“We’ve learned quite a bit from what we could gather from Helia,” provided Elara, cupping her chin as she thought. “We know she comes from at least five years from the future, 9382…”
Noiro nodded, jotting down the year at the endpoint of the timeline, and scribbling Helia’s name underneath.
“What else?”
“We know we’re her parents,” Elara continued, avoiding Argon’s gaze.
Argon nodded.
Noiro hummed softly as he scribbled down the note onto the timeline. “What else do we know?”
“Well…We know that you died,” Argon remarked solemnly as he turned to face Elara.
She nodded. “With the amount of blood—my blood—that we found on Helia when she first showed up… I think that’s a safe bet to make.” Elara shuddered at the thought of her bloody demise. From the way blood was sprayed and splattered on Helia and her clothes, it looked like Elara was slaughtered in front of the toddler.
“Not just you, Argon, too,” Noiro voiced softly. He turned to the Lieutenant. “You didn’t catch what Helia said when she first saw you?”
Argon shook his head. “I barely registered anything when she first saw me,” he admitted. “All I remember was a random child pointing and yelling at me. The next thing I knew, I was hauled off to my commanding officer’s office, and sworn to secrecy over a future war we’re trying to prevent.”
Noiro couldn’t help but feel slightly ashamed as he listened to Argon’s recount of how he was introduced to the entire ordeal. He remembered how, in the heat of the moment, they quickly pounced on the Lieutenant when they met in the Guardians’ Headquarters. No wonder Argon had been so defensive and wary of them.
“What did Helia say? I didn’t catch it either,” asked Elara, snapping Noiro out of his train of thought.
“Er, she said that her dad was back…from the sky. Could she have meant heaven? I’m guessing that means that somewhere down the line, Argon, you died,” he finished simply.
“Oh.” Argon blinked. He glanced sideways at Elara, who he knew had suffered a bloody death. How did he die? Was it painful? Was it peaceful? Or was it violent? A dozen questions flooded into his head as the thought of his own demise manifested.
Argon saw Noiro and Elara continue speaking, but he couldn’t concentrate. He noticed Miela leaning into the conversation, pulling out a large map and pointing to different areas. Their voices faded to a soft buzz in the background as he withdrew internally.
As a Guardian, Argon was an experienced combatant. He was used to facing potentially lethal conditions, and had faced many close calls in the past. Even still, the idea of his own mortality never seemed tangible, and he rarely ever dwelled on it.
And yet, there they were, discussing his death as a real event that took place in the future.
Five years. Perhaps even less than that. That was all he had left.
Argon thought hard. Could their efforts in changing the future also change his death? Was he being selfish for wondering about his own death? Argon winced internally. Guilt gnawed at his belly as he thought about the several thousands of lives also resting on the decisions they were making at this very moment to try and prevent the upcoming war, and yet, here he was, wondering about his own death.
For the first time, Argon felt scared.
“Oh my God.” Miela’s voice pierced Argon’s thoughts. He lifted his head to see Miela staring at the map she laid out on the table, her eyes wide.
“Miela?” Elara snapped her head towards her friend.
“I know what they are,” Miela repeated, her voice low. She looked up at the group, her face brightening up.
“What are you talking about?” asked Noiro. “What do you know?”
“The codes!” Miela exclaimed, waving her arms frantically. “I know what the codes are!”
“What?” Elara’s mouth fell open. “How? What is it?”
“Coordinates,” Miela blurted quickly. “They’re not codes. They’re coordinates.”
SHADOWS OF TIME
“They’re coordinates!” Miela repeated frantically. She pulled out a couple of crumpled up balls of paper from her pocket and smoothed it out over the table. The paper was the one she swiped earlier from Professor Neptune’s office, which had one of the codes from Elara’s journal copied onto it. She pulled it close to the map on the table, which was lined with grids.
“Look, over here,” Miela pointed excitedly to one of the grid’s squares. “By Polaris Castle. This grid, here.”
