Time Loop

Taryenne gasped as her consciousness snapped into clarity. She blinked, her vision swimming, expecting to feel the bitter sting of frostbite gnawing at her limbs, the suffocating grip of death in the unforgiving blizzard.

Instead, she found herself standing at the city's entrance.

She staggered, her boots crunching in the untouched snow, and wrapped her arms tightly around herself.

"What the... how am I here?"

Her memories rushed back in vivid flashes: the tracking runes failing, the frozen breath in her lungs, the endless cold that had seemed poised to claim her life.

'Vastarael didn't come. He didn't save us. I… I died. I'm sure of it.'

Her trembling fingers reached instinctively for the tracking rune again, but it was still inactive, its lifeless glow a cruel reminder of their predicament.

"Rienne!" She called out, panic rising in her voice. "Rienne, where are you?!"

No answer.

She summoned her Heat Runes, the motions automatic and desperate. This time, she poured every ounce of focus into them, weaving together the intricate symbols with precision born of necessity. The warmth enveloped her immediately, her breath fogging the air. Relief coursed through her, but it was fleeting.

"This doesn't make sense..."

The city loomed ahead, shadowed and foreboding, its icy spires piercing the gray skies. She knew this was where they'd begun their search in the morning. But how? How was she back here?

Her heart sank as the realization clawed at her. The blizzard. Late afternoon would bring its full force again, and she knew now what waited for her in that storm.

Death.

"I won't let it end like this."

She tightened the layers of her runes, feeling the heat radiate against her skin, and cast a protective shield around herself. It wasn't much, but it would have to be enough.

"Rienne," she murmured again, her voice filled with resolve this time. "I'll find you. I promise."

With one last glance at the looming city, Taryenne steeled herself and trudged forward, her footprints the only mark on the endless white empty city.

°°°°°°°

Rienne's consciousness returned in a violent jolt, her eyes snapping open to the sight of towering ruined stone doors of w cathedral. They loomed over her, frostbitten and ancient, the front entrance of the cathedral where it had all gone wrong.

She stumbled back, panic gripping her chest.

"No… no, this isn't right," she muttered, clutching her arms as the cold bit through her clothing.

The memory of the blizzard clawed its way back. Its bitter, suffocating winds, the frost creeping into her lungs, and the dreadful, suffocating realization that she was going to die.

Her instincts screamed at her to move. Her legs obeyed before her mind caught up, carrying her several steps back into the icy expanse. Her eyes darted to the cathedral doors one last time, as if expecting them to creak open and unleash whatever horrors had brought them to this cursed place.

Tearing her gaze away, she turned, frantically scanning her surroundings for any sign of Taryenne.

"Taryenne!"

It echoed faintly before being swallowed by the howling wind. There was no answer.

Her stomach dropped. She was alone.

Her hands clenched, shaking as the realization settled in. They had been caught in the blizzard... both of them. They had died. She was sure of it. And if she and her sister hadn't survived, then...

"Vastarael," she whispered, her voice trembling. "Did you…?"

She couldn't finish the thought.

She shut her eyes, forcing the dread down.

"No. He's alive. He has to be alive."

But the doubt twisted like a knife in her chest.

When she opened her eyes again, she was met with the unyielding sight of snow and ruin. Her breath fogged in the icy air as she gathered her thoughts, summoning a Heat Rune to protect herself from the unforgiving blizzard that would soon return.

Her fingers traced the symbols into existence, each line glowing faintly before fading, leaving her wrapped in a subtle warmth. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep the frostbite at bay.

Her Tracking Rune was still inactive. With a frustrated sigh, she stopped looking at it, casting her gaze outward. She couldn't wait here and she certainly couldn't stay near the cathedral.

"I'll find you," she whispered, her voice resolute despite the tremor. "I'll find you both."

With the bitter wind at her back, Rienne began to move, her footsteps steady but cautious. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew one thing.

She couldn't stop. Not until she brought them back.

°°°°°°

The cold was relentless.

Taryenne clutched her arms tightly as the blizzard howled around her, its icy tendrils sinking deep into her bones. Her Heat Runes flickered faintly in the biting wind, struggling to sustain their fragile warmth. She had poured every ounce of her energy into crafting them, layering symbols upon symbols in desperation.

Yet, the cold didn't yield.

Her breaths came in shallow gasps, each one stabbing her lungs like frozen daggers.

"Why... why isn't it working?"

She whispered hoarsely, her lips cracked and blue. Her vision blurred as snow whipped past her face, the world around her a shapeless, blinding white.

She collapsed to her knees, the weight of the storm pressing down on her.

"Taryenne.. you can't die here. Not like this..."

But the blizzard was merciless, her runes flickering once more before extinguishing entirely.

