Chapter 18: A Burden

  When I woke up, I was laying on a cold, metallic bench inside a holding cell.

  A message flickered into the air in front of me.

  [Loop Count: 4]

  Had I really died three times already? I couldn’t even remember.

  My eyes darted around the cell, taking in my surroundings. My cellmates. My growing anxiety.

  Then, my gaze landed on a Temporal Trace mark I left myself on top of my own jacket.

  ***

  Jacket’s inner pocket? Empty.

  Freedom? Regained at noon.

  Inventory? Stacked with metals, a bronze key, a sword, and an Aero crystal.

  Metals? I need to get a Dematerializer.

  A Dematerializer? OIA, here I come.

  I stepped into the Division of Gear Oversight building, still baffled that I somehow had clearance to be here.

  Surely, it had to be a glitch.

  The unmistakable sensation of Déjà Vu crept over me as I moved down the corridor to my right, assured that I had been here before.

  I walked toward a small reception desk tucked beside a set of brass-framed stairs.

  Behind it sat a thin young woman in a clean grey dress with long sleeves – the left sleeve was missing, revealing her COG. Her blonde hair was neatly tied into a single braid.

  But the most striking thing about her was nothing related to her appearance. It was something else entirely.

  A faint dark aura – an outline – shimmered around her entire form. And just above her head, seemingly visible only to me, hovered a peculiar message:

  [This Unit is Marked by Darkness]

  The nameplate on the desk read: “Senior Clerk – Anastasia Wright.”

  Déjà Vu vanished instantly.

  I was the only one in the corridor aside from her. When she lifted her head and saw me, she smiled – calm and polite.

  “Oh, hello,” she said warmly. “Can I help you?”

  I wasn’t sure what to make of her.

  ‘Marked by Darkness’ had to mean she was somehow tied to Erebus, right? Did that mean she was here…for me?

  But I’d been here in previous loops – the feeling of Déjà Vu just seconds ago was enough proof of that – and I ended up fine.

  So…what the fuck is going on?

  “Helloooo.” She waved her hand in front of my face, snapping me out of it.

  “Sorry.” I muttered, trying to play it cool.

  If this was how Erebus marked people, I needed to play this interaction the same way I likely had in a previous run. If I wasn’t marked then, I shouldn’t get marked now.

  “How can I help you?” She repeated.

  Thinking back to how I probably handled this before, I spoke. “I…have a meeting here.”

  “A meeting?” She echoed, then gestured toward the terminal on her desk. “Please extend your COG for a scan.”

  I did.

  She began typing.

  “Hmm, with Chief Engineer Watson?” She said, raising an eyebrow.

  The name evoked another wave of Déjà Vu, assuring me I was on the right track, so I nodded.

  After I few seconds, she sighed. “You’re quite late, though.”

  Before I could say anything in my defense, she added. “But Mr. Watson left a message in case that happened.” She shook her head with a smile. “That man is so organized.”

  “A message?” I asked.

  She nodded, offering another polite smile. “He should be free now. I’ll call for someone to escort you.”

  My heart was racing. It all felt too easy. Too convenient. And that faint dark aura around her was way too unsettling.

  A moment later, an Enforcer in standard Ironwatch uniform arrived.

  “Blake, please take the young gentleman to Chief Engineer Watson’s office, m’kay? He’s already waiting for him.” Senior Clerk Wright said with a gentle smile.

  The Enforcer – Blake – looked briefly flustered before nodding. “Y-yes, ma’am.”

  “It’s on floor three, room thirty-seven.”

  Another distant sense of Déjà Vu.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  ***

  We arrived on the third floor – its layout similar to the one below, with two outstretching corridors.

  Enforcer Blake looked like escorting me was the last thing he wanted to be doing. So, when we’d barely made it a quarter down the hall – and the plaque with the number 37 was just ahead – he stopped and gestured forward.

  “Thirty-seven’s over there. Good luck, mate.” He muttered, already turning to walk briskly back toward the staircase.

  I approached the door.

  ‘Chief Engineer Richard Watson, Room 37’ was written on the brass plaque in bold black letters.

  Should I even go inside? This was either a mistake…or worse – a setup.

  I briefly considered wandering the floor instead, taking advantage of the Enforcer’s negligent departure. But the number of people around made that impossible.

  They were all eying me warily already. One suspicious step, one detour toward somewhere they didn’t expect me to be, and my little adventure inside the Division of Gear Oversight would end right here, and I’d have to waste another loop to get here.

  Realizing all this, something inside me just pushed my hand forward.

  I knocked on the office door.

  Too late to back out now. Let’s see who’s this Watson guy.

  But there was no answer.

  I knocked again.

  Still nothing.

  Wasn’t he supposed to be waiting for me…?

  Carefully, I pressed the handle. The door clicked open.

  Empty.

  That’s odd…

  I stepped inside and closed the door behind me, locking it manually.

  The office itself was very practical, but nothing about it caught my attention as much as the single glowing orb resting on the floor in front of the desk.

  An unmistakable marker left by yours truly.

  I crouched down on one knee, reaching toward it. I knocked on the tiled floor a few times, thinking maybe there was a secret compartment beneath. Maybe that was what my past self was trying to tell me.

  Nothing happened.

  Before I could search for something to break the tile, my eyes drifted slightly to the right – toward the desk.

  There, nestled carefully at the underside of the desk, inside a small wooden cradle, was a compact device glowing with a faint purple aura.

  A Dematerializer.

  I hesitated for just a moment, then reached out and slid it out of its compartment. I held it in my hand, watching it closely.

