Has it been five hours, or five seconds?
From the moment Delfina said those words—
"Chronostasis: Time Prison."
—the world froze for me. Time truly no longer was a construct with her presence, and she'd manipulated time to supposedly freeze for me. I was stuck in frame, the air stood still, and Delfina, Vick, and Rai all stared at me, frozen, as only seconds must have been passing for them.
I get it.
I knew what Delfina was trying to accomplish. 'Time will tell' she'd said. She subjected me to a form of isolation akin to solitary confinement. I was alone and stuck in this frame of time where I couldn't move, speak, or escape.
I was only left with the ability to think and ponder.
I've been left alone with my mind.
She left me in this state so I could 'come to my senses' about helping Chrono with the Shattering, probably.
But I won't submit.
Upfront, it was easy to reject any ideas associated with Chrono. But after some time left in isolation, long enough to make a person insane, I'm sure Deflina had hoped I would bite into the pressure and give in to them. However, that wouldn't work on me.
Isolation like this is nothing new. I've been placed in my own habitat.
Those lonely, long two years of waiting for nothing to happen, in my tiny dorm back at A.X.A. as a Lower Six. The months of running on the loose as a criminal after joining Heathen, and going back to that bleak storage unit every day to sleep on the stone cold floor for enduring months. All the days and nights I'd spent carrying the weight of the guilty burdens stomping on my mind, over and over again, seeking to make me crack and fall out with myself.
I'd been met with isolation like this more than ever in my life in just the past year. Being given some time—even if prolonged—to myself wouldn't make me crack the way Delfina would have wanted me to. Although, what this time did provide me was an opportunity to make my plan moving forward.
I need to nullify the Fractals of those goons—Vick and Rai. Vick has the ability to restrict me completely if I'm caught in his Fractal, and Rai is just a matter of avoiding altogether due to his Purgency.
I recalled Vick having mentioned something called 'Landscape Mode' associated with his Fractal. In association to a polaroid camera, landscape shots were considered wide shots—a frame with a longer width, and a shorter height.
That's why even though I dodged aside according to Flow State, I'd still gotten caught in his frame. The width was too long for me to exit before he caught me in it. If I jumped high enough to exit the frame, however…
It had also become safe for me to assume that his Fractal must have also had a 'Portrait Mode,' whereas portrait shots in a camera had a frame with a taller height, and shorter width. That mode would make it impossible to dodge upwards or downwards, but much easier by dodging aside, contrary to Landscape Mode.
It's all in his hands. I need to watch his hands.
In order to determine the mode of the shot he was using with Polaroid, I had to constantly observe the frame shape he made with his hands. Then, I'd know whether to dodge aside—if it was Portrait Mode—or, jump up or duck down—if it was Landscape Mode. On the other hand, Rai was a threat up close. I still had yet to understand what exactly would happen to me if he were to land all ten of his fingers on me and 'purge' me, but I planned not to find out. While I'd have an advantage closing-in on Vick with his Fractal, Rai was the opposite and I had to keep a constant distance. However, I needed to shed his blood and use the Null, so I would have to do so without letting him get his ten touches on me. But, even with all of these things considered, my strategies would immediately fall flat the moment she used her Fractal.
Delfina and Chronostasis.
I had no clue what conditions were required in order for her Fractal to activate, therefore I had no way of knowing how to prevent it. According to her, there was apparently no way of countering it either.
Unless I get close enough to use the Null on her.
But how attainable was that goal if she could manipulate a construct of reality to her will at any given point? She could slow down time infinitely before I could even get close enough to her, just like how she'd frozen me in this current state.
'Time Prison'... That must be the strongest form to her Chronostasis, in which rather than making someone perceive time differently, time is removed altogether. Time will no longer pass.
How the hell am I supposed to avoid this ability, or any of her time-altering abilities for a matter of fact?
Even with someone who had a Fractal as strong as Ian's, there were still limits to it. He required his targets to be within radius of where his Fractal was emitted, and it was necessary for him to get the voice-command fully spoken into existence. However, he surpassed those limits by finding ways around them. He exceeded the radius issue by imbuing his Fractal into other mediums from which his Fractal could also be emitted, increasing his radius overall. He was even able to hide the voice-command problem by speaking the commands through speakers at the lowest volume—at which no one could hear—because all that mattered was that they were spoken entirely, not heard.
Every Fractal has its limitations. No Fractal has 'no counter.' After all, Flow State is the only direct counter to all HP Fractals.
I already knew that Delfina was bluffing, just to make Chronostasis seem all the more unstoppable. But it most definitely had restrictions that she must have found ways to exceed, the same ways Ian had with his own Fractal.
I just need to uncover those restrictions. I need to abuse them.
But I realized one thing: I couldn't make my move blindly without knowing enough about her Fractal. Chronostasis to me at this current point in time was as vague as it could be. My failure was more likely than not if I tried anything now.
I had to wait it out and learn more to gain my advantage.
I need to be patient, just like how I am with Ian.
The most effective time to use the Null was not now, but later at the right moment. And what did Delfina hope and expect most of me after spending time in her Time Prison?
That I would concede to Chrono, and use the Null for the Shattering.
I now knew what I had to do. I had to play along with them, just until they all revealed their weakest points. I had to act like this Time Prison had actually taken effect on me, when in reality, both my previous experiences of isolation and Flow State had kept me sane throughout all of this. Once time resumed its flow, I would pretend to be in accordance with Chrono.
I know you'll be watching, Seris. I hope you'll understand what I'm doing, and that I'm not simply joining the opposing side.
The weakest point of an organization like this is at its core.
I will strike that core.