The Truth About The Timelines

Their heads snapped around, disbelief etched into their expressions. Vastarael, was alive and whole, a faint smirk on his face as if he hadn't just cheated death itself.

Taryenne was the first to move. She launched herself at him, nearly knocking him over as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed, her voice breaking with every word. Her voice broke and she buried her face against his chest, gripping his hoodie tightly as if he might vanish again.

"You... you idiot! I thought you were gone! We saw you..."

Rienne wasn't far behind. She stepped forward hesitantly at first, her hands trembling. But the moment Vastarael's golden eyes met hers, the walls she'd tried to hold up crumbled. She threw her arms around him too, her voice trembling.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry! We couldn't do anything... we tried, but..."

Vastarael let out a soft sigh, his smirk giving way to a gentler expression. He placed a hand on Taryenne's head, his fingers combing through her disheveled hair, and wrapped his other arm around Rienne, pulling them both closer.

[Seriously, girls crying for you. And you worried me too you know. Tell me your plans next time or else...]

'I know, I'm sorry too, Phaenora. But yeah, we've been together for... two weeks and a few days ? That's a long time, right?'

[I swear, I have a feeling that I'll be dealing with a lot of women in the future...]

"Hey, it's okay," he said softly, his voice steady and soothing despite the situation. "I'm here. I'm fine."

"But we saw you die!" Taryenne cried, her voice cracking. "The chains... they crushed you!"

Rienne nodded, her tears soaking into his cloak. "You don't understand... the pain... the vision. We thought it was over. We thought..."

Vastarael interrupted with a quiet chuckle, his voice tinged with a strange mix of sympathy and amusement.

"Yeah, about that. Letting the chains take me? That was the plan."

Both girls froze, their tear-streaked faces snapping up to look at him in shock.

"You what?" Taryenne nearly shouted.

He shrugged casually, though his eyes softened as he looked at their frightened faces.

"It was a gamble. But I figured if I let them kill me, the loop would reset, and I'd escape the cathedral. Guess I was right. There's a ninety nine percent chance it could go wrong. After all, the cathedral and the outside have different time periods."

"That's insane!" Rienne exclaimed, her voice breaking with both anger and relief. "Do you have any idea how scared we were? How much we—"

"I do," Vastarael cut in. "And I'm sorry you had to go through that. I really am."

He tightened his embrace, his voice dropping to a softer register.

"But we're still here. All of us. And that means we still have a chance to figure this out. Together. So don't be mad at me okay?"

Taryenne sniffled, wiping her tears on his chest as she muttered, "You're an idiot."

"And reckless," Rienne added, though her voice had softened.

Vastarael laughed, a warm sound that cut through the icy despair lingering in the air. "Yeah, well, someone has to be."

[Toying with their hearts with your soft tones and smile. You're a natural playboy, huh?]

'If you don't want to see the horror statue, don't test me.'

[...]

"Okay then... we need to form a plan. But first, we must survive the blizzard. I saw the deaths you all went through in the cathedral and... I'm sorry about that."

The sisters only nodded in response.

"The blizzard is unstoppable and so, I'm going to let us survive it. And this time, I'm not taking any chances."

°°°°°°

As the three huddled together, their breaths visible in the icy air, Taryenne and Rienne began recounting everything they had experienced during their countless, tormenting twenty one loops. Vastarael listened intently, his expression growing more serious with each word. Phaenora, silently observing through Vastarael's connection, was already piecing the puzzle together.

Taryenne spoke first.

"Every time I die, it's the same. I wake up at the city's entrance. I try every rune, every strategy... nothing works. I always freeze to death. And that statue, it... it tortures me if I get too close to the vialex."

Rienne chimed in, her voice quieter.

"For me, it's different. I wake up at the cathedral doors. The blizzard kills me, no matter how much I try to protect myself. And the chains... they tear me apart if I go near the vialex. I can't... I can't even..."

Her voice broke as she clutched her arms, trembling at the memory.

