I peeked outside the window.
In the distance, somewhere west of the Divine, I could see fires.
Then, another explosion – this one closer – shook the entire house. It came from the other side.
I returned to the journal, skimming quickly to check if I missed anything. But there was nothing more on the Aetherprint.
What the fuck, Stanford? This journal is useless!
Where are the important parts? And where’s the information Valdemar supposedly gave him about the Aetherprint? Why isn’t any of that here? Had Valdemar’s people taken it away after they got what they wanted from Stanford? Were Libra the ones who killed Stanford?
Doesn’t matter right now.
I rummaged through the workshop again. The other plans and notes cluttering the tables had nothing to do with the Aetherprint, Zee, Valdemar, or Thea.
There had to be something here! Maybe I missed something on Stanford’s body!
I rushed downstairs as fast as I could.
Even the stench from Stanford’s corpse couldn’t stop me as I dug through all his pockets, and ran my hands over his body in case he’d hidden something.
Nothing. There was nothing. I hadn’t missed anything before.
“Fuck!” I snapped, stumbling back into the hall and vomiting on the floor. The smell finally got to me.
I checked Stanford’s room again – the one where I found the key to Thea’s room.
Nothing.
The guest room again. Nothing.
I groaned aloud.
The distant explosions reminded me time was running out. The end of the world was creeping in.
I’d gotten so far this run – only to forget everything once I die. With nothing to show for it. I can’t find Thea if I don’t know what to do with the Aetherprint Stanford left in the journal.
Wait a minute…
Stanford mentioned ‘slow feeding the Dematerializer’ to sync Zee with Thea’s Aetherprint. If I could use Thea’s hair too…put it inside the Dematerializer…maybe I could –
No. No, I couldn’t. What am I thinking? This isn’t a children’s book, Viktor. The Dematerializer won’t just react to someone’s hair without some tinkering before. If it was that simple, it wouldn’t have taken Stanford – an established and experienced inventor – months to make the automaton react to Thea’s Aetherprint.
And even if it was that simple, Thea’s room was cleaned out. It was empty.
I assume Stanford found strands of her hair on her bed. Maybe on her clothes.
I had none of it now.
Then what do I do?
I need to find someone who knows how to sync a COG to a specific Aetherprint. And the list is short:
Stanford – dead.
Valdemar – out of the question.
Someone working under House Civics? Stanford did mention they track us in real time. But House Civics had so many branches, so many government bodies, it’d take me forever to figure out which handled tracking, and forever-times-two to find and reach that place.
That leaves the three High Technicians.
But…where do they even live? I don’t even know their names, let alone addresses.
One of them has to be the head of House Innovation, so he’s out. But the other two?
Damn. Think, Viktor. Think!
Suddenly, an idea struck me.
The Calibration Hall.
That’s where they supposedly calibrate your COG after you send in your blood.
And seeing how Stanford mentioned that only the High Technicians know about how the COG truly works, then I assume they’d be the ones performing this calibration.
Where do I find it?
I turned toward my COG’s screen, opening the map I got from the newspaper.
After a quick search, I found it. It was in Government Hub #2, surrounded by other government buildings.
Not too far from Halden Heights as well. I can make it there in half an hour on foot.
Okay. That’s my best shot.
And with Skyhaven on fire, now might be my best chance to sneak in.
Even if I don’t find the Technicians, maybe I’ll find something else in that place – something useful. Hopefully, something transferable.
My COG retains progress between loops same as I do. So if I manage to sync it to Zee’s Aetherprint before I die, then next run’s me could still trace it.
Next loop’s Viktor won’t know what Zee is, or anything about the Aetherprint for that matter. But he’ll have something to track. And that will make him search. The rest…he’ll have to figure that out on his own.
That’s all I needed.
***
Back on the streets of Halden Heights, I tried running – though it came out mostly as limping thanks to my sore muscles and callus-covered feet.
