ImmortanJoJo

  The air was frigid, the freezing wind stung my rapidly numbing cheeks and hands as I stepped outside. I shuddered and pulled the fresh-furred coat that was given to me by Mr. Rosewall tightly around my shoulders. Without even a second thought, I found myself subconsciously casting resilience upon myself. I was more than happy to see that the once freezing temperature vanished, and my cheeks were no longer aching from the cold. However, I noticed my hands were still turning red from the cold, even though I couldn't feel it. I vaguely recalled Alexander mentioning during my training a couple of weeks ago that resilience only numbs the sensation you want gone, but doesn’t eliminate it. Meaning that in theory, you could make yourself comfortable out in the frigid cold, but in reality, you’re still freezing to death.

  Thankfully, as my father and Varis stepped out from the cabin tower door behind me, I felt something soft plop on top of my head. Going cross-eyed to look up, I saw my father grinning at me as he pced a pair of pin, grey mittens on top of my head. I muttered a quiet thanks as I reached up, took them, and quickly slid them on. After that, I finally took in my surroundings and was stunned.

  The world had changed. We were in a building of sorts, or what was left of it. The door opened onto a second-floor hallway in the main office building at the construction site. The southern corridor, to be exact, spanned the edge of the building. Nearly every window on this floor was blown out, or heavily damaged, and frosted over. Snow piled up along the frame and poured onto the floor. From the outside, a freezing draft blew in.

  What was once early summer now felt like deep winter. During my years on this world, I’ve only experienced a handful of winters. Mostly indoors. Yet, I do faintly recall in my early years, I think my second, or was it third?

  Most definitely the third. A goblin reminded me.

  A massive storm swept through Oren and the Kencha Valley—a big blizzard, bigger than I’d ever seen from back on Earth. My brother Varis, who was only four or five years old at the time, was freaking out, screaming and crying constantly. I, on the other hand, was happily just vibing in my crib, wondering what was going on.

  Now, I can see why my brother was freaking out then. Frostwinds, as everyone had been calling it, were apocalyptic. As Isa expined earlier during the briefing, Frostwinds tend to form every decade or so, far up north in the region known simply as The Great White. A location I have seen on maps before, but thought nothing of it aside from the name being cool, if not a tad simple, but to the point. It was a massive wastend of ice and snow, like the Arctic on Earth, but vastly more inhospitable, as the storms that brew there are, as aforementioned, quite destructive.

  With every decade or so, one of these apocalyptic storms brewing in the White will break off and drift southward. Like an icy hurricane, they tend to obliterate anything in their path before eventually tapering into a blizzard, then a typical snowstorm, as their power fades as they drift across Veind and into the Heinmarr and neighboring Saxsonia, usually once they hit the Heinnd mountains at the border.

  An interesting meteorological lesson that was. Except that what we experienced the night before was not natural. As Isa stated during the brief, this usually happens during a decade cycle, based on my recollection and what she expined. The st Frostwind happened all those years ago, when I was but a three-year-old, going insane with boredom in her crib.

  Oh, hey, you called yourself her. A random goblin noted.

  Shush. I silenced the thoughts.

  The storm that had just blown through was magical in nature, Isa theorized, and Lady Erianna had agreed with her, which would only mean one thing: the Arcane Codes of War, the document that all nations had signed those years ago. It was simply ripped up and thrown out the window.

  Oh, but capturing people and sucking their souls from their bodies to fuel giant murder bots was okay? Rational mused.

  Of course not. I huffed. When Isa and I talked about the codes the other day, we both knew that was an uncovered grey area that bordered on necromancy.

  Bah. Semantics. Rational sniffed.

  The point was. Meteorological spells to the scale of summoning a Frostwind were on the tier of Astral or even Apex-level spells, which is about the same power as Alexander or my own mother. Which, again, as stated in the Codes Isa told me about, is prohibited. The second, a powerful wizard starts doing their own thing; all gloves are off.

  In other words. Rational said anxiously. The first nuke was unched.

