Grant sat next to the floating blue fire. Around him, Lei, Tamiko and Kyra were rubbing the sleep from their eyes and yawning widely as Fyodor arranged an array of pages on a nearby wall that they all sat facing.
“So,” Fyodor said, waving his hand a final time and rearranging the pages, “I believe I have translated enough of the script here to point the way to our destination. From what I have been able to discern, this ruin was once the residence of a woman named Estelle. When exactly she lived here, I do not know, but I suspect 500 years ago at the least, given some of the historical events referenced. Regardless, she moved here from her village after she began to fear that her life was in danger from one of the other residents. Why exactly, it is unclear, but she believed emphatically that she would be killed if she remained. So, she fled, and spent many years wandering by herself, moving through as many doors as she could. Eventually, she found this world, and apparently encountered a most intriguing phenomenon.”
He waved his hand again, and the pages began to cycle, bringing new runes into the foreground. “According to this, she encountered a unique portal building, unlike any she had seen before. It intrigued her enough that she retreated some distance away, created this residence, and began to study the door. Apparently, even her village had heard rumours of the Final Door, and she grew convinced that either this building was the Final Door, or it was at least a key obstacle on the path. She spent many years studying it, and, unfortunately, what notes she left here are merely the remnants of her research. This,” he grabbed one piece of paper filled with particularly dense runic writings, “is her last message. In it, she makes it clear that the writings she carved into the walls are merely a summary of her life and research, and that she took the bulk of her research with her when she finally decided to enter the door.”
“Why wait so long?” Lei asked, stretching. “Why not just go through the door right away?”
“Two reasons,” Fyodor replied. “Firstly, the door was apparently trapped in some way that she was unable to exactly determine. She spent much of her time here finding a way to disarm the trap so that she could cross without incident. We must hope that whatever she did, the trap remains unarmed, for I fear we do not have the time to replicate her feat. As for the other reason, it is quite simple. This building does not have just one door - it has several.”
The others sat up straight at these words, staring at Fyodor.
“A… A building with multiple doors?” Kyra asked, frowning. “Is… is that even possible?”
“Apparently so,” said Fyodor, gathering up the papers and stacking them before somehow shrinking them down and putting them in his pocket. “It is impossible only in the sense that it is something we have never encountered before - but you can say that about almost every discovery, can you not?”
“So she was trying to figure out which door to take?” said Tamiko, nose scrunched in thought. “But… why did it matter? If she took the ‘wrong’ door or whatever, she could have just come back through and chosen another one, right?”
“I am confused by that too,” Fyodor admitted, “but I suspect that those two factors may have been tied together. It is possible that the trap on the door is triggered in some way by which door is opened, and that only one door is a portal, and the rest fakes. Whatever the case, the writings she left make it clear she did not return, and that she was confident in her ability to disarm the trap. So, we must follow in her footsteps. The building she discovered lies many miles away, to the north. If we set off now, we should reach it by dawn. Once there, we will analyse the situation and decide on our next move.”
“Um,” Grant said, raising a hand slightly before feeling foolish for doing so and lowering it, “what about us? I thought you said we had to be careful while we recover - what if we get attacked again?”
“A good question, but one with a rather simple answer,” said Fyodor, smiling happily. “This protective dome we have established, while easier to anchor to a location, can be anchored to one of us instead. It draws more power, and thus will have a more limited range, but it will be sufficient to protect us if we encounter any of those nasty little bugs.”
“Alright, simple enough,” Kyra said, clapping her hands together and getting to her feet. “Let’s get going. Adventure awaits!”
