As soon as Eislyn and Renee reached the private quarters designated for the eleventh saint, Renee immediately confessed the secrets she had been hiding from the other saints.

“I’m from the future!” Renee blurted out instantly as soon as they were within her quarters. She spoke to Eislyn in the ancient language for two main reasons. One reason was that it felt more appropriate since the ancient language was said to be the language of the gods. Another reason was because Kayden was rumored to be an eavesdropper, but he hadn’t mastered the ancient language yet. This way, even if he had the audacity to try spying on a private conversation with a goddess, he wouldn’t be able to understand anything.

“I had a feeling that was the case.” Eislyn replied back in the ancient language without a single trace of shock or surprise in her still-welcoming expression. 

“You knew?” Renee’s eyes widened. “How?”

She immediately felt that it was a stupid question to ask. Aren’t goddesses pretty much omniscient?

“I’ll explain the answer another time.” Eislyn smiled. “Tell me, what is the future like?”

Perhaps Eislyn wasn’t omniscient after all.

Renee pressed her lips together, unsure of what to tell her and how to say it. “In the eleventh century, magic faded from the physical plane, but humanity recovered quite well. After a few centuries of being stagnant, human innovation took off again. Even without magic, humanity managed to thrive. In the twenty-first century where I’m from, their technology is so advanced that they can make their own light, create self-moving mechanical carriages, and ways of preserving and sharing information and communication that seem no less magical.”

Renee then told her about mankind’s successful attempts at exploring the stars, walking on the moon, mapping the bottom of the oceans, and their triumph over many illnesses and diseases. With each sentence, Eislyn seemed more and more fascinated. She seemed unbothered by the fact that magic will soon fade from the physical plane, nor did she seem to notice that her presence wasn’t really mentioned in Renee’s description of the future. Renee dimly wonders if Eislyn is secretly aware of her own dormancy throughout those one thousand years.

“I always knew humans had great creative potentials.” Eislyn finally said with a proud smile. “Creating them was one of the best things I ever did.”

If Renee remembered correctly, creating humans also cost Eislyn her sister, as it was what drove the two goddesses apart.

“Eislyn, I’m not sure how I ended up here in the past, but I was hoping you can help me with something. I was told that I had three seals restricting my magic. I think two of them are broken, but I need to break the third one as well. Will you help me?”

Eislyn reached out her hand so that it hovered over Renee’s chest. Renee felt the goddess’s mana flow into her the way Cassius’s did, sweeping through her body until it encountered the last seal. Instantly, a mana circle appeared over Renee’s chest, a visible mark of the seal that vexed her so much, but now there was only one as opposed to two from before. Eislyn then retracted her mana as soon as the examination was over.

“There were indeed three seals on your power, but two of them have been released. Unfortunately, I am not able to break the last one. It is designed so it can only be broken by the person it is placed on.”

Renee was stunned to hear that not even a goddess can break her seal. She was even more curious to hear how she is supposed to manage such a feat.

“How do I break it?”

Eislyn thought hard for a moment. “I believe you can break through it with some strong will power.”

It took all of Renee’s composure to not burst into incredulous and hysterical laughter at her words. Strong will power? Is she not trying hard enough to break it? Did she not desire to save the world enough to break it? Or is she too weak-minded?

“I don’t have time.” Renee explained frantically. “In my time period, Eris has reawoken after a thousand years and we are preparing to fight her again for the sake of the world.”

It then occurred to Renee that Eislyn may not know what she was talking about since some of the events she was referring to has not come to pass yet for the goddess.

“No, Renee.” Eislyn reassured her. “You have as much time as you need here, and once you return to your original time period, you will resume exactly where you left off, as if you’ve never left.”

“Really?” Renee let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

Of course, how did she not realize that? She was now a thousand years in the past—that’s up to a thousand years of extra time she didn’t have before. She can just find a way to time-travel back to where she left as soon as she broke the third seal and is confident enough in her ability to fight a god. Perhaps she can wait until her past incarnation appears, or find a way to avoid her past incarnation entirely.

“So, what year is it?” Renee asked, trying to get a sense of what time period she ended up in and how much extra time she now has.

“It is the year 1023.” Eislyn replied.

The pit dropped out of Renee’s stomach. 1025 was the year where the saints died battling Eris. From what she saw through the windows in the dining hall earlier, it was in the middle of winter, so the year 1023 is drawing close to an end. That means there are less than two years before everyone here dies.

“No.” Renee’s expression was a mix of horror and fear. “Nevermind, I don’t want to stay in this time period. How do I get back to the future? The future saints need me, and I don’t want to displace my past incarnation. Please, I need to return to my current time period.”

“I’m afraid it’s not in my power to return you to your time period.” Eislyn’s expression turned grave. 

“Then how do I go back? How did I end up here in the first place?”

“You are the Saintess of Time, Renee.” Eislyn softly took Renee’s hands into her own. “You came here by your own power, and once you have broken your third seal, you will be able to return to your present.”

“That’s all?” Renee asked in disbelief. “I am stuck one thousand years in the past until I find a way to break the last seal on my magic?”

“I’m afraid so.”

This was so unfair. First, Renee didn’t reincarnate with the memories of her past life and had to relearn how to use magic from scratch. Then she found out that someone placed three seals on her, restricting her magic. She was then deemed a liability and left behind in the Court of Saints by the others. Then, someone dragged her through a mirror and dropped her one thousand years in the past. Now, she is trapped in the past, only two years away from a battle that will ultimately claim her life unless she finds a way to return to her future, and even if she succeeds in that, she will have to face another battle which may also claim her life.

“So, what do I do now?” Renee asked in defeat.

She strongly expected Eislyn to say something practical. Something like, Train yourself. Test your limits and push your boundaries. Research for ideas. Build lasting trust and friendship with the other saints. 

Instead, Eislyn’s answer was almost the exact opposite.

“Do whatever you want with the extra time you are given.” Eislyn replied. “Live a little more freely. Go play more, laugh more, and be a little lazier. Make friends and fall in love like everyone else.”

Renee was flabbergasted by Eislyn’s answer. “What?”

“I only ask one thing of you.”

“What is it?”