  I paled. I licked my lips nervously. Yes. If Veinrite and their mages start to go all out. The Alliance is going to retaliate with their own devastating spells.

  “Bwah, it’s so cold!” Varis huffed, and I was pulled back to the present and watched as he yanked a wool beanie down and over his ears. He stood near a shattered window, turned to face my father and me as the cabin tower door opened again. “Isn’t it summer time?” He huffed. “I’m tired of the cold.”

  Father sighed. “Weren’t you listening at all during Isa and Rosewall’s recap?” Father asked him.

  Varis blushed. “A-a little. Something about, a big storm, magic, and soldiers and such taking shelter with us?” He said with a slight uplift.

  Father frowned and shook his head. “Roots take me, boy.” He muttered as Mr. Rosewall, Isa, and, to my pleasant surprise, Oscar and Anne came out of the cabin tower, all of whom were bundled up to their heads and toes in heavy clothes. All provided by Mr. Rosewal,l who supposedly procured as much in a rush before the storm’s impact.

  When Anne’s eyes fell on me, her sunken, tired blue eyes immediately brightened from behind the thick, red scarf that wrapped around her head. “Luna!” She squealed with muffled excitement and rushed toward me, dodging Oscar’s grasping hand as he yelped with surprise.

  With little time to reach, I threw my arms up and caught Anne as she wrapped herself around me in a tight hug. “I’m so happy you’re safe and okay!” She choked a sob. “I heard you got beaten up and were hurt. I was scared!”

  I smiled and returned her hug. “I’m okay. Sore, but I’m okay.” We both giggled as Anne pulled away, sniffling and wiping at her eyes with a big smile.

  “I heard you’re coming to Iona!” She said excitedly. “You’re really coming with us?” She asked.

  My heart fluttered, and my eyes widened. It hadn’t dawned on me that I would also be going there with Anne and Oscar. Perhaps not to the same pce, but even then, closer than being oceans apart. I smiled brightly, and I nodded. “Yes, yes, we are!” I said excitedly. “I-I don’t know where exactly, but… Mr. Rosewall said there’s a freighter he owns docked at the river port that’s willing to take us.”

  “If it’s not frosted, yes.” Oscar said tiredly as he stepped over to us. He tugged at his own purple scarf. “Weather cold, storm intense. Waters might be frozen, perhaps.”

  Anne huffed. “Maybe, but it’s nothing that Luna or that Lady Erianna can’t handle with a little fire!” Anne said with jazz hands.

  I blushed and sank back a bit. “Uh,” I muttered. “I don’t think I’m capable of unthawing an entire river, Anne.”

  I overheard Varis blowing a raspberry. “Of course, you can, Luna,” He said. “Anne said you blew up the sky, and I saw you fight!” He punched the air, and I cringed.

  “Let us,” Oscar cleared his throat. “Let us not discuss such things.”

  Varis frowned. “Why not?”

  “Because it’s too soon for that,” Isa called over from where the rest of the adults were gathering further down the hall. Her fluffy, red ears twitching in our direction like little radar dishes. It seems she’s listening to both us and the conversation she’s having with Rosewall and my father. “Now, the rest of you,” She said, turning her attention to all of us. “Gather around, stay close. The ground here isn’t sturdy and the snow is deep in the uncleared areas.”

  I straightened up and nodded to my brother, and before I could step forward, Anne snatched my right hand. I paused and looked at her, and she simply smiled. “In case one of us sinks in the snow,” she said, raising my hand in hers. “We can pull each other out.” She giggled, and I couldn’t help but smile.

  The rest of the office building wasn’t as damaged. At least the interior portions of it that were. The outer edges, especially the eastern side, were broken and stuffed with Smith snow. When we reached the ground floor, I was shocked to find that many of the windows were completely buried so that we couldn't see outside. Unlike Varis, I hadn’t even taken a real gnce at the outside world as of yet, so I was unaware of the extent of the damage.

  Now, I could see that my memories and frustrations from the winter and its snow of my past life in Ohio, or even my few early years here in Enora, were nothing compared to this. The storm had dropped tons of snow and ice upon the city. Where we stood now in the main lobby was a mound of snow at least six feet high pressed against the front entrance. The small gss window on the door was utterly smothered.