While Fyodor may have said that making a portable version of the protection spell was easy enough, apparently he had forgotten that he was currently unable to perform any magic due to his damaged body. That meant it fell on Lei and Tamiko to do so, and they were far less familiar with the process than Fyodor was. Nevertheless, a few hours, and several loud, frustrated arguments later, the five of them were moving slowly through the woods, surrounded by the rather beautiful aurora-like dome of protection. Despite the fact that nippers apparently were far more active during daylight hours, they were attacked a number of times on their journey, but the shield held firm against the sporadic dive-bombs of the giant, grotesque bugs. They saw the occasional other creature on their trek, including a zombified, mutated deer with metal antlers that Grant was profoundly glad chose not to attack them, instead fleeing at the sight of them. Soon enough, they crossed the border of the forest, entering a large, perfectly flat plain filled with odd, faintly luminescent red grass, casting an eerie glow against their legs as they moved forward. Grant was almost certain that the red grass would turn out to be hiding some kind of dangerous, sneaky creature, but as their journey continued, he came to accept that it was just another bizarre magical feature of the many worlds that made up the Vault.
I wonder how they came up with these things? Grant wondered idly as the faintest traces of dawn began to appear to the east. Like, did they just… I dunno, spin a randomiser to determine what weird shit would make up all these worlds? Who the fuck came up with red grass? Why not just make an Earth clone over and over again? In fact, Ki - why do that?
Ki’s reply was quieter than usual, as though he was trying to speak in the barest fraction of a whisper, due to the presence of Grant’s companions. There were several reasons - first and foremost, as I explained, you can analogise each world to a habitat for a specific creature. Common animals, chickens, cows, etcetera, were replicated, but we tried to limit the number of distinct magical creatures in each world to one - and before you say it, that deer creature was a normal deer, just one who, rather foolishly or desperately, ate the red grass, mutating it. So in this case, the grass is red because it acts as a secondary food source for the gallinippers. Otherwise, they would quickly eliminate all mundane creatures that occupy this world, and starve to death shortly after. The grass is enhanced to be able to provide nourishment to the gallinippers, and it recovers quickly enough to allow their species to have sufficient food, but not an abundance of food. After all, they have no predators, so population control was an essential factor. There are other reasons, but that was a primary one.
Huh. Makes sense, I guess. Still partly convinced that at least one of the reasons was to fuck with us poor mortal humans though. Red grass, honestly…
Maybe it was, Ki whispered mischievously before fading away.
An hour or two later, the group reached their destination. They had seen it coming for a while due to the level topology of the grassland, but only the last few minutes had they been able to actually make out details.
Before them stood an old, rustic wooden cabin. A plain wooden door, two windows with red curtains hanging perfectly symmetrically, and a brick chimney with faint trails of smoke faced them. They all stared for a moment before, as one, walking around the cabin to the right and looking at the new side.
A plain wooden door, two windows with red curtains, a smoking brick chimney.
They walked another 90 degrees around the cabin, now at the back from where they first approached. The same sight greeted them, repeated once more on the final wall.
Fyodor rubbed his chin. “Fascinating,” he murmured. “I must admit, when Estelle wrote of multiple doors, I did not expect this. I was picturing two doors side-by-side.”
“It’s fucking creepy,” said Kyra, frowning at the cabin as though it had offended her. “Don’t you guys reckon?”
“It is,” Tamiko agreed. “It’s hard to say why, but it just… feels wrong. It is far from the most disturbing thing I’ve ever seen but… it disturbs me more than anything else. Does that even make sense?”
“Yeah, it does,” Grant said quietly.
Something occurred to him.
Hey, Ki? Why is it, if you made this place all those thousands of years ago, that so many of these portal buildings look modern? I seem to remember seeing a skyscraper when I first arrived, and I’m pretty sure they didn’t have skyscrapers in the BC era.
No, they did not, Ki answered. It is quite simple - well, not really, it is incredibly complicated, but I shall give you a simple answer. When a new person is transferred into the Vault, there exists for a brief moment an… update window, shall we say. When you are brought in, a hole is briefly opened, and it was impossible to stop a certain influx of energy and information. So, since we could not stop it, it was decided that the transition to your new reality should be as smooth as possible. Thus, when someone is brought through, a number of elements across the worlds are updated to reflect the more modern. The portal buildings are the most obvious change, as they are the most visible, but each world receives a portion of the incoming energy to repopulate the non-magical creatures, create new earthly elements, and so on. This incoming energy is also what triggers the alert spell that the Forsaken had established to notify them of a new arrival. By the way, I am fairly certain that at least one of your companions could have explained this to you as well. You should ask them more questions - I may have helped create the Vault, but they have lived in it, and I am sure have many insights that I have overlooked in my explanations.