“It’s Noiro’s cottage,” remarked Elara, examining the map’s grid.
“Yes, but look,” insisted Miela, tapping her finger at the edges of the map. “See how there are numbers at the beginning of each notch of the grid? The numbers that mark the vertical lines of the grid make up the longitude, and the ones on the horizontal lines make up the latitude.” She put a finger on the map, pointing at Noiro’s cottage. “Take this point for example. Follow the vertical and horizontal line back to the numbers at the edge, and there you have it! You have your coordinates!”
The group looked at her.
She pointed to the code from Elara’s journal. “The codes are coordinates!” Miela’s eyes gleamed in excitement. Sure enough, the coordinates of Noiro’s cottage matched the exact sequence of numbers that made up the code.
“Of course!” Noiro’s jaw dropped. “How could we have missed that?”
“I’m a genius,” Miela exhaled, grinning as she folded her arms proudly.
“I’m betting that the future Elara figured that you would know what these numbers were.” Noiro beamed proudly at Miela. “Well done!”
“Miela, you’re brilliant,” Elara admired.
“And look!” Miela continued, pointing to the continuing sequence of numbers on the page. “Each page is dated, so we know that the date on this page, July 2nd, 9377, with the coordinates of Noiro’s cottage…”
“That must mean that something significant happened over here,” mused Noiro.
“It had to be significant enough for you to note it down. And July 2, that’s only a few days away,” remarked Elara.
“It looks like we have our starting point for the timeline,” said Noiro, turning his attention back to his chalkboard. He marked the starting point of the line with the date.
Elara frowned. If that was the starting point, then that meant they only had a few days until the first significant event happened that would trigger the beginning of the end.
They didn’t have much time.
“So, what now?” asked Argon, who had been quiet throughout the commotion.
The excitement in the room died down at Argon’s words. Sure, they figured out the codes. But what was next?
“Are we just supposed to wait and see what happens on July 2nd?” Elara wondered out loud. “That seems counterintuitive. Especially if we’re meant to change the future events.”
“I don’t think we’re supposed to wait,” said Noiro, shaking his head. “Besides, with the butterfly effect, that date is now arbitrary.”
Elara let out a frustrated sigh. “Well, then what?”
The group sat in silence for a moment, racking their brains.
“Hold on,” murmured Noiro. He stood up and walked over to the research laboratory.
The group waited in silence.
Noiro emerged seconds later, carrying Helia’s necklace. “Helia used this to bend time,” he reminded them, holding up the necklace. “What if we can use it the same way she did?” Noiro glanced at the room’s occupants, and then back at the pendant. “Look at the notches and dials embedded into the Aether pendant. They’re numbered.”
“The codes?” Elara suggested, raising an eyebrow.
Noiro nodded. “What if we input the codes into the Aether Stone?”
“You’re not suggesting that we travel back in time ourselves…?” Elara was alarmed. “We don’t even know how to use that thing!”
“Also,” Miela added incredulously, “what a
bout the butterfly effect that you keep rambling on about? What if we go into the future and, I dunno, step on a bug by accident, and change everything again?”
“Bending time doesn’t necessarily mean travelling through time,” explained Noiro thoughtfully. He picked up the completed research journal from the future and flipped through the pages. Noiro topped at a chapter and turned it around for the group to see.
“Shadows of Time,” Elara read aloud. She looked up at Noiro, the gears in her head turning. She gaped at him. “We were right?”
He nodded, smiling.
Miela shook her head, still confused. “What do you mean?”
“It’s one of the theories Elara and I have been working on,” Noiro elaborated. “Creating a shadow of time. A way to bend time without actually travelling to it.”
“Is that even possible?” asked Miela incredulously.
“Well, it was just a theory. You see, instead of bending time and traveling through it, the idea is to bend time just enough for that point in time to cast a shadow. That way, we can view events in time, but without actually moving through time ourselves,” Noiro clarified. “I think we must have figured it out in the future, because the completed chapter is here in the research journal. A marvelous stroke of luck.”