  “Well then,” my father huffed as he pulled on his scarf, then stroked his mustache. He gnced at Mr. Rosewall and Isa. “Any of you pack a shovel?”

  Mr. Rosewall blinked and began patting his coat and pants pockets. “Ah, pardon me, uh…” He grumbled.

  Anne looked at me, and Varis leaned over. “Did he pack a shovel in his coat?” He asked, wondering. “Maybe he’s got a magic bag like yours!”

  “Oh!” Terry excimed. “There we are.” He turned to my father and, with an impressive flourish, he held out a fancy ink pen. “All I have is this pen.” He said, then winked.

  Isa sighed and shook her head as my father snorted, then pyed along, taking the pen from Terry. “Right, give me about three days, and I’ll dig us out of here.” He said, smiling at us kids.

  Varis and Anne giggled, and I shook my head and smiled. Despite it all, it was nice to see everyone joking around. “Papa, do you need help?” Varis offered.

  “Oh? Volunteering for work?” His smile brightened. “That isn’t like you, boy, but I won’t turn down the help.”

  Mr. Rosewall ughed. “In that case.” He reached into his coat and pulled out a second pen. “He can use my backup.” This time, my father broke and ughed as well.

  “Can you all stop messing about?” Isa said, sounding tired and annoyed, as if the earlier coffee were wearing off. “Surely we can go out the back entrance that was facing away from the wind.”

  “None of that will be necessary,” Came the calm, monotone voice of Lady Erianna from behind.

  We all turned to see Lady Erianna coming down the hall toward us, dressed in her usual thick cloak, though it was pulled tightly around her shoulders and concealed her suit beneath. Around her neck was a dense, fluffy, multicolored scarf, and as she approached, I saw she was pulling on a pair of white gloves embroidered with designs, and on the back of each hand, in the center, was a blood-red gem.

  “Please step aside, Constable.” She gestured, then nodded to Terry. “As well as you, Mr. Rosewall, in fact, all of you move back at least ten paces.”

  None of us questioned her as we moved back the requested ten paces. Once we were as far back as Erianna liked, she turned her attention to the snow-covered entrance. She then inhaled and held out both hands to the door. From the angle I stood at, I could see her lips moving as she muttered a soft incantation to herself. Suddenly, the red gems on her gloved hands fshed, and the air before her rippled with an intense heat.

  For a moment, I thought she was casting the spell spark; however, the air did not ignite—instead, a rge and controlled spherical pocket of heated air formed around the entrance. Immediately, the room filled with the sound of hissing steam, and a thick fog erupted outward from the entrance. In seconds, the room turned into a sauna. I gasped and held my breath as the cloud of steam blew past us. Rushing water from the rapidly melting snow began to pool over the marbled floor and around our feet, and moments ter, the mist cleared.

  Before us now stood Erianna, before an open door, a freshly carved path in the snow in front of her. With a surprising dispy of whimsy, she gestured through the open door like a servant and bowed. “If you may, Mr. Rosewall.” She winked.

  Terry smirked and nodded. “Well, if I must.” He cleared his throat. “Mr. Ashflow, my pen please.” He held out his hand to my father, who handed him the pen back. Terry tucked it back into his shirt. “This will make getting Mrs. Ashflow and those who cannot walk out much easier. Lady Archon,” he said, looking to Erianna. “Would you mind repeating this trick in order to carve a path out to the main road?”

  Erianna smiled. “There is no need to ask, Mr. Rosewall, I pnned on doing this for myself, anyway.”

  “Splendid, then we shall follow behind.” Terry hummed.

  “Papa,” Varis called to our father. “What about, Momma? She’s still inside.”

  “No need to worry about her, Lad,” Terry answered for him. “I’ve discussed her transportation with your father. Dr. Shein and his crew will be tending to her while we work on getting to the Leviathan.” He was referring to the freighter we would be boarding, which was docked on the Alter River, alongside which the city was built.

