
Emily, trembling, crouched doicked up the extinguished dynamite, staring at it with shaking hands.
'Is this for real…?' she thought. 'Was I that close to dying…?'
Iris approached Alistair, her face a mix of disbelief and hurt.
"Why, Alistair?" she asked. "Why would you do something like this?"
The noble looked at her with pt.
"You and your damn royal family will never uand. People like you don't deserve to live."
The guards finally took trol of the situation and dragged Alistair away.
Non, exhausted, felt his body paying the price for rewinding time and the physical effort.
Yet deep doark of excitement flickered.
He had discovered something new, an advan his magic he hadn't expected.
But that small victory was snuffed out when he felt a sharp pain in his chest.
Something in his mana core had ged.
The cracks had spread.
