Time Holders: The World of Balance

”No, be logical. It couldn’t have been me. If it was, then I surely would’ve included my name, wouldn’t I? And furthermore, why was the message riddled to begin with? And what’s with that archaic use of language? It doesn’t make any sense for me to have done it, but if I didn’t, then who did?”

To these frantic thoughts Aldrus returned time and again, striving with all his might to find a reason. Yet, his own logic was but the lesser proof; deep within, a stronger clue took root.

To leave a message held so specifically in time, knowing beforehand that Aldrus would see it—and foreseeing whatever were to unfold because of it—demanded a terrible mastery. The Inscriber of the stone was no common traveller, but a being who was possibly a Fourth-Rank Holder or higher, depending on how far in the future he was from. Such strength Aldrus doubted he could ever reach, though he should live a thousand mortal lives.

Damn... I don’t know! Why me, of all people? Why here, of all places?

The weight of the situation began to overwhelm him when the sudden awareness of Alice’s presence took him by surprise.

”Are you feeling better, Aldrus?” she asked.

”Ah, yeah. It’s nothing.”

”Mm.” She scrutinized his face, her lips parting into a small pout. ”Does it have to do with what you couldn’t tell me...?”

Ugh...

He had told her before that he could not say a word regarding how he got his Fragment—a silence kept solely for her own sake. He might have nodded and let the matter be done, yet he loathed to offer her a falsehood.

”No. This is something else,” he said. ”I can’t tell you—or anyone just yet, but I’m sure you’ll know what I mean soon enough, as well as why I am unable to speak.”

The blonde girl offered him a simple smile of quiet resignation. ”Alright. As long as it’s not anything bad, I can wait.”

I don’t even know that myself...

”By the way, is Aiden done with the tent?” he asked.

”Um. They were almost ready; I think it’s time—sorry to bother you with this again.”

”Don’t worry about it; we can’t afford to be careless,” Aldrus said. ”Plus, it isn’t as taxing as it seems.”

Alice grimaced. ”Still, I wish I could do it myself from time to time.”

”You will, Alice. Don’t rush it.”

”... You’re right. Well, then—we’re counting on you.”

With those words, the blonde girl left.

Since the small group purposed to bide some nights within that desolate place, Aiden and Cedric had decided to cover their bonfire by setting the tent directly above it, and Aldrus needed to [Freeze] its fabric not to burn. They knew well that the dwelling beasts around were unwilling to delve down into the crater, yet they could not be careless, for the fire might catch their attention nonetheless.

If only she knew I could keep this up for ten whole nights...

***

Not long thereafter, the four companions partook of a swift evening meal. For a time, they played around with their new equipment, before clustering together to rest. Each drifted off as soon as they lay down, except Aldrus, who was having trouble falling asleep.

He found himself staring at his new cloak, which happened to look not new at all. At first, he had paid it little heed, for his mind had been bound by the terror of his vision; but now, in the quiet of the watch, a strange recognition crept over him. The fabric felt intimately familiar, as if it had wrapped his shoulders through a lifetime of forgotten journeys. He was certain it had crossed his sight before, yet where or when, the memory eluded him.

Shit, another mystery...

The Inscriber, the Crimson Tide, the Fog Island, the yawning crater... so many riddles beset his mind that his thoughts became a tangled maze. He tossed from side to side, seeking sleep in vain, until at last he resolved to sit in the silence and give his hands a task: the recharging of the Third-Rank artifact. It mattered little what he achieved, so long as it turned his mind from the precipice of his own doubts.

Stealing across the dark campsite, he reached into Aiden’s pack and took the object out. He then held it between his hands and concentrated. Immediately, the relic began to glow with the same blue light it had emitted once back at the cell.

Yet something was changed in this dark hour. Hitherto, Aldrus had ever been utterly spent after pouring his Perspective into the artifact; but now, though weariness weighed upon him, he felt none of the hollow exhaustion that usually broke his strength.

Nay, more than that—deep within the metal, he could sense the very essence of the object squirm and quake, as though it stood upon the threshold of some wondrous awakening, ready to yield its power at last.

He realized it then; it was almost fully charged.

Still, he did not intend to cripple his own strength so early in their journey. A long week lay before them, days that must be spent in wary counsel and in mastering the effects of their new gear. The Fog Island remained their final challenge—and the most brutal ordeal they had yet to face.

Withdrawing his hands, Aldrus watched the blue luminescence recede into the relic’s complex engravings, soon swallowed by the orange of the fire. He gently placed the artifact back inside the dark pack, careful not to rouse his friends from their deep slumber.

The silence of the crater settled over him once more. He stared up at the canvas roof, his mind tracing the unseen stars beyond. Every choice they made now carried the weight of survival. If he could just cross the threshold of the next rank, perhaps they stood a chance...

Unfortunately, he very well knew that was not possible, at least not soon.

Thus, wrapping his strangely familiar cloak tightly around his chest, the boy finally closed his eyes.