Theora woke up to Bell’s outer dome shield breaking, and let go of what she’d been hugging. She was already on her feet as the first crack appeared, and made it to the cabin in a fraction of a second as the shell crumbled above.
On her way, Theora noticed a few things. First: the inside of the dome was secure for now, but would be destroyed within the next moment. Second: The cause of the damage was something similar to… an energy surge? Everything was bright. Though it seemed unlikely that a simple surge would destroy one of Bell’s shields, as that was in part what they were meant to protect against.
Theora reached inside the multidimensional travelling attire hanging next to the entrance of the cabin, and swiftly pulled out the time dilation device. That would give them another seven or so seconds.
Bell had just shot up from the basin, looking terrified but focused. The others were still asleep, so Theora gently called out.
“Let’s evacuate.”
Dema and Iso opened their eyes, but otherwise stayed still for a moment. Dema caught herself quicker, jumping up in a swift motion, biting her thumb and letting the gushing blood float in orbits around her. Isobel retched up a bit of water.
They left as the world around them crumbled. As the moss bleached and scarred, the explosion forming behind them at a slug’s pace. Bell had abandoned all larger barriers and was now keeping them in a small bubble of safety.
The sun was scorching down with an intensity Theora only vaguely remembered from her time in space.
Dema walked ahead on light feet, jumping over rocks and blazing a trail out of the dome with her magic. It was then, watching her back, that Theora’s foggy mind slowly caught up.
Dema did not have a tail.
Then what had Theora been hugging when she woke up?
“I need to go back in,” she announced as she turned, the attire flapping with Theora’s rare quick motion. “Meet you in the city.”
After another few words of coordination, they split, the gleaming surfaces swallowing up their three silhouettes like a glowing sandstorm. After leaving the safety of Bell’s shields, skin and flesh began to burn off Theora’s bones as she moved to find her sleeping corner; the moss had vaporised under magic heat and she could barely find her way. The travelling attire held itself together for now, but she clasped a fold in her fist to keep it safe should something happen.
Theora recognised a few rock shapes in the heat, so she crouched down to feel the charcoal ground. The tips of her fingers hit upon something cold.
Nothing should be this cold here.
Theora clasped it to her chest — it was thicker than her legs, and about as long. Then, she found the SCISSoRs lying next to it. It was… suspicious. But she couldn’t make sense of it for now — a prickly sluggishness still fogged her mind like it did on many mornings; her body demanded more rest.
But she didn’t want to sleep here; the explosion was over, but boiling magic seared into her skin and attire. Looking up, Theora found the sun gazing down at them. Was this… a solar storm? Isobel may have mentioned something to that effect when preparing for the mission. Meteorites from the grand voids, magic pouring out from the sun — things Theora didn’t have to worry about so much when out alone, but when outside with others, it was different.
With a sigh, she pushed herself up from her knees, watching the smoke dissipate into space’s emptiness together with the air. The bubbles of algae had been dispersed; some into fine mist, while larger ones were floating off into the distance.
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And so, Theora made her way to the ruined city.
The party chat was flooding with messages. Treeka had sent a very large text overnight about how she felt very lonely and how she would use her entrapment magic again if they ever returned to her.
Theora lost herself thinking of ways to take Treeka with them on their next trip. Her mind slowly awoke as she went through the options, until she finally noticed something weird.
A System notification floated in the periphery of her vision.
Skill learned: [Evaporate a Lake].
Received from [Fragment of Time]; available as long as the item is held.
It had joined two other Skills on her sheet: [Flatten a Mountain], and [Raze a Forest], which she’d received from previous Fragments of Time.
Theora grimaced, and looked at the tail in her arms. The lack of air was getting to her a bit, making it difficult to focus.
They were prepared for disaster. They had contingencies. The fact that they had found an air-producing city within walking distance was a welcome bonus; it meant they didn’t have to touch the emergency resources still stored in the attire.
But now what? Would they rebuild? Some things they’d lost could be difficult to replace. Treeka was lonely too.
Theora kept staring at the severed tail in her arms. She sure wished her brain was working right now, for it could probably help explain why she was suddenly carrying a third Fragment of Time around. She sure didn’t remember getting one. Had it materialised out of thin air?
Notifications about new messages kept popping up; either the others still couldn’t talk because they were waiting for the atmosphere to form in the city, or they texted as to not exclude Theora from the discussion.
She told them she was on her way. And while she could have been thinking about a lot of things — these Skills, Treeka, their mission — what tumbled through her foggy head instead was that phrase she’d been thinking of a lot in Reality.
The storms are getting stronger.
For all she knew, this kind of magical eruption could have been common up here, where no atmosphere protected the surface. But there was a reason Theora had woken up as soon as Bell’s barrier had cracked. After Reality, her sleep had gotten lighter. She was now more sensitive.
She wasn’t planning on letting any of her loved ones die again on her watch.
Catching up to the others was no easy feat; they had gone off to find a suitable place for them to set up camp rather than just doing it right at the entrance. The system map was of limited use to help navigate the city, because further from the centre, the layout became a tad more convoluted, with paths leading into tunnels downward and streets rising to higher levels next to them.
When she thought she was finally there after an hour of searching, she found herself on the wrong level; the others were above her, probably. Dema texted she’d come fetch her and would light up atmosphere-creating devices on their way so Theora would be able to breathe again sooner.
The place she found herself in was a large hall with softly glowing walls with stairs laid into them. Stairs that didn’t lead anywhere save for higher on the walls themselves.
Walls that were painted with countless murals.
Paintings of plants, of buildings, of people. As if anyone who wanted could just come here, find an empty spot somewhere along the stairs, and paint.
Theora thought she faintly recognised one person depicted there — long hair, smiling, wearing a green attire. Half of her face was missing from an old monster attack, and she was depicted with a wide sunhat Theora hadn’t seen her wear. An old hero Theora had met on a quest once, long ago.
She slumped against the walls, the painting still in view.
After a few minutes of letting her gaze wander around, she reached into her attire and took out an old deck of cards; the murals had reminded her of it somehow. Back when she’d sorted all her belongings from her travelling attire to give them away, that deck of cards had been one of the few things she’d kept for herself.
Each card was a painting of a little scene. Simplified, in vibrant colours, hand-drawn and magically reinforced to withstand decay. A girl sitting by a lake. A set of mountains under the evening sun. A red demon laughing.
Theora had forgotten everything about this deck of cards; whom it belonged to, where and when she had received it, or what it was about. She only remembered one little thing, and it was a feeling more than a fact: that it was important.
She got to the last card and then her gaze went back to the drawing of the hero whose name had escaped her.
Time sure was cruel. Always passing, while Theora had to stay and watch the things around her crumble.
She watched the little dot denoting Dema’s location on the map, then glanced over the others. At least she wasn’t alone in this anymore. She just had to make sure to keep them safe.