[Loop Count: 7]
“Be careful. I expect the System to mess up until we manage to fix it on our end.” Chronos told me before sending me back.
To mess up? How exactly? How badly? Couldn’t he have given me some sort of estimation so I’d at least know what to expect? I get that this had never happened to them before – but still, a few pointers would’ve been nice.
They said my COG was tainted by Dolos before I was even chosen as Champion.
But how did that happen?
And more importantly – how did Dolos know to target mine specifically? How could he possibly have known I would be chosen?
Chronos said the Déjà vu System selects the Champion a single second into the day the Battle begins – in the original timeline. Not even he knows who it’ll pick ahead of time. And still, somehow, he didn’t look completely convinced that Dolos couldn’t have known.
To reassure me, he said that he trusts the System’s choices fully. That it’s never been wrong before – always choosing the most righteous and brave.
Me? Righteous and brave? Riiiight…
The most likely explanation to this shenanigan was that it wasn’t just my COG that was tainted. Maybe all the COGs in Solvane were. They’re all made in the same factory, after all. And Chronos did mention that Dolos could’ve set traps in advance. He didn’t say how far back, but would it really be that far-fetched to assume that Dolos interfered with the manufacturing process or something similar?
Ten years ago, when I still had the children-version of the COG, House Innovation announced that every COG unit - every single one - had to be brought to specifically designated DGO stations across Solvane - on all three platforms - for an important hardware update.
It wasn’t irregular for DGO to have these update workshops every now and then. They had never been on such a large scale before or after that time, but still – it did happen occasionally.
Maybe that’s when everyone's COGs got the virus.
Was House Innovation working for Dolos? Infiltrated? Could it be that they’re following a set of rules he left them? How deep could Dolos’ influence run?
And more importantly, why were we just rolling with it? Why wasn’t there a button to cancel the Battle or at least put it on hold?
There was a third party sabotaging the entire thing. Solvane’s last decades could’ve been completely engineered by that despicable God.
Who knows how much of what I was doing now part of the scheme as well?
I sighed, deciding to let it go for now.
Well, at least Chronos kept his promise: I still remembered the Crow that killed me. I couldn’t recall where the confrontation happened, or who else was there – there was someone, but their face was a blur. Still, I remembered the important part. How he chased me. The things he said. How he killed me – twice. Thrice in total.
And how I managed to wound him through his seemingly impenetrable armor with…a tiny little gun.
I saw what I assumed was the gun listed in the Inventory, labeled simply as: Armor-Piercer.
I was tempted to summon it right here, just to get a fresher look – but the fact I was behind bars gave me a pause. I didn’t want my cellmates to see me holding a gun. They might snitch on me, giving Devin the perfect excuse to extend my detainment indefinitely.
So I did the logical thing: I waited. Waited for Ironwatch to realize their mistake and let me go. And in the meantime, I’d used the silence to watch these Memory Fragments in the Inventory, and figure out my plan for this run.
***
I watched the Memory Fragments and connected the dots.
I knew I needed to find my sister – if the Primarch’s concerns about Stanford’s loyalty were correct, then finding Stanford and her should lead me to Valdemar.
One of my cellmates was released fifteen minutes after Devin came gloating.
Me? I was only released at noon.
Stepping away from the station, I turned into a nearby alley and ducked behind two large trash bins.
First, I summoned Mana Crystals Fabric Bag from the Inventory, curious to see what I’d find inside.
I untied the rope and poured the contents into my hand.
Six crystals: two Ignis, one Cryora, one Aero, one Lumen, and one Umbrium.
Nice lineup. Where the fuck did I even get these?
I stored them back in the Inventory, tossing the fabric bag into the trash bin.
Then, I summoned Armor-Piercer. The small gun materialized in my left hand.
This thing was able to pierce an Aetherguard Mark III? This tiny little thing?
HOW?
I ejected the magazine and turned it over in my hands. I wasn’t a gun expert, but even I could tell – two bullets in a mag was weird. It was obviously a deliberate design choice. And still, it was odd.
Then maybe it wasn’t the gun that was special, but the bullets?
I summoned the Armor-Piercer Magazine from the Inventory, pulled out one of the bullets, and inspected it closely. Looked like lead…but not uniform. The surface had tiny, nearly imperceptible white dots across it.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Wait a minute.
I could use the Inventory for this.
I stored the single bullet inside, then navigated to the list to see how the System labeled it.
[Inventory]
- Tantalum – 146g
- Iron – 19.12kg
- Copper – 6.456g
- Titanium – 2.04kg
- Beryllium – 3.67kg
- Time Plane Memory #4
- Time Plane Memory #6
- Dematerializer
- 4 Steamcrowns
- Ignis x2
- Aero x1
- Cryora x1
- Lumen x1
- Umbrium x1
- Aetheris Bullet
Aetheris Bullet?
I summoned it back into my hand and brought it closer to my eyes – closer than before.
Those white dots – crushed Aetheris.
Suddenly, it all made sense. The magazines only had two bullets because Aetheris was the hardest mana crystal to acquire as it was also the hardest one to mine.
It was still bizarre, using Aetheris in a bullet, but the logic tracked. If a Mark III Aetherguard was impenetrable because of its Aetheris infusion, then using Aetheris to empower a bullet to pierce it…was poetic. A nasty symmetry.
