The tower spans from the floor to the ceiling, the base being wide and slimming until only a small surface remains at the top. There is not a single blemish on the engraving. I run a hand over the smooth surface, "I've seen this before."

The trio looks at each other concerned, "Let me guess, library?" Zack asks.

I nod. I try to remember where, but it's eluding me. It's right there, at the back of my mind. I sigh in exasperation as it slips away, "I can't remember where, though. It was right there."

Hearon grunts and crosses his arms, "This is a common trend with you, Silen. Tell me, how much do you remember of the library."

I shake my head, "Not much. It's fuzzy. I can recall bits and pieces, but it always feels like there's just enough there to know it happened but not enough to get the full picture or even part of one."

Hearon rubs his beard, "Sounds to me like selective amnesia. Most likely trauma-induced. Whatever happened in that place was scarring enough for your mind to try to erase it to cope. But that never works."

Sounds about right. I had that theory for a while. It does bug me that I can't remember, though. It feels like I've forgotten something crucial. I nod to the tower, "What is it?"

Zack and Hearon look at Azu as she scribbles in her notebook, "We are not entirely sure. We have seen images of this same tower in other aboveground runs but never in the belowground ones."

I shrug, "That's not too hard to explain. After all, they lived in the ground. Of course, they wouldn't see something on the surface."

Zack shakes his head, "Nah, that's not true. Most of the underground is connected to ruins above. They would have to have seen it. The strange thing, though, is that this tower has no religious or research connotations to it. It just exists in these ruins' texts and images. Most places that would have such a glaring connection would be based around religion, but the tower is never more than a decoration."

Huh. That is weird. In Titan, the Spine is a very well-known set of religious structures. Hell, half the city worships the damn things.

"No, the strangest thing about this is that these people even know what it is. The tree canopy is dense here. Dense enough to block out the sun." Azu states. Her eyes travel up the image. "That would mean this tower was tall enough for them and all the surrounding people throughout the entire boundary forest to see it. It must have dominated the skyline."

"Ten thousand years. Ten thousand years and End City still has a million more questions than answers." I say to the three Divers.

Zack huffs, "Yeah, I agree it's bullshit. But we're missing vital pieces to most of those questions. You can't craft a sword without the blueprint. Sure, you can try, but it will never be exactly right."

Azu snaps her notebook shut, "This is great information, but we need to be out of here by week's end. We have three days left or eighty-four hours. We only have a week and a half left on our contract time. Let us get this and go." The other two nod, and I follow Azu back to the entrance.

Three days go by in a blink. Zack and Hearon finished the library in a day, the walls blanking out at three-quarters of the way. Seems these people's story ended before they could finish. The rest of the remaining days was spent sorting through the endless files.

I groan as my back pops through my stretch, the sun having just hit the middle point of the day. Our gear is already packed up. Thanks to the storerooms, we were able to get enough dried meat and water for a few days. This will allow us to explore a few more places before heading back.

Zack pats one of the golems, "You did a good job, boy." He turns to us, jerking his thumb at it, "We should really try to find a way to replicate these. Imagine what they could do back home?"

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Hearon grunts as he puts in his pack, "That will have to wait for the next group." He shrugs. With a final glance, we walk away from our temporary home. We decided to head left toward the next unexplored platform, but when we got to the bridge, it was completely destroyed.

Zack groans, inspecting the spintered wood, "Great, guess that's the end of that."

Azu bends down beside him, "This was done a long time ago. The wood is too weathered."

Hearon looks over the bridge and down at the ground a thousand feet below, "Which is quite strange, considering the newness of everything."

I don't plan on saying anything, but Azu asks me my thoughts. I stare at the broken bridge and shrug. I don't know anything about bridges or states of wood.

Hearon glances at the center platform and the massive building with the dome roof and the hundreds of smaller spire-shaped roofs surrounding it like spears. "I suppose this is as far as we go. It is time to head home."

I stare at him in surprise. I thought we were supposed to get the relic before leaving. Hearon must have read my expression as he chuckles, "While it is true the relic is a top priority, it is not worth our lives at this moment."

"The Fairy, huh?"

Hearon nods, "It is an apex, bringing the mission to Omega-Class. I had a discussion with Alexander before we left. he never expected us to acquire the relic. After all, there are only supposed to be three of us here." All three of them look at me, and I avoid their gaze. I'm still sour about that, but I know they are trying their best to help me.

I glance at Zack as we make our way back through the platform to the other bridge. There's still tension between us. We might not act like it, but the other two know we still haven't set our differences aside. They expect me to start the conversation, but I refuse. I wasn't the one in the wrong. He will have to come to me first.

As we make our way to the bridge connected to the workshop platform, dread sinks into me. It's gone. The bridge is gone.

"Shit," Zack says. He bounds over to it. After a few seconds, he turns to us, shaking his head, "It's been gone for a while."

Azu tilts her head, "How is that possible? We should have heard or seen it if that was the case." Zack shrugs.

Hearon sighs deeply, "I was afraid of this." We turn to him, expecting answers. He picks at the edge, pulling out a small splinter. "This splinter is hundreds, maybe even thousands of years old. Look at the black decay on it." He shakes his head, "We've been played."

"The Fairy," Zack replies, his mouth in a frown and his eyebrows scrunched up.

Azu paces in front of the bridge, "No, that can not be possible. Fairies may have a semblance of intelligence, but to do this? We have never seen one with such cunning."

I glance at the missing bridge and then at the pristine gardens behind me. Time. We had discussed it before, but now I think I might know what's going on. "I think I know."

My companions turn to me unamused, "Silen, this is not the time for baseless theories. We are in serious trouble," Hearon replies gruffly.

I hold out my hands, "No, seriously. I think I've pinned down the Fairies ability." They look at me intrigued but don't say anything. I've got their attention. I point to the bridge, "This was fine just a few days ago, but now you say it has been decommissioned for thousands of years."

I point to the garden behind me, "But that can't be right. After all, we've found fresh fruits in the storerooms, and the gardens look like they were just tended to. And then there's the fact we couldn't see the massive beam from the ground. I think the Fairy has completely stopped time, just before the collapse of this city, and it has complete control of its condition. Allowing it to switch the city from present time to pre-fall time."

I pull out a piece of jerky, "This fills us up, so it can't be an illusion, and the relic can't have this ability. Otherwise, the city couldn't be messed up intentionally unless the Fairy has human intelligence."

The trio glances at each other, their expressions guarded. Hearon steps forward, putting a hand on my shoulder with a serious look on his face. "If what you say is true, then we will have no choice but to fight." He glances at the bridge connecting our platform to the center. It is intact. The other two frown.

"Tell me, Silen, when did you figure this out?"

I shrug, "Just now."

He turns to his two companions, and they sigh, "He's a lot better at this than I would have thought, " Zack says, stretching. Azu agrees.

Hearon rolls his shoulders. "If what you say is true, then this is invaluable information—something that would have taken another weeks to figure out." He smiles, "You might have it in you to be a Diver, after all."

A warm feeling envelops my chest. I've finally received acknowledgment. One step at a time, Silen. One step at a time. Soon, you'll be leading your own team.

"But for now, we have a Fairy to slay. Azu, breakdown." Hearon pulls his shield off his back, and Azu pulls out her holo disk, setting it on the ground. The metal disk whirls to life, and we hunch around it as Azu gives us our game plan.