Grey Fate 2

With the itch in my real core as a guide, I reached for my physical body and focused on the Realmheart godrune.

As expected, the world lit up with particles of aether and mana. And running through them, a thin thread of golden light, leading onward to the site of the ambush and the cliff. Thinner, fainter threads ran back from the glowing aura around the mountainside to each of us, as well as the hidden bandits. Pieces were clicking into place.

“Stop,” I said, my small voice commanding.

Durden pulled the reins, bringing our cart to a halt. The adults all looked at me with surprise.

‘What are you doing?’ Sylvie asked, then, ‘Oh!’ as my thoughts passed to her.

“There is an ambush ahead.” I continued, explaining to the Twin Horns and my parents what was going to happen. As they hurried into position to counter the bandits, I released Realmheart and activated Aroa’s Requiem.

This time, although the mana and aether particles faded out of view, the golden lines remained.

I reached out and took the golden thread leading away from the battle in my fingers and gave it a small tug. The world around me rushed by, only it was moving in reverse. That small tug took me back a few minutes. When I released it, the cart was again moving forward, my mother still seated beside me chatting with Angela Rose, paying me no mind. The point where I’d stopped the cart passed, and we rolled forward toward the fight that separated me from my family.

Activating Aroa’s Requiem again, I pulled the thread forward.

The fight rushed by me as if time were sped up, but it was different than when I disassociated from my body and stepped away, letting life play out as it had happened without conscious effort or interference. This speeding up of events felt more intentional, with my mind and location both staying relevant to my place in time. Events still played out the same way, but there seemed to be no risk of me being caught up in the rushing tide of time and the vortex effect I had encountered before.

Even as I plummeted off the cliffside yet again, I grinned.

Everything was starting to make sense.