Chapter 1997 The Reward. "Hmmmmmmm." Nux tilted his head as he stared at his palm that constantly released water and absorbed it again, all while it got aged, returned to normal, then regressed and returned to normal again. Yes, Nux's control over the water inside his body seemed to have increased. He finally understood how things worked. If he moved the water inside his body clockwise before releasing it, it would age his hands. If he did the opposite and moved it counterclockwise, it would regress his hands. One thing to note, however, was that every time he moved the water in and out of his body, some of it dropped on the sand and was absorbed, never to return. So the conversion wasn't absolute. Every time he used his new 'power', he lost some of it, and once he ran out… He would lose his newly gained power. "It makes sense now." Nux nodded inwardly. He remembered how Vashti, in her report, mentioned that the Temple rewards the Trial Taker and tempts him to go away after every single attempt. Just that once the Trial Taker accepts the temptation and returns, the Temple never rewards him again, no matter how many times he returns or how many Trials they clear. "So this is my 'reward', huh…" Nux muttered as he once again regressed his hands. "The power of time over my own body. If I return now…" He could have this power for himself. Just as he thought about it, a Gate formed behind him, showing him the way out. Nux also noticed that more and more water continued to leak out of his palm— His powers were going away. If he didn't move out now, he would lose quite a big chunk of his power. Yes, it was yet another way the Temple sent the Trial Taker away. It was almost as if it wanted people to leave. Of course, Nux didn't budge. He just turned toward the River of Eternity and started thinking. Now that he had this power, things felt easier. He simply needed to release as much water as his body absorbed to keep the balance. It was all about energy control—something he was sort of a master at. After all, he was used to controlling multiple energies in his body at once. With newfound confidence, he walked toward the river again. He stepped in. Once again, the water entered his right leg and started aging it. At the same time, he started moving the water in his own body counterclockwise and released the water through his leg, trying to regress it. The two forces canceled each other out, and just as Nux expected, his leg was perfectly fine. Nux walked further. Now, his left leg was in as well and had started regressing. He moved the water in his body clockwise and released it through his left foot, stabilizing the effect. With the situation now under his complete control, he walked forward. The water had no effect on his body. Soon, he was already 100 cm deep into the water, so he started swimming. Again, his body wasn't affected. Even when the time flow reversed and the right water started regressing his body instead of aging it, he simply changed the flow of energy inside his own body and balanced it. It was absolutely effortless. Nux continued to swim and once again, he saw a dark line at the horizon as the water started trembling. Yes, the wave was here again. 'Heh.' He grinned. It was something he was looking forward to. He wanted to know how effective his plan was. Soon, the wave came, and Nux allowed it to engulf him. His body twisted and rotated as the water pushed it in different directions. Once again, his body started dividing into different 'parts', with each part aging differently. Nux expected this, and to counter it, he moved the water inside his own body, releasing it from every single part that was formed. Now, he needed to constantly change the water flow in his own body to take care of every single 'part' of his body at the same time, all while the water continued to change its property of regressing or aging him, forcing him to change the flow as well. It was something almost every being would lose their mind in. After all, his mind had to take care of hundreds of different parts in his body and stabilize them, all while trying to find his way back to the surface. His brain was forced to multitask on hundreds of different fronts, but… To Nux, it didn't really matter. Honestly, he had already ingrained the water flow into his mind to the point his body was now doing it on its own. Yes, Zenith Flow was already activated. He had activated it and trained his body while he was testing his ability at the shore. After doing it multiple times, training his body to manipulate a single 'energy' was almost as easy as breathing for him. He only needed to find a way back to the surface, which he did after a few minutes. Yes, the wave had disappeared, the water was stabilized, and finally, the 'end' was near. This time, however, Nux remembered his culture. He wasn't planning on raising any flags. He simply nodded to himself and continued to swim, still wary of anything that might happen. And just as he expected, something did happen. The water inside his body 'ran out', meaning that he no longer had the power to manipulate time inside his body. The river water could now once again alter his body as it pleased. Of course, Nux didn't give up. Since the wave was gone, his body was now only divided into two parts—left and right—just like how it was in the beginning. So his counter was the same. He swam, and once the disproportion in his body grew, he rotated his body and swam backwards. This, however, didn't make him any happier. After all, He could already see another dark line on the horizon. The second wave was here.