Chapter 85: The First One

  “She’s on the third floor,” Vorrick said calmly. “Right next to where they set your exhibit. You can go and confirm it’s her. Though I advise against speaking to her. Thirty-four loops in, Erebus’ hold on Skyhaven—and the Divine especially—is strong. You can’t predict what might count as a significant change anymore. Even this conversation is risky.”

  He exhaled heavily. “Regardless, I’ll be waiting for you on this floor for the next ten minutes. If you truly want to end this nightmare, come back down by 13:28. If you don’t, I’ll assume you’ve made your choice and adjust my plans accordingly.”

  My expression twisted in anger. “Adjust how? Send your dead brother to kill me again?”

  “Maybe,” Vorrick said simply. He sighed deeply before turning around and stepping away.

  “Wow. Thanks for giving me so many options,” I called after him, but he didn’t look back. He returned to Alice’s side, leaving me alone.

  I turned toward the staircase, but my feet didn’t move.

  If I learned anything from all those Memory Fragments in the Inventory, it was that my hate toward my mother was deeply misplaced. I just couldn’t hate her anymore—not after realizing she’d been influenced by Dolos and his lies from the very beginning. If before I wished I could meet her solely to tell her how much I despised her. Now, I just wished I could meet her at all.

  But she was dead.

  It’s hard to feel grief toward someone you hated your whole life. So when you suddenly realize you were wrong, that you wasted years of hating someone who didn’t deserve it, it erupts all at once. And there’s no rewinding it. Not even with a time loop.

  Then came Thea.

  The moment I learned she existed, something inside me clicked. It was like I was certain that she would understand how I felt. She spent Mom’s last years with her. If there was someone who would understand me, it was her. If there was someone who could tell me if she ever said anything about me, if she continued loving me from afar, if she regretted leaving, it was Thea.

  And after seeing what they did to her—what Vorrick did to her—something irrational and overwhelming ignited inside of me. I wanted to find her. Protect her. Make sure she was alive and safe. I was worrying about a sister I hadn’t even known existed before this day—this loop.

  And now she was here. Supposedly just one floor above me. Supposedly I’d even spoken to her in a previous loop.

  I clenched my jaw, anger rising. If not for the Déjà vu System’s memory reset, I would’ve recognized her the moment I first saw that Memory Fragment. Instead, I had to rely on his help. On the bastard who beat her. On the monster who killed our mother.

  I forced a slow breath out and checked my COG.

  I’d already wasted two whole minutes just standing here and doing nothing.

  Time to move. I still didn’t know whether I’d take Vorrick up on his offer, but I at least wanted to have that option available to me.

  I ascended the stairs to the third floor.

  The first thing I saw—outside of all the marked people on this floor—was Trent hunched over the Chrono Quill, poking at it with a screwdriver. Seeing him unmarked, I exhaled in relief. I didn’t even care that he was halfway to destroying my invention.

  Then my gaze drifted to the exhibit beside ours—hard not to, considering the machine there squealed so much. Tinkering with it was a boyish teenage girl with short black hair.

  Thea.

  Her long hair was gone, but it was definitely her.

  She was also unmarked. One of the few people on this floor.

  If I walked up to her now, would she recognize me? Had she recognized me in past loops? What was her reaction? Did she even know about me? What I look like? Knowing how deeply Valdemar likely manipulated her after Mom died, I doubted she’d show anything even if she did know. After all, she was here for one reason—Valdemar's original plan of conquering the Divine.

  She looked exhausted and angry...at the world.

  I wanted to go to her. Tell her she wasn’t alone. Tell she had more family. Tell her that even if we hadn’t known each other until now, I was here for her. She didn’t have to follow that damn anarchist.

  “Viktor! Holy shit, you’re here!” Trent’s voice blasted from my left, pulling me out of my thoughts.

  “Silence,” someone nearby muttered with clear disdain.

  Trent shot the man his signature disgusted glare. “Oh, put a sock in it.”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  The inventor stiffened and shrank back to his work.

  “Where were you, man?! These Skyhaven weirdos are freaking me out!” Trent continued with the same energy.

  My gaze darted to Thea one more time before I slowly shifted it back to Trent.

  I wasn’t sure what got into me, but before I could stop myself, I pulled him into a brotherly hug.

  “Uh…Vik?” Trent muttered awkwardly, not returning the hug—just slightly tapping me on the back in response. “You…good?”

  “Sorry,” I said, pulling away with a tired chuckle. “Long story. I’ll fill you in later.”

  Inside, my mind about Vorrick’s proposition was made up. I just needed to set my counterplan in motion.

  Step one:

  [Temporal Trace Level 5: Remove all marks?]

  [YES / NO]

  Yes.

  [Temporal Trace Level 5: All marks removed]

  Good. I didn’t really need them here. I already noticed the ones I set around. With half the Divine marked by Darkness, they seemed to serve no purpose. I’d rather have them available in the Foundry.