Vastarael frowned, his golden eyes narrowing as he pieced the details together.

"So you're both stuck in loops, but in different places," he murmured. "Taryenne at the city's entrance... Rienne at the cathedral. And me..."

[You're at the center,] Phaenora's voice echoed in his mind.

Vastarael nodded slowly, his thoughts aligning with hers.

"The cathedral connects the city and the blizzard. That's why I keep ending up in the middle of everything. I'm... I'm the link between your two timelines."

Taryenne's eyes widened. "Wait... what are you saying? Timelines?"

Rienne's brow furrowed as realization dawned. "You mean... I'm in a different timeline from Taryenne?"

"Exactly. Rienne, you were stuck in the second timeline, where the curse has already progressed further. Taryenne, you were in the first timeline, where the events leading to the curse are still fresh. I exist between both timelines, anchored by the cathedral."

A heavy silence fell over them, broken only by the distant howling of the oncoming eternal blizzard.

Taryenne's voice shook as she asked;

"If we were in different timelines... then why does the blizzard kill us both? Shouldn't it be different in each one?"

Vastarael's jaw tightened.

"That's the key. The blizzard isn't just weather. It's... something else. A trial, maybe. Or a barrier of some sorts. We need to survive it."

Phaenora's voice resonated in his mind again.

[The blizzard is the constant across both timelines. It's the mechanism trapping them in their loops. Surviving it might be the only way to break free.]

"We need to survive the blizzard."

Rienne looked down, her fists clenching. "Survive it? We've tried everything. Every rune, every strategy, every ounce of power we had... it didn't matter. We always die."

Vastarael placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Then we try something different. Together."

Taryenne tilted her head, her expression both desperate and skeptical.

"But what happens if we survive? Do we get out? Or do we just... wake up in another loop?"

Vastarael hesitated, his gaze flicking to Phaenora for guidance.

"I don't know. But, it's a starting point. If we can figure out how to survive the blizzard, maybe we can find the next piece of the puzzle."

Taryenne asked the million dollar question.

"But if we were in different timelines, then how come we're together now? All three of us are back to where we started."

Vastarael's eyes flickered with a mix of understanding and grim realization as he processed her words. The cathedral... the blizzard... the loops... the vialex... it all pointed to one undeniable truth.

"It's because of me," Vastarael finally said, his tone measured yet intense.

Rienne looked up sharply. "What do you mean?"

Vastarael sighed, glancing toward the distant ruins of the city.

"When I let myself die in the cathedral, I wasn't in either timeline. I existed between them, right at the bridge, the cathedral itself. It's the anchor, the one place connecting both timelines."

Taryenne's brow furrowed as she pieced it together.

"So, when you died... you weren't sent to a specific timeline. You were sent to where you belong."

Vastarael nodded slowly.

"Exactly. The city entrance. That's where it all started for us. It's the point where the timelines converge. When I was pulled back, it brought you both here too. That's why we're together now, despite being from separate timelines."

Rienne's expression shifted from confusion to dawning horror.

"But... we've already tried escaping together a few hours ago. It didn't work. Every path we took led us back here. It's the blizzard. It's keeping us trapped."

"The blizzard," Taryenne murmured, her fists clenching. "It's not just a storm, is it? It's something else. Something we can't outrun or fight."

"No, we can't escape it. We've tried that. The only way forward now is to endure it. Survive it. If we can do that, maybe we'll find the next step in this madness."

Taryenne crossed her arms, glaring at the ground. "It's not like we have a choice. Staying here means dying over and over again anyway."

"Exactly. The ruins, the vialex, the blizzard... it's all connected. Whatever is keeping us here wants us to face this storm. And I'm not backing down," Vastarael said.

Rienne took a deep breath, her trembling hands curling into fists.

"Fine. We endure the blizzard. Together."

Taryenne raised her head, determination blazing in her eyes. "Together."

"And with that said, Runes are useless in this place. Thankfully, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Who said we need Runes to keep warm?"