Alpha’s explanation was both complicated and lengthy, as well as simple and straightforward.

Everything started when they first arrived in the Cosmic Universe.

Back then, Liora had directly reincarnated as a human.

Meanwhile, Alpha had been forced into slumber, waiting until Liora reached a certain level of strength before she could truly awaken and descend into this world to assist her.

The soul’s appearance happened back then. While in slumber, it had directly appeared inside Alpha’s soul space.

As for its identity?

Just as Liora had previously claimed, it was Alpha’s future self!

"I originally did not believe her words. I believed that everything was the scheme of some higher-level being. A mere conspiracy," she shook her head.

"I thought I had been corrupted. I was prepared to tell you the truth and ask you to expel it," Alpha explained.

"However, the soul took the initiative to reveal its essence to me. Moreover, it remained inside my soul space without facing any resistance."

"That alone was enough to confirm that it had a close relationship with me. After that, it used several other methods to practically confirm that it was indeed my future self."

Liora did not ask what methods the soul had used.

In fact, the fact that it could reside in Alpha’s soul had already been enough evidence.

Anything more was merely to further convince Alpha that it was not a conspiracy.

Seeing Liora remain silent, Alpha continued.

"My future self claimed that she had taken the initiative to return to the past of her own accord. Or rather, it was out of desperation."

"As for the reason..."

"She said it was to alter the past."

Alpha hesitated briefly. But under Liora’s watchful gaze, she soon gave in.

"According to my future self, our situation in the future does not seem to be very good. Or rather, your state, my Lord."

"It seems that we faced some major threat, and you were forced to make an unbearable decision. Since then, your personality has changed."

"More indifferent. More cruel."

"These were the words my future self said, though she did not mention anything specific." Alpha shook her head.

"But I can sense that she is particularly afraid of my Lord’s future self. Although there is some admiration, fear is what occupies most of her heart."

Liora’s eyes narrowed.

Changing the past...

This was indeed the most straightforward reason to explain why someone had returned to the past.

It made sense that Alpha’s future self would also be such a case.

However, her next words made her thoughtful.

Did they face some major setback in the future, forcing her to use some kind of unpredictable method that changed her personality?

This was... plausible.

Liora had created countless plans and backups over her life so far.

Whether it was to revive herself, obtain short-term strength, or anything in between.

Some of her backups were simple. Others required her to pay a heavy price to employ them.

"Even so, for me to willingly use something that would change my personality, I would have to face the threat of total annihilation."

"Even if there was only a slim chance of my revival, I wouldn’t make such a choice. After all, is the altered self me when the personality is different?"

Alpha had not mentioned how far in the future they would face that threatening setback.

It could be in minutes, but it could also well be billions of years.

Still, Liora knew very well that her way of thinking would remain the same no matter how many years passed.

She would never risk her sense of self unless necessary.

In that case, the "setback" they faced was bound to be extraordinary.

Many thoughts raced through Liora’s mind as she organized them.

"My Lord."

Alpha’s voice suddenly brought her back to reality.

"I don’t think we need to be afraid."

"Now that we’ve learned about the danger in the future, we can always prepare ourselves."

"As long as we remain cautious, the future my future self mentioned will not come true. As for her... we can simply seal her for now." Alpha tried to comfort her.

Her voice was firm.

Yet from the fact that she had not informed Liora of anything until now, it was obvious that she did not truly believe this.

Her future self could actually travel through time and appear in the present. What kind of incredible power was required to achieve this?

At least an Ancient Devil. Perhaps even stronger.

Since her future self could not "save" Liora, was there really anything they could do to succeed?

Liora saw straight through Alpha’s worries.

She couldn’t help but chuckle, feeling that this woman had too wild an imagination.

The reason she looked thoughtful was not that she was afraid of the future or the danger Alpha constantly mentioned.

Instead, she was more interested in future Alpha’s state.

"Although I can also alter the past, it’s impossible for me to directly travel through time."

"At most, I can let the imprints I’ve left on the timeline take action for me. Still, I would have to suffer severe backlash from the River of Time even if I only wanted to change a single thing."

A single action would directly affect her true self, perhaps even placing her in danger of death.

Yet according to Alpha, her future self had been with her since they arrived in the Cosmic Universe.

At least several decades.

Judging from the Heaven Emperor’s age, perhaps even longer.

To remain alive even after so long, she either had to be extremely powerful or had to have truly traveled back into the past.

Liora had already dismissed the first possibility.

She had already checked, and the illusory soul was quite weak, as though it would extinguish at the slightest disturbance.

That meant the latter was the truth.

And how she had achieved this remained unknown.

With that thought, Liora’s eyes sharpened.

She looked at the slumbering soul of "future Alpha" in her hand and no longer hesitated.

There was a simple way to find the answer to all her doubts. At most, it would be somewhat uncomfortable for Alpha.