Elara smiled.
Noiro furrowed his brow as he scanned through the chapter, his glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose as he leaned his head close to the book. He trailed his finger down one of the pages, slowly coming to a stop as a huge grin broke across his face.
“What?” wondered Elara, looking at Noiro.
He looked up, turning the book around to show her. “According to our book, all we need is the Aether Stone…and a sundial.”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” she gasped incredulously and looked up at Noiro. “It’s that simple?”
“Most inventions have to be simple so that they can be used effectively,” Noiro pointed out with a grin adorning his face.
“You see the dials on the Aether Stone?” asked Noiro, holding the pendant up again.
Elara examined the three dials that encircled the stone. Upon closer inspection, she noticed tiny numbers inscribed on top of each notch around the dials. “Hmm…”
“The dials act like a combination code. If we enter in the codes from the journal, we should be able to use the Aether Stone to navigate to that point in time,” Noiro gushed eagerly. “When bending time, one would wear the pendant, spin the dials to match the sequence of coordinates, date, and time, and the wearer would be transported.”
“But we’re not moving through time,” Miela repeated.
Noiro nodded. “We’re going to cast a shadow of time,” he clarified once again. “Argon, I need a hand with bringing the sundial in.”
Argon nodded, and the two men quickly went outside to haul the large, stone sundial back into the house.
“We designed the Aether Stone to fit the tools we already have,” Noiro recognized, carefully twisting the dials around the Aether Stone. With the last number from the code in place, Noiro set the Aether Stone in the center on the sundial.
Just as soon as he did so, the room flashed around them. Elara felt dizzy as she watched the bright swirls of colors whizzing by and spinning about. Just as suddenly as it began, it stopped. Elara looked around her to see that the room looked exactly the same, except darker.
“What…what are we?” Argon stuttered, blinking as he tried to steady himself.
“Ah!” Miela cried in surprise as a woman walked right through her. “What the—”
“That’s me,” Elara gasped, pointing at the woman who strolled into the laboratory and began stacking up some books onto one of the desks, her telltale satchel lying on the chair beside her.
“It worked,” Noiro breathed, gaping at his surroundings.
The visiting Elara walked over to future Elara, examining her closely. “So that’s what my hair looks like,” she hummed.
“Noiro! Elara! I’m here,” a voice called. The visiting group turned around to see future Miela striding into the cottage. “I picked up some dinner for us. I figured you’d be hungry.”
They watched as future Elara, Noiro, and Miela gathered around the sitting room table.
“So, what are we supposed to do? Just watch?” asked the visiting Argon.
“I guess so.” The visiting Noiro shrugged. “Keep your eyes peeled for anything that sticks out to you as odd.”
As soon as he said that, a loud knock rapped against the cottage’s front door. Future Noiro looked up in surprise.
“Are you expecting anyone?” asked future Miela.
Future Noiro shook his head. “Argon?” he said in surprise. Future Argon looked hesitant as he stood in front of the door. He was dressed in a casual pair of trousers and loose-fitted shirt, a stark difference from his usual Guardian uniform. “Can I help you?” Noiro asked uncertainly.
Future Argon opened his mouth to say something, and then paused. Argon was a proud man, and facing Noiro, a man he severely disliked, was conflicting. The internal battle that raged inside him was apparent on his face.
“Argon?” Noiro repeated.
“I’m looking for Captain Miela,” said future Argon finally, his voice hard and his posture straight and official. “Is she here?”
“Lieutenant?” Future Miela gently pushed her way past Noiro. “Is something the matter? Am I needed back at headquarters?”
Future Argon glared, his teeth gritted together as he shook his head no. The smell of their dinner from inside wafted through, and future Argon faltered.
“I apologize, Captain. I see I’ve interrupted—”
“Lieutenant. You’re here already. If you have something to say, then say it.” Miela folded her arms. Argon nodded.