  Father nodded. “Your mother is in good hands,” He said, “The doctor and nurses are professionals. They’ll make sure she’s safe and warm as we get to the ship.” Another bright fsh followed his words, along with a torrent of steam and water as Erianna began to carve another path for all of us further outside. Father smirked and gnced over his shoulder. “Which at this rate, shouldn’t take long,” He said.

  “Faster than three days,” Isa said with a huff and winked at him. “Come, children, stick close together.” She waved us outside, and we followed.

  If I had thought the inside was bad, the outside was far, far worse. The moment we had stepped out into the frigid summer air, the jokes and idle chatter ceased altogether. The entire construction site was buried, the windows of towering buildings were shattered, and the site was covered in snow. The rge tarp that had concealed the construction site was torn down, and only the faint tops of a few support poles poked out from the snowy mounds. The sight alone gave me an odd sense of nostalgia, an old memory from a movie I’d seen a long time ago. The Day After Tomorrow, I think it was called, I remember it being about people trapped in New York City when a second ice age hit the world.

  The damage and snow weren’t as bad as that movie I recalled. Yet, it wasn’t pretty either. There were a handful of people scattered about the construction site who hadn’t taken shelter with us, working to clear the snow as they tried to dig their way out of the makeshift hospital and warehouse.

  Not too far off, I heard the sound of steam and boiling water as other mages performed a simir trick to Erianna. It seemed like grueling work as everyone gathered to clean up after the storm, yet, despite it all, everything remained calm.

  “I wish we had this many hands back in Oren to help clean up,” Father said as he walked beside us kids. His eyes scanned those at the warehouse hacking away at a wall of snow and ice with shovels and whatever other tools they could grab. “The st Frostwind that hit took us a week to dig through just to reach the main road.” He sighed thoughtfully.

  Anne frowned, cocked her head, and looked up at my Father. “A week? Why wouldn’t the Moonweaver use her magic to clear a path? Or like, one of your cool gadgets, Mr. Deadeye?”

  I snorted and giggled as I watched my father visibly cringe at the nickname. “Yeah,” I chimed in, giggling. “Seems a bit pointless to just go at it the old fashioned way.”

  Father smiled, sighed, and shook his head. “Yes, you’re right,” He said, looking down at us. “But your mother and I moved to Oren to settle in and live the way most people do. Not everyone has the luxury of flinging massive fire spells around like your mother. Our days back home were a humbling experience for the two of us.” He said, turning his attention towards the rge generator that stood tall in the center of everything.

  It loomed proudly over us all, its darkened iron frosted, yet pieces of it sparkled under the morning’s light. Around its base, a few dozen men worked to clear the snow, while others stood atop dders perched along its side, working away with what looked like wands from where I stood. They waved the sticks slowly over frozen cogs and tubing, and as I squinted, I watched the metal begin to steam, and chunks of ice broke off, only to tumble down below.

  “Watch out!” I heard one of the men from above shout to those below as a rge chunk of ice broke free from a gear.

  “Mr. Rosewall!” I heard another man shout, a familiar voice that tore my eyes away from those working, and I saw, to my pleasant surprise, Uncle Aenorin waving frantically as he pushed through knee-high snow from the base of the generator over to us.

  Terry’s arms opened wide. “Master Sartosi, I see you’re up and well!” He called out cheerfully as Aenorin broke through the barrier of snow and nearly stumbled out onto the smooth, wet pavement Erianna was still clearing for us.

  Terry stepped over to the man and cpped him on the shoulder. “I thought I told you to get lots of rest? Mr. Shalier was tasked with covering for you this morning.”

  Aenorin took a couple of deep breaths, the trudge clearly having winded him. After a few moments, he straightened up and smiled. “I couldn’t do that,” he said with a shake of his head. That’s when his eyes nded on me, and for a moment, he hesitated, our eyes locking as his jaw set.

  My heart twitched as I could see on his expression exactly what he was thinking. The conflict in his eyes, the anger, yet also the understanding. We killed his wife. Fury hissed from behind their door. I can feel his rage from here, bubbling within him–

  Aenornin closed his eyes and forced himself to look away from me and to Mr. Rosewall. “Not with what happened, I needed to do something, to get my mind off of it.”