  It was exactly as I remembered it – small, no larger than my palm. One end was narrow, shaped to fit into a COG’s Integration Port. The other end was much wider, but still no thicker than my index finger’s length. A brass ring encircled the end, carved with the same strange symbols no one knew how to translate.

  Before I could even attempt to use it, a message flickered into the air in front of me.

  [Temporal Trace: Time Plane Memory #6 - Available]

  Time Plane Memory?

  What…?

  And it was labeled number six? Where were the previous ones?

  Then, the message shifted.

  [Would you like to watch the memory?]

  [YES / NO]

  Confused. Surprised. Shocked. All of the above.

  I gave a single mental command.

  Yes.

  The moment I did, a rush of energy surged through my mind. Images from the past began painting themselves in my mind’s eye.

  ***

  [Time Plane Memory #6]

  It was night in Skyhaven.

  Seated alone on a wooden bench beneath the moonlight was a middle-aged man with messy ginger hair.

  He wore a long black coat lined with brass buttons that covered most of his body. Only his leather boots were peeking underneath it.

  He sat in silence, unmoving – hands resting flat on his knees, his gaze fixed forward as if trying to burn a hole through the white marble floor.

  Every few seconds, he let out a heavy sigh, followed by a frustrated shake of his head. He looked…regretful. Mournful.

  The sound of footsteps echoed down the empty street. The man looked up.

  A figure approached – fully cloaked, face completely obscured by a hood.

  The ginger-haired man stood immediately, startled.

  “W-why did you call me here?” He asked, voice shaking.

  “Sit, Watson.” Said the cloaked figure.

  Their voice was distorted – warped through a vocal modulator.

  Watson obeyed at once, swallowing hard as he lowered himself back onto the bench.

  The figure came closer, standing barely a step away. They loomed over him, their presence overwhelming – enough to make Watson fidget where he sat.

  Silence stretched between them. The one that’d make your skin crawl with unease.

  “I – “ Watson started, but the figure cut him off immediately.

  “Don’t try to make it less than what it is.”

  “I had to do it!” Watson said quickly. “You know they would’ve made me join her if I refused! She had learned too many of Solvane’s darkest secrets! Secrets that were buried for hundreds of years!”

  “She trusted you.” The figure said coldly. “You betrayed her.”

  Watson flinched. He shook his head violently. “N-no! She would’ve understood! I’m sure of it! She wasn’t stupid! She knew how Skyhaven works!”

  “Does that make your sin less severe?”

  Watson swallowed hard. This time, he didn’t argue. “…N-no.”

  “So, what have we learned, Watson?” The figure asked, their tone condescending, almost mocking.

  Watson’s eyes dropped to the ground once more, returning to the same haunted stare he wore before the meeting began.

  “That no one is safe…” He muttered.

  The figure didn’t reply, but the hood moved slightly – a nod.

  Watson dared to raise his eyes. “W-what now?” he asked, barely above a whisper.

  “Now?” The figure echoed. “You’re already moving forward, huh?” They laughed – a warped, distorted sound twisted by the vocal modulator. “And you called that friendship?”

  Then the unexpected happened.

  Watson collapsed to his knees. His shoulders shook. He burst into tears.

  “It was,” he choked out between sobs. “I never wanted it to happen to her...”

  The cloaked figure laid what seemed to be a gentle hand on Watson’s head. But the comfort was fleeting. Their fingers clenched. In one sudden movement, they gripped Watson by the hair and yanked him upward, then shoved him back into a seated position on the bench.

  Watson cried out in pain, hands raised instinctively in defense.

  “Don’t bow before me. Have some dignity.” The figure said – calm, composed, almost amused despite the violent act. “Regardless, I’m not here to enact justice. Or anything so poetic.”

  Watson stared at them, wide-eyed. “But I thought that – that you were here to – “

  The figure laughed, the vocal modulator making it sound haunting.

  “What?” The figure cut in with another eerie laugh. “Kill you?” They leaned in slightly. “And why would I do that?”

  Watson blinked, uncertain. “Because you’re – “

  “Shh.”

  The figure raised a single finger and pressed it forcefully against Watson’s lips. Then turned their head slightly, scanning the area.

  “Someone might be listening in.” They whispered.

  Watson looked around too, warily. When he saw no one nearby, he leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Then…why did you call me?”

  The figure sighed. The sound came out as a drawn-out metallic screech through the modulator.

  “She wanted you to have this.” They said.

  From within their cloak, they pulled out a small metallic object and placed it in Watson’s hands.

  A Dematerializer.

  “It was hers.” The figure added. “For reasons unknown to me, she wrote that you were the one who should keep it.”

  “S-she did? M-me?” Watson stammered, staring down at the device as though it were cursed. His fingers hovered over it like it might burn him.

  “Yes. You.” The figure’s tone turned sharper, almost accusing.

  “I – I don’t understand. Why would she – ?”

  “Who knows?” The figure said. “Maybe she was just too sentimental. Or maybe…there was a reason to it that only you could understand.”

  Watson clutched the device to his chest, trembling. “I – I don’t deserve this.”

  “No.” The figure agreed. “Consider it as your burden.”

  “Burden…” Watson echoed.

  “Yes.” The figure said. “We all carry our own. Mine is reshaping this place, and thanks to her it'll be much much easier." They pointed at the device in his hands. "And yours is this. You’re getting off the hook fairly easily, if you ask me.”

  Another short silence spread between them, broken eventually by the cloaked figure.

  “Keep it well, Watson. It was her wish.” Then they leaned closer. “You wouldn’t want to dishonor Cecilia Baines’ memory any further…would you?”

  [Time Plane Memory #6 – END]