Fight fire with fire. Almost literally.
I turned my attention to the gun again, turning it around to see if I missed anything. Then, on the underside, I noticed the initials G.S. engraved in tiny, almost missable, letters.
G.S.? Like Graham Stanford?
Was it his gun?
If it was, then Stanford, you’re…a fucking genius.
I already knew I had to find him if I wanted to find Thea and then Valdemar. And I know I might have been wrong and this G.S. refers to someone else completely. But…
With everything in the Inventory – the titanium, the beryllium, the mana crystals, even this gun for fuck’s sake – could this even be a coincidence?
No. That would be too crazy.
I had a feeling I got them straight from Stanford. That I had already spoken to him in a previous loop. That maybe…he gave me all this.
We did have a common enemy: Dalton Rose. It made sense that Stanford would build a weapon that could tear through the Primarch’s elite.
Suddenly, a familiar feeling enveloped me. It was unmistakable. Déjà vu.
Were my assumptions correct?
I remembered how after he informed me that the Chrono Quill was chosen for the Expo’s lineup, he told me to find him in the Divine first thing in the morning when the big day arrives.
Thinking about that conversation now, I suddenly realized he was very tense back then. It made sense now, considering what I knew – that his daughter was held hostage.
It was already afternoon. Would he still be in the Divine?
I sighed.
Looks like I’d be heading to the Divine after all. It’s wasn’t like I had any idea where to find Stanford elsewhere in Skyhaven.
***
I took a cargo airship in the West-Central Orlinth Cargo Dock.
Reached Skyhaven and walked to the Divine on foot.
Found five people Marked by Darkness, and three by Temporal Trace – figured out the trap.
Met Alice.
Stanford? I couldn’t find him at the Divine.
Two hours remained until the start of the Expo.
“Where the fuck is he…” I muttered, leaning forward with both hands on my exhibit’s table.
Stanford was nowhere to be found, and the staff weren’t telling me anything.
“Who?” Trent asked, glancing up from his homework.
“Stanford.”
“Your guy from the committee?”
“That’s the one.” I said, turning to him. “Did you see a tall, white-haired man around here this morning?”
Trent gave a helpless shrug. “Listen, Vik, I was shaking in my boots when you didn’t show up. I thought I’d have to run everything myself until you finally showed. I barely had the mental capacity to focus on anything but not passing out.”
I sighed. “You could’ve just said ‘no’, yapper.”
I turned away, ignoring his usual whining about the nickname.
Should I try messaging Stanford through the COMM-ANNEX?
Another wave of Déjà vu swept over me – stronger this time.
Wow, twice already, and I hadn’t even done anything important yet.
I had to be on the right track.
My past self must’ve messaged him too. That had to be how we met in a previous loop when he gave me all that stuff.
If I could send him a message – one that made it clear I knew he was neck-deep in shit – then maybe he’d be willing to meet.
After a short back-and-forth, a staff member directed me to the COMM-ANNEX. It was on the second floor.
The rate was a Steamcrown per word. Daylight robbery.
The room was quiet and sterile – in a mechanical kind of way. Only a few people were inside, working their own stations, and a staff worker watching over them from a side desk, absently rotating a mechanical pen in her fingers.
I approached an empty terminal and reached my COG to the scanner. The panel lit up, and the screen blinked to life.
[COMM-ANNEX Services]
[Center: 15. Terminal: 5]
[User: Viktor Halegrim]
[ID: 260604]
[SEND MESSAGE TO?]
I typed in Graham Stanford, hoping there weren’t multiple people by that name in Solvane.
Turns out he was the only one. Thankfully.
I exhaled in relief and selected him as the recipient. The screen quickly shifted into message format, awaiting my input.
Now came the hard part.
How do you tell a father that you know his daughter’s been kidnapped by the Primarch – and that you want to help get her back because she’s your sister too – in as few words as possible?
What did my past self write?
Unsure, I typed in: Thea. Let’s meet.
Another wave of Déjà vu washed over me as I reread the message I typed.
Third time. Can’t be a coincidence. That was it. That was the message.
Confidence rising, I hit send, then paid three whole Steamcrowns, using the ones I had in the Inventory.
I walked away, trying to act casual though my nerves were on edge.
I had to wait for Stanford to take the bait.
I was already back on the third floor, but there was still no message from him.
Was I too vague? Too short? What if it didn’t click for him?
Of course, it didn’t.
What the fuck was that message? Really, Viktor? That was your grand idea? And you even justified it with Déjà vu. Pathetic.
I dragged my hand across my face, shaking my head.
I should’ve added one more word – I did have the extra Steamcrown for it.
I clenched my teeth, cursing my Orlinth upbringing that caused me to think about saving money instead of saving the world.
Maybe I ruined my only shot at meeting him in this loop.
Maybe –
My COG beeped with a new notification.
[You Received a Private Message]
I quickly opened the message, my fingers shaking.
Sender: Graham Stanford.
[“Halden Heights, 2nd Promenade, House 42.”]
My heart thundered.
Was that…his home address?
Either way, I had a destination now.
I lied to Trent, told him I’d be back soon, then made my way to the exit.
As I rushed down the stairs, another Déjà vu hit me.
I instinctively slowed down.
It suddenly clicked for me.
This was what Chronos meant when he said the System might mess up.
And still...I decided to take the risk, and left the Divine.