  Terry kept a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. “I understand, d… believe me, I do. Master Bxen and his men are doing all they can for her.”

  My ears twitched upon hearing that. “What was that?” I asked, though more so to myself.

  Father looked down at me, and his eyes widened, and he cursed under his breath. In a hushed voice, he expined, “After what happened yesterday, agents of the Sovereign Right came in with the army. Your Aunt, she was taken in by them for investigation…”

  “So, she’s not dead?” I blinked, my eyes widening as a visible weight lifted off of me.

  Father shook his head. “No… before that… thing in her seemingly vanished, the wounds she suffered from that weapon you used healed her. She didn’t seem know what was going on in the slightest and was confused when the agents confiscated her neckce.”

  My jaw set as I took in a deep breath. Thank god, was all I could think as I watched Aenorin and Terry converse about the generator.

  “We’re finishing up the ether pumps now,” I heard Aenorin say, “Once we get them unthawed and the ignitors engaged, we can get this girl purring to life once more.”

  “Sacré bleu!” A new voice shouted from the direction of the street, followed by the distinct call of a strider. “Get that thing on sooner, bloody cold it is out here!”

  We all turned toward the direction of the road where, to my surprise, Lucien wrangled with the Ruby’s reins as the Frenchman stumbled through the snow with the rge ground dragon following hesitantly behind him.

  “Bsted creature!” Lucien threw the reins onto the ground and growled, “Fait chier.” He jammed a finger at Ruby, who, in turn, stuck her nose up at him. “If you want out of the snow, you follow.” He pointed to the now dry pavement. “That there, snow free. But you must work with me, already…” He reached into his coat and pulled out a dark, leather-bound journal and wagged it at her. “We are te. Do you know how often I’ve been te in my lifetime?” He cocked his head. “Not much!”

  Ruby lowered her head and stared bnkly at the Frenchman. She then cocked her head to the side and, slowly, stuck her tongue out at him.

  It was at that moment that I learned a wide variety of French profanity I had never expected to hear in this lifetime. Lucien whirled around to face us and threw his hands in the air. “So be it, you connard!” He sneered. “I try to be helpful; to offer a branch of goodwill, but no! You shall not cooperate,” Ruby squawked loudly and bounded forward suddenly.

  Lucien cried out as the strider nearly barreled over him, sending him tumbling into the knee-high snow as Ruby began to rush toward us. My father cheered happily, and Varis ran forward but was swiftly stopped by Isa, who yanked him back by his colr as the massive strider broke through the snow and stepped out onto the pavement. Her red feathers puffing outwards as she barked and came directly over to my father. Her eyes twinkling as she practically sent Papa flying when she head-butted him pyfully.

  “Easy, easy!” Father said, ughing as he stumbled back, nearly falling into the snow, only to be saved by Isa, who snatched his hand. He chuckled and straightened up. “We’re happy to see you again, safe and sound.” He beamed as Ruby chirped and looked down at me, pyfully nudging me with her snout. She then turned to Anne, nudged her, sending the red-haired girl squealing and stumbling back into Oscar.

  Laughing, I straightened up and patted her scaly muzzle as, from behind, I heard angry French grumblings as Lucien swatted the snow off his dark-blue trench coat. “All’s well that ends well, I guess,” I heard him say with a sigh. He then straightened up, and our eyes met. “Bonjour mon ami, we meet again!” He said, his arms stretched wide, smiling. “I must say, the instances where we encounter one another could always be improved. It seems we have a tendency to stumble into each other under interesting circumstances as of te.”

  I frowned, and my eyes narrowed. “It almost seems as if it’s scripted whenever you show up,” I said.

  Lucien snorted and dusted the snow off his journal before wagging it at me. “That’s because it is,” he winked before tucking it away into his coat. “At least…” He frowned and looked at Ruby. “To a degree. Nothing in my notes suggested this creature would be along my path, but I knew from past experiences it was yours. So I tried to rope it along.”

