The first model of the techno‑staff hums softly in my grip.
It isn't perfect. I know that. The internal glyph lattice could be denser, the energy routing more elegant, the amplification ratios cleaner. But perfection can wait. This version is functional—and that's enough for a first deployment.
The time‑pool locator clicks to life beside it, needles shifting, glyph‑screens flaring faint blue. This is its first real test. No controlled environment. No safety net. Just theory, Titan math, and my faith in my own work.
It points.
Slowly.Decisively.
I start walking.
The device is tuned to two signatures: temporal energy and Titan blood residue. Time pools don't form randomly. They're scars—created when Titan blood fuses with the Isles themselves, warping time as a side effect. If my assumptions are correct—and they almost always are—then following both signals simultaneously should lead me straight to one.
Theoretically.
The journey is long enough that I don't waste it. While I travel, I work.
My mind drifts between projects effortlessly. I sketch new glyph combinations in my journal while walking, occasionally stopping to test small effects—micro‑adjustments to force, light refraction, spatial anchoring. I also open the techno‑staff's access panel, upgrading its internal logic on the fly.
More glyph storage.Cleaner spell switching.Better energy throughput.
It's already becoming more responsive.
At one point, as I cross a broken ravine, I pause and glance down. Too far to jump comfortably. Normally, gravity glyph plus stone manipulation would handle it—but the thought lingers.
Flight.
I don't have it yet.
A proper flight spell would need sustained lift, directional control, stability. Light glyphs feel essential—light is massless, directional, obedient. But light alone isn't enough. Maybe gravity inversion? Or controlled force redirection? Possibly a combination of light, gravity, and wind… or something new entirely.
I shake my head slightly.
Later. I'll solve it later.
Right now, the locator's signal is growing stronger. The air feels… wrong. Subtly distorted. Like the world is breathing out of rhythm. Even my Titan‑infused blood reacts, pulsing faintly, as if recognizing something old and familiar ahead.
I tighten my grip on the staff.
If this works, I'll have access to the past.If it doesn't… well.
I keep walking anyway.
Because time is just another system.And systems can be understood.