The rooftop fell quiet.
The sparks that once raged across the air slowly faded, leaving behind faint trails of dying electricity. The distortions in space trembled for a few moments longer before collapsing into nothingness.
The sky looked fractured as various bright colors including ultraviolet, neon blue, brass green and several others merged while some didn't, making for a breathtakingly beautiful scene.
Cael exhaled slowly trying to maintain his composure after everything that went down in the previous hour which felt like a minute at best.
His muscles still trembled from the fight. The strange warmth circulating through his body hadn't disappeared, but the violent surge from before had calmed into something steadier.
Across from him, the black-cloaked figure stood motionless.
Glitches crawled over their body like restless insects.
"Archivists. True Reflections. Ninety timelines."
Cael rubbed his temple.
"You're going to explain that, right?"
"Not everything." The figure spoke, their voice coming through voice filters and network noises.
"You have the gist. Now be quiet and listen. I won't say this twice."
They raised their right hand and brought it down but this time nothing happened instead they just continued:
"The world you know is a script. A controlled narrative maintained by entities known as Archivists."
"And when something deviates from the script…," Cael said slowly,
"...they send monsters?"
"Corrections." The figure said and continued:
"I asked not to be interrupted."
Cael shifted tensely. His face was drowning in sweat.
"Anyway, this whole commotion has already sent an alert to the local 'Mirrors'. So, you have to make a choice without any unnecessary delays. You know what I mean?"
Cael nodded, he knew what choice he was asked to make.
When his eyes changed and his vision distorted, he not only glimpsed the different worlds and realities but also the tapestry of space-time itself.
It was for such a small moment that he failed to notice it before but there were signs, the flow of foreign essence and the burning feeling which resided in his being were suppressing the toll of aftermath caused by looking up the divine script.
That was what he believed at least.
***
My debugger protocol was somehow able to break down that into a series of codes and then into fragments, which I later felt overdrive in my mind when I was suspended into the free space of slowed-down time.
This way I was able to learn a few things, like what the black figure said, something about the memories and 'Mirrors' and also a little about the nature of the abomination, the True Reflection.
Cael subconsciously played with the watch on his hands while he thought about the things racing his mind.
'I wonder why it didn't work on the original script then?'
He sighed and closed his eyes focusing on the pull of energy dwelling in his core feeling the essence saturating it. His concentration enveloped his whole being sensing even minute things.
Then, he found what he was looking for.
It was at the very center of his core, looking like a radiant sun trapped in such a miniscule vessel. When focusing on it, Cael felt incredibly resilient and his consciousness started to dissolve into fragments.
When it was almost ready to fall, he stopped and for a fleeting moment he listened to the soft chime singing in his ear. Something about this felt very nostalgic to him.
He released his grip on the watch and said addressing the figure.
"How much time do I have left?"
The figure responded:
"Not much. You should do what you were planning to after the Record Break, though I figured you will need some time to do that. So, I have also concealed your presence from higher beings and their minions. You will be safe for at most 7 days."
"Is it because of that seed? What was it exactly anyway?" Cael asked.
The figure's body flickered. For a moment, half of their silhouette disappeared entirely. Static crackled through the air and they spoke their voices, a mixture of man, woman and child:
"You can't fathom it yet when the time comes the way of simulation will unfold itself before you. Just know that it was the key to unlock your true potential, something meant for you, created by you, it will protect you from the curse of infinite knowledge while allowing you to grow out your abilities you have forgotten to countless scripts and simulations."
Cael smiled faintly and reached for the pockets in his tuxedo suit, putting both hands on each side.
"And… What is happening to you? It will be really inconvenient if you disappeared without informing me properly."
Sparks danced around the figure's body as they responded:
"It's just override. Probably will last a few weeks. However I also have a question, how are you this nonchalant anyway? It was not like this in previous cycles."
Cael responded frustratingly:
"Who said I am not shitting my pants right now? Of course I am terrified! Moreover I am thoroughly confused. The more answers I gain the more questions spawns, how can anyone remain sane after all of this and not to mention that weird feeling in my core it's like I am in a whole different body but at the same time it's creepingly familiar."
The figure muttered something to themself and sighed. Then they spoke in an amused tone, their voice sounding normal again but with the noise and voice filters.
"That didn't answer my question but why did I care? Humans are such strange creatures. I can't understand them by acting like one but I have my own speculation about the change in your behaviour, the only logical explanation is that you might have glanced at Chronoweave when the seed blossomed, it is also supported by the fact what your [***] attribute is."
They paused.
"It's quite impressive of a feat even if you don't understand it, it's like you already possessed some fragments before the Record Break even started. But let me tell you, you should prepare yourself, Cael Adryn. The Archivist, when they have their sight on something, they will not surrender even to the laws of absolute plausibility, they will complete their desire even at the cost of destruction."
"See, that's what I was talking about too much, too soon. For someone who doesn't have a lot of time on their plate, you sure know how to run your mouth or whatever you have instead of it. You shady cleaner. "
Cael snapped.
"What are you exactly if not one? A cleaner deployed to clean the world of abnormalities? A direct agent of the Archivists. Or someone working for the agents? Who says that you are not the one manipulating the narrative of sequences, so that everything goes according to your people's — beings' shady plans? What credibility do you have to offer? Hahhh-? What if that seed is something to rip off my freedom so that you guys can control me."