  I crossed my arms. “You seem to know a lot of stuff, Lucien.” I looked at his coat, where he had stored his journal.

  My father patted Ruby on the side of her neck and looked to Lucien, and his mustache curled slightly into a frown. “I agree that you also seem to just… show up, you were at Aenorin's house when we first met that… thing.” He said regarding Putinov.

  Lucien smiled and tugged thoughtfully on the hairs of his mustache as he nodded. “Both of those are astute observations.” He hummed, then adjusted his blue ftcap and folded his hands behind his back. “I was following the one you know as Putinov since my arrival to this city. I was acting as a scribe of sorts for him, or so he thought, at the time he thought I was just some foreigner, a refugee seeking easy work. I was tasked with documenting all of those he met, their details, conversations, and any interesting details.”

  My father turned his full attention to Lucien and arched a brow. “So you were a spy?” Lucien merely nodded.

  “Why didn’t you stop him earlier!” Varis suddenly shouted, and we all turned to him. “If you knew that monster was a bad man, why didn’t you stop him?!”

  “Varis,” Isa cooed and knelt before him in an effort to calm him, but it was no use. His eyes were alight, his face red, and his fists balled. “Momma got hurt going to stop him with Luna, and Aunt Saria went crazy because of you!”

  “Varis!” Father barked and gred at him. “That’s enough, what’s done is done.”

  “Peace, Mr. Ashflow,” Lucien said solemnly. “The boy speaks the truth.” My father hesitated and looked to him. Lucien’s eyes were downcast, his cap tipped forward as if to hide his face. “It is true I could’ve made my move sooner, but as, the wills that guide me forbade me from taking immediate action.”

  “You’re referring to Venra,” I said softly, and Lucien’s eyes widened, and he spun to face me.

  “Tighten those lips, you ignorant fool!” He hissed, and I jolted. “Like the Dark One, you shall not speak of that name openly, unless you want the eyes of those unwanted upon you!”

  Isa looked up from beside Varis and shared a look with my father. I gulped and shifted nervously from foot to foot. “So-sorry, but…” I prompted him with a gesture of my hand.

  Lucien sighed. “Yes,” He said, “Something of that sort. My wills are dictated by means in which I carry.” He tapped a hand to his chest above his heart, though I assumed he was referring to the journal he kept beneath his coat. “Unless explicitly instructed, I am unable to act beyond my directed boundaries.”

  “Sounds awful,” Isa huffed and stood up, her hand still resting on Varis’s shoulder. The poor kid was fuming, but his lips were tightly sealed.

  Lucien shrugged. “Usually my orders are quite open ended, but…” He looked around the snowy-covered city. “In this instance, I was under strict orders to follow and learn what I can from Putinov. I needed to figure out what his motives were, and what his final goal was. It was only after I came to my conclusion.” He held his hand up in the shape of a finger gun, and the memory of him shooting Putinov in the back of the head fshed before me. “I was able to act.” He took a deep breath and looked to Varis. “I am sorry for what is happening to your mother, boy.” He pced his hand ft against his chest and bowed.

  Varis harrumphed and turned away and walked off a few paces. I watched him head off, then looked to Anne, who was still beside Oscar; she, too, was watching Varis, then looked at me. Wordlessly, she nodded and went over to my brother, and the two began to whisper. I took a deep breath and faced Lucien. “Where did you go?” I asked. “After what happened yesterday.”

  Lucien pursed his lips. “Well, I for one, dragged you out of the core room. Then…” He tapped his book again. “I had some errands to run.”

  “Errands?” Father asked.

  Lucien nodded. “Yes, ones in which I cannot speak of… at least, not yet.”

  “Wonderful…” Isa said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. “Someone else who refuses to share the whole story.”

  Lucien smiled sheepishly and shrugged. “Trust me when I say this does not concern any one of you.” He then paused and stroked his chin. “At least… not yet, anyway.”

  “Awh, c’mon!” I groaned. “Enough of that!”

  Lucien ughed. “I joke, I joke!” He chuckled, and Father shook his head.