Okay, I get it, I’ll stop bothering you. See ya.
You know that is not what I meant, Grant. Ki said reproachfully.
“So,” Grant said out loud, “what’s the plan? Can you tell if this so-called trap is still active?”
“Sadly, no” said Fyodor, examining the building intensely while remaining at a distance. “I suspect it will take some time before I am able to determine that.”
Grant glanced around briefly, before focusing and activating his second sight.
A blinding flash of light assaulted his senses, making him flinch and raise a hand to block his sight.
“Grant? Are you alright?” he heard Kyra ask anxiously.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he muttered, closing his eyes and rubbing at them. Just a little twinge from what I did before. I’ll be fine.”
“Abusing your body like you did is not something to be taken lightly, Grant,” Fyodor said sternly. “Go sit down. We are safe here, and you are still recovering.”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“You’re one to talk,” grumbled Grant as he obeyed regardless, facing away from the cabin. His second sight was still active, but now that he was facing the opposite direction, he opened his eyes once more. Magic filled the air, shapeless, purposeless lines that wafted with the wind, the result of nature more than anything else. The grass itself was an even deeper red to his magic sight, and he could see the magic within pulsing as if being pumped through the blades. Taking a deep breath and preparing himself, he slowly turned back to face the cabin once more.
Bright, blinding light assailed him once more, but now that he was prepared for the sight, he was able to manage much easier. He gradually turned to face the source of the light, letting his eyes adjust slowly, before staring.
The door of the cabin was broken.
A large, jagged crack ran from the top right to the bottom left of the door, not represented physically in any way, but clear as the sun to his second sight. Almost literally, in fact, as the blaze of power that emanated from the crack was blindingly bright, reminding Grant of a video he once saw of a solar flare. Loops of red and yellow magic swirled through the air, lashing out but luckily lacking any kind of purpose and therefore passing harmlessly through Fyodor and the others that stood nearby. Grant was certain that if that much power was being summoned with any kind of intent instead of just being a byproduct of the door’s damage, none of them would have been able to approach without being ripped to shreds.
Uhh, Ki? Are you seeing this? He asked.
Yes. Yes I am, Ki said curtly.
So, I know you just said not to ask you questions about everything. But… what the fuck?
A very, very good question, said Ki. I knew that Typhon’s actions would have a ripple effect, but this… this is worse than I thought. If the doors are this damaged just from that one door's destruction, I shudder to think of what could happen if he repeats the feat somewhere else.
So, like, is it even safe to go through them? Grant asked doubtfully. I’m not sure I fancy walking through that.
No, it should be safe. For now, at least. Believe me, if the doors were damaged enough to be dangerous, you would all know. The damage would be reflected physically, in some way.
Good to know, Grant said, rubbing the back of his neck before glancing behind him with a frown. For some reason, he felt like he was being watched by something. But there was nothing there.
Just a reaction to the magic I guess, he reasoned.
“So, what do we do?” Lei asked, walking closer to the cabin and examining one of the windows, wiping it slightly to try and look inside. “What’s it gonna be big guy, do we go through or not?”
Fyodor grunted. “I am not a big guy. But… I think we retreat. While I worry that time will become a commodity given recent events, we are not in immediate danger. More study is needed before we can determine if the trap is still active, and which door is the right choice. But we shall make camp nearby - no need to go back to those nipper-infested woods.”
“Alright, sounds good,” Lei shrugged. “I don’t mind either way.”