“This is…This is about something personal, Captain,” said Argon stiffly. “I need to talk. Privately.”
“And it couldn’t wait until tomorrow, when we’re back at headquarters?” Miela raised an eyebrow curiously.
Argon shook his head. He looked hesitant to say anything else, his eyes darting to Noiro, who was still standing at the doorway.
“I’ll step outside then,” offered Miela, sensing his apprehension.
“No, please.” Noiro held his hands up. “It’s too hot outside. Come in. You two can use my office.”
Argon followed Miela as she led the way into Noiro’s cottage. Future Elara looked up from her seat at the table, curious. Her eyes widened in surprise as she recognized her old childhood rival solemnly following Miela into Noiro’s private office.
The visiting group scrambled to get into the door, eager to hear what future Argon needed to say.
Future Miela was leaning her hips against the table, watching Argon as he stood facing her. He looked wary, and his eyes seemed tired, as if he hadn’t slept for a long time.
Future Miela seemed to notice his demeanor. Concern flitted across her face, and she folded her arms.
“So, Lieutenant. What’s going on?” asked Miela.
Argon began to slowly pace back and forth. His face twisted, as if he were in pain. Finally, he spoke. “I was attacked.”
“Attacked?” Miela repeated in alarm. “By who? Are you okay? What happened?”
“No… I… No,” Argon admitted, embarrassed. “I’m not sure what happened, exactly.”
“Tell me everything you can,” Miela urged. She leaned forward, watching Argon.
“I was out with some friends last night,” he began. “We were celebrating Yun Zeru’s promotion.”
“Yun Zeru?” asked Miela, surprised. Argon nodded.
“Who’s Yun Zeru?” hissed the visiting Elara, her eyes still trained on the pair conversing before her.
“You don’t know who he is?” The visiting Noiro sounded surprised. “Everyone knows who he is! He used to be the Queen’s Advisor.”
“He resigned after the coup,” the visiting Miela added. “He enlisted as a Guardian. Pretty high up, actually.”
>
“Really?”
“Pay attention to what they’re saying!” Noiro hissed at the two women. “We might miss something important.”
The group turned their attention back to the future Miela and Argon.
“Yes. He just made General, and he invited some of us out to celebrate,” future Argon continued. “I left earlier than everyone else, since I was supposed to get up early for a drill. And I…” Argon stopped pacing, standing near the edge of the study’s desk and resting his palm on the wooden surface. “I was just walking down the road. And… I don’t know what happened next.” Argon put a hand to his forehead. “I woke up at home. My body was covered in bruises…” Argon paused, looking at the floor. “Whoever it was, they knew where I lived. They took me to my home… They beat me…” Argon lifted his sleeve, revealing trails of angry, blistering welts that travelled up his arm.
“You weren’t just beaten,” the future Miela gawked at the gashes in his arm. “You were burned!”
Argon nodded, pulling his sleeve back down. “That’s not all,” he said. “My home was ransacked. All of the furniture was knocked over, and my family pictures were removed from their frames. We can’t find them anywhere; I think they took it with them. The doors and windows were left wide open, too. My mother’s jewels were also taken.”
Miela remained silent as she listened to Argon recount his experience. “I’m sorry, Lieutenant,” she whispered. “I’ll send a team down to check it out. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
Argon shook his head, exhaling angrily. “That’s not the worst of it,” he said. “There was also a message. Written in blood.”
“What?”
“It was written in blood,” Argon repeated. “It covered my entire bedroom wall, floor to ceiling. ‘We know’ in blood.”
Miela furrowed her brow. “What do you think they mean?”
Argon shrugged, shaking his head. “I don’t know.”
Miela sighed. “Argon, I’m really sorry this happened.” She paused. “Hold on…You said the writing took up the whole wall?”
Argon nodded. “Floor to ceiling.”
“There’s no way that much blood could be used…unless someone was…”
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