  “Now isn’t really the time for jokes… Mr… I’m sorry what is your name?” He asked. “I don’t think I’ve heard it in full.”

  Lucien straightened up and composed himself. “You’re right, my apologies,” He took his cap off and bowed. “My full name is Lucien About, a traveler and scribe by trade. In a sense, you could say that I’m also a historian.”

  Father nodded. “A historian? Honestly, you could’ve fooled me with that winter uniform. You look like a soldier, what is that, a Felkierian north’s guard attire?” He asked.

  Lucien chuckled. “A fine eye, but no,” he shook his head and fixed his cap atop his head. “It’s my horizon blue overcoat,” He said, “You are correct in your assumption of its origins, however, it is not of Felkirian design.”

  My father stroked his chin. “Interesting, as a former soldier myself, I’m curious, where did you serve?” He asked.

  Lucien cackled and shook his head. “Trust me, mon ami, you wouldn’t know.”

  Father smirked. “Try me, I’ve been around.”

  Lucien sighed and straightened up. “I served in the French Army of the Republic from 1914 to an abrupt end in 1916.”

  My eyes widened; it was obvious now why I recognized that uniform. From all my history csses back in the day, to even my pointless nights watching documentaries online. “You fought in the Great War,” I muttered.

  “The great what?” Isa blinked and looked at me.

  Lucien’s eyes twinkled, and he looked at me. “Aye, ss.” He hummed. “If you’re aware of that. Then that only means it’s true,” He said with a big grin. “You and I, we share a heritage.”

  “To a degree,” I said lowly, “Give or take a hundred years.”

  Lucien chuckled. “A hundred?” He stroked his chin. “Gods, I have questions but…” He gnced at my father. “Judging by your face, you have no idea what we’re talking about.”

  Father licked his lips and nodded. “Yeah, a bit… but…”

  “Alright! Step back!” A voice boomed from the looming generator.

  A sharp, ear-piercing squealing of microphone feedback sent me nearly skyward as I jolted, and soon, a rumbling, bored-sounding voice echoed around the construction site. “All workers, please vacate the area. Core activation in ten, nine, eight…”

  “Mr. Rosewall, what’s going on?” My father asked Terry, who now stood further off with Aenorin.

  Mr. Rosewall turned to us and smiled happily. “Things are about to get heated! Make sure to shed you coats.”

  Isa’s eyes widened a bit. “What do you mean by that–”

  “Two… one…”

  A loud droning, like that of a ship’s fog horn, echoed out from the looming generator, followed by the sounds of screeching metal and sharp hisses of steam. Massive metallic pistons on either side of the device shot upward before pushing downward, thrusting the upper shaft further skyward, which began to split into four sections as its top opened. From it, a faint blue light, followed by a column of matching-hued ether mist, began to billow out as the rest of the gears and other machinery roared to life.

  Then the heat wave struck. A torrent of heated air struck us all in a sudden wave, nothing to the point of burning us, but an immense shock it was. Yet, it wasn’t just that either. As the heat struck me, inside, I felt something stir and writhe. Like that of butterflies in my gut, but it was different.

  “This power.” Shaed’s voice appeared in my mind. “It’s immense.”

  Is that good or bad? I thought.

  “It’s impressive,” He said. “Not only is the contraption siphoning the residual ether from beyond, it’s distributing outward. Your well is absorbing its excess energy… I wonder how this was done…”

  We can go over engineering stuff ter. I thought. So, to confirm, this won’t kill us? I asked, admittedly a bit paranoid, yet after everything that has happened, could anyone bme me?

  Shaed sighed. “No. You are safe. I’m merely intrigued, that is all. In the future, if you can ever get close to one of these ‘generators’ I would like to examine it.”

  Around us, the snow began to melt rapidly. Pooling around our feet, water began to rise. From window sills and gutters, water streamed off buildings like little waterfalls all around, creating a sound not too different from rain.

  “We’ve done it!” I heard a work shout. “The core is active! The generator is working!”