“Then let us move,” Fyodor said decisively. “We shall not wander far, but I do not like the idea of staying too close to this place. Who knows what the trigger is for this trap. Come.”
An hour or two later, the group reached their destination. They had seen it coming for a while due to the level topology of the grassland, but only the last few minutes had they been able to actually make out details.
Before them stood an old, rustic wooden cabin. A plain wooden door, two windows with red curtains hanging perfectly symmetrically, and a brick chimney with faint trails of smoke faced them. They all stared for a moment before, as one, walking around the cabin to the right and looking at the new side.
A plain wooden door, two windows with red curtains, a smoking brick chimney.
They walked another 90 degrees around the cabin, now at the back from where they first approached. The same sight greeted them, repeated once more on the final wall.
Fyodor rubbed his chin. “Fascinating,” he murmured. “I must admit, when Estelle wrote of multiple doors, I did not expect this. I was picturing two doors side-by-side.”
“It’s fucking creepy,” said Kyra, frowning at the cabin as though it had offended her. “Don’t you guys reckon?”
“It is,” Tamiko agreed. “It’s hard to say why, but it just… feels wrong. It is far from the most disturbing thing I’ve ever seen but… it disturbs me more than anything else. Does that even make sense?”
“Yeah, it does,” Grant said quietly.
Something occurred to him.
Hey, Ki? Why is it, if you made this place all those thousands of years ago, that so many of these portal buildings look modern? I seem to remember seeing a skyscraper when I first arrived, and I’m pretty sure they didn’t have skyscrapers in the BC era.
There was a moment of silence, and Grant could sense Ki’s confusion.
Grant? Are you okay? Ki asked, concerned.
What? Yeah, I’m fine. I mean, I’m sore, but I’m fine. Why?
Because you just asked me the same question as you did not ten minutes ago.
Grant felt his own confusion rising now. What are you talking about? The question about the buildings looking modern? I didn’t ask you that before.
Yes, yes you did. I answered, and then you looked at the door with your second sight, we talked about the damage, and then you wandered away to make camp. Do you not remember?
The damage? What damage?
Grant looked at the door and activated his second sight.
A blinding flash of light assaulted his senses, making him flinch and raise a hand to block his sight.
“Grant? Are you alright?” he heard Kyra ask anxiously.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he muttered, closing his eyes and rubbing at them. Just a little twinge from what I did before. I’ll be fine.”
“Abusing your body like you did is not something to be taken lightly, Grant,” Fyodor said sternly. “Go sit down. We are safe here, and you are still recovering.”
“You’re one to talk,” grumbled Grant as he obeyed regardless, turning to face away from the cabin.
Grant, do you not remember? Ki asked, sounding panicked. You are repeating everything that has happened in the last few minutes. Something… something is wrong. Your memories have been altered. No, that is not it, I would sense that… a time loop? Such a feat is impressive, to say the least, and I do not remember any such feature being part of the path we designed…
A time loop? Like Groundhog Day, you mean? Grant asked, amused. Well, if we’re in a time loop, prove it. What happens next?
Lei says ‘what do we do?’, and calls Fyodor ‘big guy’.
Hah! That’s a good name for Fyodor.
“So, what do we do?” Lei asked, walking closer to the cabin and examining one of the windows, wiping it slightly to try and look inside. “What’s it gonna be big guy, do we go through or not?”
…Well, fuck.
Indeed, Ki said acerbically.
What the fuck do we do?
I do not know. If this loop proceeds as the original events, you will soon decide to move back and make camp, before approaching the cabin once more, all memories lost.
So this is the trap, right? The one that that woman Estelle wrote about?
No, I do not believe it is. As I said, no time loop was ever discussed when we were designing the Vault. Either this Estelle somehow managed to enact this trap before she passed through the door, which would be an impressive feat in its own right, or this is a result of the damage Typhon caused to the doors. It is possible that space is warping around the damaged portals in such a way as to create a loop. Although I am uncertain why I am unaffected.