Hearing my steps – and probably watching through their living room windows – some residents of the neighborhood called out, urging me to get to safety. Surprisingly, a few even offered me to take refuge in their homes, figuring out from my clothes that I wasn’t a Skyhavener.
But there were others – those who made the same deduction – and were far less welcoming, hurling accusations, saying I was with Libra. Maybe they even contacted Ironwatch.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
I ignored the insults and just kept moving toward Government Hub #2.
The map showed it as a long avenue lined with government buildings on either side, ending in a large fountain. The Calibration Hall was the last building on the right.
As I got closer, the sounds of battle grew louder – explosions, gunfire, and the metallic groan of automatons limbs shifting and smashing against pavements and metal.
Then, suddenly, a massive explosion erupted ahead. A pillar of fire shot into the sky, and a shockwave slammed outward – rattling the trees around and shattering the windows of nearby houses.
The force knocked me off my feet.
My ears were ringing, and my eyes and mouth got filled with dust. I blinked fast, and pulled myself up, stumbling forward, still limping.
When Government Hub #2 finally came into view, so did the chaos.
Libra insurgents, clad in black, were clashing with Ironwatch Enforcers – dozens on each side – with blades, bullets, and mana crystals. Automatons clashed against each other as well with each side utilizing their own level 37 Guardians and level 20 Turrets.
It seemed that Ironwatch had lifted all restriction as their automatons were using mana crystals as well.
The entire avenue had become a war zone.
But something was off. Where were the Obsidian Crows? Had they all been dispatched to the Divine? Or were they scattered across other districts? The conflict did seem to take place in many places in Skyhaven at once based on other – more distant – explosions.
I didn’t know. Didn’t care, either. I just knew one thing: I never wanted to see an Obsidian Crow in my life again.
I dug behind a stone bench near me, close to the Hub’s avenue, trying to catch my breath and figure out a plan.
How in the world was I going to get through all that fighting without getting myself killed in the process?
Before I could even reconsider the entire idea, my COG beeped with a Déjà vu System notification.
[Quest Available: From A to B]
[Reach the Calibration Hall in One Piece]
[Reward: 3 Level Upgrades]
I sighed in relief. For a second, I feared it was ‘Outlast’ again.
Was this another fake quest? One of Dolos’ manipulations of the System?
Doesn’t matter. Ignore it. You were planning to reach the Calibration Hall anyway. Quest or not.
I took a deep breath and peeked from my hideout.
Rounding the avenue and approaching the Calibration Hall from the back looked impossible. The buildings were too close together. If the gap between them was too small or blocked – and no back door – I’d have to backtrack and return here. That’s if I even managed to circle around, which seemed unlikely with a battle raging just a few hundreds meters away.
I opened the Inventory menu to strategize.
[Inventory]
- Tantalum – 146g
- Iron – 30.14kg
- Copper – 12.222g
- Titanium – 4.08kg
- Beryllium – 7.34kg
- Time Plane Memory #4
- Time Plane Memory #6
- Dematerializer
- 5 Steamcrowns
- Ignis x4
- Aero x2
- Cryora x3
- Lumen x2
- Umbrium x2
- Armor-Piercer x2
- Armor-Piercer Magazine x3
Armor-Piercer stays where it is. I’m not using it on anyone but the damn Crow.
Umbrium would be best against machines. But as for people? I really didn’t want to kill anyone. But if it came to that, I definitely wouldn’t use Umbrium. Burning someone alive with a mist of decay? No. Cryora was better – cleaner. And I had three.
Either way, I’d only be able to use two at most before my COG overheated and became useless.
I scanned the avenue again, trying to find a relatively safe route to sprint through – but the battle ahead was far too chaotic for any real planning.
Just run, I guess. Use Slow when needed.
I activated Checkpoint.
[Checkpoint Set: Your progress has been saved at this point in time]
[Current anchor will be lost upon death, or after thirty minutes. The earliest of the two.]