  From the loudspeaker, the rumbling voice, now sounding excited, “Magrite temperatures are stable… Etherium coont at acceptable levels… Everything is appearing nominal. We actually did it!”

  Cheers erupted from around the construction site as men and women began to shed their coats and toss them over their shoulders. Others patted each other on the back, while a few men pyfully picked up melting snow and began to pelt each other with it.

  “With that,” Terry said triumphantly. “My work here is officially finished… Our work is done. We can head home…” He turned to us and hesitated. “Or well, we can get you all to safety, knowing that Johanneson should be in good hands.”

  Isa huffed. “So all of this for a giant space heater?” She asked, and Terry bellowed.

  “No, no, it’s far more than that, Madam Soza. Far more… Come now, let us get going before the streets flood.” He turned and looked at Aenorin. “Are you sure you still want to stay here?” He asked my uncle.

  Aenorin hesitated and looked to us, then eyed me. Once again, the conflict in his eyes forced me to look away. I heard him sigh. “My home is here, Mr. Rosewall. Even if Saria will be far off, I know someday she’ll come back here, and if those Veinrite bastards show up I’ll be here to fend them off.”

  Terry took a deep breath and nodded. “So be it, but… if you change your mind.” I heard him reach into his coat and pass something to Aenorin. “You know how to reach out to me. I could always use a man with the mechanical know how like yourself.” He chuckled and patted his shoulder.

  With that, Terry turned to us and waved us on, then looked to Erianna, where the two shared a nod. From behind, I heard wet shoes cpping across the pavement, and I yelped as Anne snatched my hand. “I can’t believe we’re going to Iona together!” She squealed. “I was there a year ago to visit Uncle Oscar, and it’s so pretty! I can’t wait to show you around!” She said, nearly ripping my arm off as she jumped up and down.

  I ughed and politely pulled my arm free from her. “Yeah, so am I,” I said and then gnced over my shoulder toward Lucien, who stood far off to the side, eyeing the generator. In his hand, he was holding his book.

  “Is something wrong?” Anne asked me.

  I looked at her and shook my head. “Oh, no, but… gimme a sec, okay?” I moved away from her and walked over to the Frenchman.

  “Are you coming with us? Or… vanishing again?” I asked.

  Lucien seemingly wasn’t with me, his eyes staring off into his own world as if deep in thought. I cleared my throat, and he jolted abruptly and turned to look at me. “Oh? Uhm… yes… I mean, no, I’m not going with you. As a traveling historian, I have errands I must attend to.”

  I eyed his book and noticed the pen he held between two fingers, clinging to the book. “By ‘historian’ you mean you’re writing everything down for your… ‘wills’?” I implied.

  Lucien snorted. “Do not make it so obvious you fool.” He huffed, then grinned. “But yes. You have the right idea. I am the eyes and ears for them, in a way not so different from…” He tapped his forehead. “You.”

  I nodded. “We really are simir then…” I trailed off, for some reason, I felt my heart flutter. There really was someone else like me in this world. A soul ripped from another world and plopped here. From a different time, perhaps, but… knowing in a way I wasn’t alone was oddly comforting.

  “Say,” Lucien prompted me. “Before you go, I have a question for you.” He looked at me. “For being a man out of time like myself, my knowledge of our old home is not as good as I wish it was. From times I’ve come on and gone from there, it was always in periods I was unfamiliar with.”

  I blinked. “Wait, you’ve been back to Earth?” I gasped.

  Lucien smiled. “I did say I was a traveler, but yes, a few times… However, my job has always gotten in the way of me asking this… did we win?”

  For a second, I was caught off guard by his question, but after a moment to compose myself, I got it. “Yeah… you did win.”

  Lucien stuffed his journal into his jacket yet again, but this time, he pulled out a pocket watch and flipped it open. “That is wonderful to hear… in the end, my grandmother was correct.”

  “About what?” I asked, and Lucien looked at me, and then toward the sun rising above the skyscrapers.

  “That in the end,” he said, “no matter how hard, or bloody it’ll be. That everything is going to be alright.”

  End of Book Three

  ImmortanJoJo