The figure remained silent for a moment taking all the accusations thrown at them silently. Then, they sighed and spoke:
"Now you are reacting correctly like in the previous cycles. Throwing false accusations at me, even when I showed you the countless visions of previous one's."
They laughed, their voice sounding sinister in the eerily silence which followed them before.
"But that's okay. No one who is naive and not wary of others will survive when the new dawn descends. I thought that you were taken over by a reflection or a mirror in this timeline or became one, that might have messed things up more for me but I'm glad I was wrong for this once. This timeline is indeed special but not in a way I believed."
Cael just stared at them with a wary look on his face, his left hand was still in his pocket gripping the code left behind by Record Break in it.
His mind racing thoughts but remained sharp and attentive.
'Ahh! I hate this'
A part of me believes that this mysterious entity is hiding a few crucial things from me. That they are not someone to believe in half-heartedly but the other half, it knows what the truth is even if it is fragmented.
That's right.
I saw countless visions. I interacted with them. I felt the emotions in them. There's no way they are fake. Those people whose faces are blurry. The feelings of other me's towards their worlds and its residents. Those fragments told me their story so that I can remember them. So that I can save my own world, my own timeline.
The words of the black figure are also not totally strange to me. But, how can I accept it? Even if it is real, doesn't my whole world crumble away? The world, the reality as I know it, the rules of simulations and the fate of those around me. All of it?
"Stop lying to yourself, debugger. Just accept that you didn't want answers from me, you just wanted an escape. An easy escape, just accept what your shattered heart believes, what you saw and what you felt."
The figure spoke raspily. Their form, on the verge of fading away. Still they continued:
"Humans are caged to their emotions and as an entity based on them I too am a subject to that rule but you are special because you remember. You cannot be tied to a single emotion because it is your destiny to become a witness. It's your fate to remember the forgotten. To accept the unacceptable. Unless you riot. Riot against it."
There was a pause. Then, silence once again was broken away.
"Rest is known to you, search for the answers in yourself. You can only believe in yourself at this moment, not anybody else. I will be absolved of unnecessary questions if you do."
Saying this the figure leaned at the rooftop edge looking at the space around them as it started repairing itself of the aftermath caused by the battle with the abominations. The floor repaired itself using the 3D-blueprints and now only the sky remained abnormal which also was repairing itself slowly.
The black figure distanced their gaze at the display hovering above, looking at its message. It said:
[ New simulation order status: -UNKNOWN- ]
Cael was playing with the fragment inside his pocket subconsciously all this time. His gaze was fixated at the black figure but his mind wandered somewhere else. His mouth flat opened then closed after uttering a word.
"Ah-!"
Ofcourse.
Before I was carried by the flow, the flow of the events which transpired after the Record Break. Not thinking about anything, I believed it was all a dream. I believed that I was in the other world scattered by the Record Break and sleeping in the discarded scripts. But everything became clearer when the abomination attacked me, when I glimpsed the weave of space-time.
Yeah. It's like what he said. I was scared, confused. But it's all clear even if it is scattered, even if it is fragmented. That soft chime ringing in my ears, singing in my ears whispered to me clearly, only I was oblivious to the fact.
"Why me?" Cael said in a low tone, looking at the floor with lost eyes while kneeling.
"Seriously I want to know too but just like you somethings i cannot fathom yet. I will just end up becoming oblivious to them before I even begin pondering on it. Waiting for the time when the way to the truth will open is one of the reasons why I am doing this." The figure responded, their voice turning more distant.
Cael chuckled quietly.
"Hey… atleast tell me what you are."
"Nothing. I was nothing and I am nothing. My purpose is long lost. Just know that I am an ally. You should not fully believe me, but believe in me to never betray my allies is what I will make your faith dwell in."
"You and your fancy words. Looks like your time is up, any more advice?"
The figure said, looking at him from behind their veil. Their eyes showed an unknown emotion.
"Don't need to rush. You are already too abnormal from the other timelines point of view but you are still the Cael Adryn I know. Take your time to figure out things, to talk to your friends and peers before your life and theirs shift after the New Dawn. I know I said this but don't be too wary of someone, no one can survive alone in the upcoming Archive and finally fear the unknown, praise the unknown but don't dwell in it. You are more resilient to corruption than the other 89 timelines Caels. But, not immune to it."
They paused and continued after a few seconds.
"Ah! Also don't be overwhelmed by your abilities, your skills and attributes. Your powers are too drastic to handle even so that the 89th Cael had to invent a seal to make you oblivious to your powers. That's what that seed was, more appropriately a part of it."
Cael stood up and jerked his suit, then wiped his bloodful mouth with its sleeve.
"Anything else?"
"Not nearly the time is up. Know that we may not be able to converse for some time."
After saying this the figure started dissolving into ethereal blue light faster than anything before. Cael hesitated for a moment and spoke what came to his mind hurriedly.
"Wait! What's your gender? N-no wait i mean what should i refer you as? Your name."
The figure drowned in sparks of electricity as they started dispersing into blue particles. Half of their silhouette is gone.
"Does it even matter?"
Then, everything went silent once again.
The glitches vanished.
The rooftop returned to normal.
The crimson sky faded back into the ordinary night.
For a moment, everything felt quiet again.
Too quiet.
Cael just stared at where the figure was a moment ago with a dumbfounded expression on his face.
"It might be"