  “Okay…” Trent eyed me suspiciously, then returned to his panicked state. “Dude, please don’t kill me, but the Chrono Quill just won’t start! I tried everything. I swear it’s not – “

  “It’s fine, assistant,” I said with a faint smile, my gaze turning toward Thea again as her machine squealed once more.

  “That thing is driving me insane,” Trent groaned, rubbing his temples. “I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t wrecked my concentration on the Quill.”

  I checked my COG.

  [13:23]

  Time for step two.

  “By the looks of it,” I said, leaning over the Chrono Quill, “we’ve got a problem with the paper compartment.”

  I popped it open, pulled out the stack of test pages I’d left during my last home trial, and tucked them into my back pocket.

  “Oh, shoot! The paper!” Trent facepalmed. “I checked the stack beforehand. I just hadn’t noticed those were used papers…”

  “I need fresh paper,” I said, meeting his eyes. “And I need you to get it in under three minutes. Think you can manage?”

  Trent gave a sloppy imitation of an Ironwatch salute, spun on his heel, and sprinted in search of our lost paper.

  Meanwhile, I scanned around for a pen, the next piece of my plan already forming.

  ***

  I got back to the second floor just as the clock hit 13:28.

  Casten Vorrick was still there beside Alice. The moment he spotted me, he gave me a small nod, then leaned toward her.

  “I’ll be back for the Expo’s opening,” he told her casually before turning toward the staircase and gesturing for me to follow.

  “Wait,” Alice called after us, frowning. “Where are you going? And why are you taking Mr. Halegrim with you?”

  Vorrick flashed her a practiced smile, and once again placed his hand on my shoulder in a friendly manner. “I need his help with something classified.”

  She didn’t look convinced, but Vorrick didn’t seem to care in the slightest—his smile was gone the moment he turned away from her.

  Once we reached the first floor, I asked, “Where are we going?”

  “As far away from here as possible,” he said, never slowing his stride. “Normally, in the original loop, I’m not supposed to be inside the Divine before the Expo begins. Being here now puts me—and also you—at risk, but I had to take that chance.”

  “You knew I’d come? How?”

  He nodded. “After I found your body beside my brother’s last loop, I assumed you’d want to head to the Foundry next. Last time, before you switched your focus from Skyhaven to Orlinth, you spent eight loops repeating the exact same actions in the Divine. I still have no idea why you did that, but I suspected—more like hoped—you would do that again this time around.” He spread his hands lightly. “And…here we are.”

  My body…? How did I even die? I remember exposing the Crow, but the rest? Just blurry fragments. Someone else was there with me. Somehow who was able to shatter the Aetherguard Mark III with his bare fists. Someone who shot Theo Vorrick right in the face.

  “Move quickly,” Vorrick ordered sharply as we exited the Divine and continued forward until we reached the road. “Erebus’ agents might be closing in. Listen for whistles.”

  “Whistles?” I echoed, dumbfounded.

  “Yes,” he said as he shifted his focus to his COG. “They’re invisible beasts that communicate by whistles. I’ve noticed that anyone they attack ends up marked the next loop.”

  Invisible? My mind immediately flicked to Zee.

  A second later, a Porter Carriage screeched to a halt beside us.

  “Hop in,” Vorrick said, boarding the automaton without hesitation.

  Cautiously, I followed.

  He scanned his COG on the terminal, and a soft chime and a green screen followed.

  “Welcome, Prime Casten Vorrick,” croaked a metallic voice from the phonotube in the automaton’s neck. “Destination: Foundry Passenger Terminal V.”

  “The terminal to the Foundry?” I asked.

  “Yes. We need distance,” he said as the carriage lurched forward.

  Before he could poison my brain with his half-truths and lies, I decided to press forward with my questions.

  "Why were you so set on killing me until - "

  He cut me off quickly. “No time for small talk. Take this.”

  He held something out to me: a small silver ring with a purple aura flaring around it.

  The Déjà vu System reacted immediately.

  [Temporal Trace: Time Plane Memory #1 - Available]

  [Would you like to watch the memory?]

  [YES / NO]

  Memory #1. The first one. The one to start it all…

  “Before you blame me for social cleansing for the sake of creating mana crystals on top of all my other sins, watch it,” Vorrick said. “It should clear everything up. And it’ll also help you understand why Valdemar only ever stood for himself—why his one and only goal is, was, and forever will be, to burn what remains of this world to ash.”

  I took the ring slowly.

  I didn’t trust Vorrick but if the System responded, the Memory Fragment was legitimate.

  “One more thing,” he added. “This one is from a very distant past. Our world was different back then. Solvane as we know it today didn’t exist yet. Magitek didn’t fully exist yet. Don’t be too surprised by what you see.”

  Confused, intrigued, and everything in between, I was about to activate the memory.

  But...not before I dropped my bomb.

  "If this is some plan to fuck me over—if anything happens to me," I said, looking Casten Vorrick straight in the eyes. "Your precious Alice will get marked by Darkness. I already made sure of that."

  Vorrick's eyes widened in confusion. "What did you — "

  I couldn't even hear the rest of it as I triggered the Memory Fragment and the world around me dissolved, sending me back into a time I never imagined existed.