Something to do with your consciousness not being in the Vault, surely? You said you reside in a different plane and just send your energy here, so if it’s a time loop, it's just affecting the Vault and not your dimension?
Yes but… that suggests that it is not a true time loop. While different dimensions do experience the passage of time differently, our dimensions are currently linked due to my presence, so anything that affects your time must necessarily affect my time too. So… not a time loop, but a failure to create memories?
What do you mean?
If I am correct, what is occurring is not a time loop or a memory wipe, but merely the inability for you to create permanent new memories while in proximity to the cabin and the doors. Which, thankfully, means that is not a result of the damaged doors, but instead a local effect caused by a specific spell. So… as long as you remain nearby, the effects should be mitigated. That is good.
“Then let us move,” Grant heard Fyodor say. “We shall not wander far, but I do not like the idea of staying too close to this place. Who knows what the trigger is for this trap. Come.”
“No hang on, I think we should stay,” Grant said, moving to block their path. “What if there’s a really obvious thing that we’re missing? Like, Lei, did you see anything weird through the windows?”
Kyra rolled her eyes. “If there’s something obvious we’re missing, we’ll figure it out later. We got time, the sun’s barely risen. Our sleep was cut short, and now we’re safe, I wanna nap. Let’s go.” She spun him around and began pushing him away from the cabin.
“No, wait, seriously, we should-”
An hour or two later, the group reached their destination. They had seen it coming for a while due to the level topology of the grassland, but only the last few minutes had they been able to actually make out details.
Before them stood an old, rustic wooden cabin. A plain wooden door, two windows with red curtains hanging perfectly symmetrically, and a brick chimney with faint trails of smoke faced them. They all stared for a moment-
Grant? said Ki
Yeah, what’s up?
Damn. You’ve forgotten again.
Forgotten? Forgotten what?
Grant heard Ki sigh. To put it simply, something about this cabin is inhibiting your ability to create new memories. You think you’ve only just arrived, but this is the third time you’ve thought that. As soon as you all wander away from the cabin, your memories short out and you return none the wiser, unaware of the passage of time.
What, like a time loop? Like Groundhog Day?
No, not a time loop. Impressively, given that this was a mental conversation, Grant could tell that Ki was speaking through gritted teeth somehow. Not a time loop, just memory inhibition. Far simpler to achieve, and just as dangerous normally. Luckily, you have me. My faculties are unaffected by such a local effect, and I can help you escape.
Fyodor rubbed his chin. “Fascinating,” he murmured. “I must admit, when Estelle wrote of multiple doors, I did not expect this. I was picturing two doors side-by-side.”
Okay… I mean, I believe you. Memory fuckage, why the hell not. What’s causing it, and how do we stop it?
That, I am uncertain, said Ki. There are many ways such an effect could be achieved, but not without the person casting the spell nearby. To make the effect permanent over an area is almost impossible, as the magic would tend to corrode given enough time.
Ok, so what do I do? Should I convince them to stay nearby, so we don’t lose our memories and start the loop again?
Possibly, though I suspect that would be hard to do without acting suspiciously enough to give them pause. Hmm… no. For now, go along with it. If it is a loop, after all, I can devote my time to the problem while you just go through the motions. Until I have a solution, there is little reason to try and change the outcome.
Are you sure? What if it’s causing some kind of permanent brain damage or something?
Nothing of the kind is happening, Ki assured him. There should be no danger from repeating your actions. Just let me think. I will get back to you with a solution, do not worry.
Okay then. Please don’t take too long. I may not remember this, but it’s a shitty situation.
Grant returned his focus to the conversation around him.
“Alright, sounds good,” Lei shrugged. “I don’t mind either way.”
“Then let us move,” Fyodor said decisively. “We shall not wander far, but I do not like the idea of staying too close to this place. Who knows what the trigger is for this trap. Come.”
Grant sighed resignedly, looking at his companions, then at the cabin.
“Fine,” he said, walking away. “At least it won’t take that long. To me, anyway.”