The last thing she saw was the snow swallowing her whole.

---

Rienne wasn't faring any better. She stumbled away from the cathedral doors, her rune-etched hands trembling as she pressed them together in prayer-like desperation. She spoke the symbols aloud this time, forcing more heat into her failing shield. The glowing barrier flickered, then dimmed.

"No," she growled, her voice cracking. "Work, damn it. Work!"

But the storm didn't care for her demands.

The cold seeped through her runes like water through cracks, freezing her from the inside out. Her steps grew heavier, her legs refusing to carry her further. She fell to the ground, her cheek pressing into the icy stone.

Her thoughts turned to Taryenne.

"Please… please tell me you're safe," she whispered, tears freezing on her lashes.

The blizzard roared in answer, drowning her pleas. Her body grew still, her vision fading into darkness.

°°°°°

When they woke, the cold had vanished, but the despair remained.

Taryenne jolted awake, her eyes wide with confusion. She was back at the city entrance, the snow beneath her untouched as if she'd never moved.

"No. No, no, no!"

She slammed her fists into the ground, frustration boiling over.

"Why did I die so easily? Why didn't my runes work? What is happening?!"

Her words echoed into the silence, but there was no answer, only the chilling memory of the blizzard's grip.

Rienne's eyes fluttered open near the cathedral doors. The sight of the looming structure made her heart pound with dread. She scrambled back, her breaths ragged.

"Why?" She muttered, pressing her hands to her face. "Why couldn't I survive? Why did I fail? What is happening? Why can't I find anyone? And why can't I leave the city either?"

Her mind replayed the moment her runes failed her, the bitter cold claiming her life.

"I did everything right. I should've lived!"

Both sisters were consumed by their anger and despair, isolated in their respective places. The cruel realization settled over them.

No matter how hard they fought, no matter what runes they used, the blizzard claimed them every time. And now, they were trapped in an unending cycle of death and rebirth, alone in the frozen expanse.

°°°°°°°

Taryenne's body had become numb.

The storm didn't relent. No matter how many times she tried, how many runes she recited, how desperately she fought against the cold, the blizzard always claimed her life.

Her breath came in shallow, panicked gasps, the heat from her runes too weak to stave off the relentless freezing grip of the storm. The layers of runes she had inscribed onto her skin, her surroundings, they flickered and dimmed, as though they too were succumbing to the power of the blizzard.

"Again..." she whispered, eyes wide with disbelief. "It's happening again."

She had already died 17 times.

Seventeen times her body had been consumed by the cold, her limbs freezing, her breath faltering as her consciousness slipped away into nothingness. Each time, she awoke at the same place—at the entrance of the city, as if the very ground itself had claimed her. It was maddening, the same cycle over and over again, with no way to break free.

She curled her fingers, feeling the delicate pressure of her runes beneath her skin. She had tried everything: the Heat Rune, the Shield Rune, the Fire Rune...all were ineffective against the storm's fury.

The cold was too much for them. The more mana she poured into her runes, the faster it drained, leaving her weak and vulnerable.

But she couldn't stop. She couldn't accept this fate. Not like this.

Taryenne stood, her legs trembling beneath her, the snow piling up around her as she struggled to maintain her balance. The temperature dropped further, the wind picking up, biting into her exposed skin. She could feel it again, the cold creeping into her bones.

The blizzard was approaching.

"I can't… I can't die again…" she murmured, trying to steady herself. "There has to be a way..."

With shaking lips, she spoke another rune. She murmured the name, pouring every ounce of her remaining strength into it. The rune ignited with a faint glow, but it sputtered out almost immediately.

"No!" She screamed, frustration boiling over. "Why won't you work?!"

She sank to her knees, exhausted, her body heavy and cold. Her vision blurred. Her heart pounded in her chest, faster than ever before. Her runes weren't enough. She knew it.

But there was something left, something that might be the key.

Taryenne gritted her teeth.

"One last try," she whispered, the words of the Xinoraci language of time slipping from her lips. She wasn't sure what it would do, but she had no other choice.

Time was strange here. It was the only thing she could think of.

The green rune flickered into existence before her and a trail of emerald light swirled around her, offering no promise, only an invitation.

It led towards a path

It was dangerous, reckless, but she had nothing left to lose.

Taryenne took a deep breath, pushing herself onto her feet. She followed the green trail, her eyes narrowing as she focused solely on the light, her body screaming in protest, her energy nearly depleted.

She could feel the pull of the blizzard growing stronger behind her, but she didn't stop. She couldn't.

The green rune guided her, its light cutting through the storm, promising a path that might lead her to salvation—or to her final death. She had no idea what she was walking into, but there was no turning back.

Her heart raced, her breath ragged, and she followed the glowing trail with a single, desperate hope: to survive.