[Checkpoint lvl. 1: Time left until Anchor expires – 00:29:59]
And then, I ran.
The moment I bolted from behind the bench, my sore muscles screamed at me. Each step felt like battle as my callus-ridden soles burned. The adrenaline dulled the pain, but not enough to make me fast – just barely fast enough.
Explosions echoed constantly, raising dust, heat, and screams.
I sprinted past an Enforcer clashing blades with a Libra insurgent. The clashes of steel rang through the air as neither of them spared me a glance as I ran behind them.
Ahead, another Enforcer, wielding raw flame from his bare hands, hurled fire projectiles at a Libra agent – a woman moving with the blurred speed of Kinetra, sword in hand. She twisted and rolled under his attacks with incredible agility and reactions.
Then the Enforcer caught me moving behind him. His eyes widened, probably thinking I was with Libra as well.
He didn’t shout. Just turned one arm toward me, fingers glowing red with Ignis.
I was ready to summon an Aero to attempt a wind wall block, but I wasn’t fast enough.
Luckily, before he could unleash his attack on me, the Kinetra-enhanced woman surged forward and drove her sword straight through his chest. His fire died with him.
The woman yanked the blade free and turned to me. Her expression made it clear: just like the Enforcer, she didn’t consider me one of hers.
Her sword raised again – this time toward me.
But then, a thunderous crack tore through the air as a Guardian automaton lunged at her from the side.
She just barely managed to roll away before the seven-feet-tall metallic giant slammed its fist against the ground where she stood seconds ago. Frost exploded outward where it hit – its arms releasing a freezing pulse on impact.
I used the chaos to sprint forward again.
I passed a few more skirmished like this – human vs. human, machine vs. machine, sometimes it was combined. Explosions rippled in all directions.
To my sides, the buildings burned. Flames spilled out from shattered windows of government facilities. One had already collapsed.
Then I heard the clicking.
From the center of the avenue ahead, just next to the Calibration Hall, and in front of the fountain, a waist-high automaton – the looks of a plated turtle – unfolded and set itself into place with a hiss of steam. Its dome lifted and a rotating multi-barreled launcher rose from within. An auto-charge repeater, spitting led bullets that exploded with fire on impact.
Shit!
I dove sideways just as it fired, the ground ripping apart and exploding where I’d stood.
I slammed into the side of a toppled Porter Carriage, hiding behind it, hoping the Turret automaton wasn’t advanced enough to fire at enemies it couldn’t directly see.
It was too far for my COG to even attempt a counterattack with mana crystals.
Just as I thought I was safe to strategize, a hum sounded.
I looked up – and froze.
Another Guardian – this one from Libra’s side – raised his Ignis-powered gun and aimed it at me.
A surge of flame roared to life and came straight at me.
I used Slow.
The world decelerated instantly.
Without the skill, I’d be done for already.
The flame still crept toward me slowly. I ducked, then threw myself under it, shoulders feeling the heat.
I landed behind the Guardian, rolling to my feet as time snapped back into motion.
As I rose to my feet, I summoned an Umbrium and slammed it into my COG’s Channel Core.
The needles pierced my arm, and I turned, aiming my hand at the automaton and releasing a black mist of decay.
The Guardian’s movement slowed as its limbs hissed against the corrosion. But I knew it wouldn’t stop it – he was too high-leveled for what my COG could produce.
Still, it would buy me some time.
And I needed every second. Because…the Calibration Hall was just ahead.
I leaned from the cover - CRACK.
Pain tore through my throat.
I stumbled backward, hands flying to my neck. I was bleeding. Heavily. I couldn’t breathe. Only gurgle.
The Turret got me.
I collapsed against the Porter Carriage, dying.
And as I choked on my own blood, I knew that in my next attempt I must take the damn turret out first. Even if it meant wasting an Aetheris Bullet.
[You’ll now reawaken at the Anchor Point]
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