Mother of Learning: ARC 3

Zach and Zorian floated in an endless, featureless void. Their surroundings weren’t really dark as such. Despite the absence of any kind of light source, they could see each other just fine. There was just nothing to see in the distance. Everywhere Zorian looked, he was greeted by an empty, inky black horizon. The void was completely silent, in a way the outside world could never truly be. Without any environmental features, the only sources of sound were the two time travelers and the Guardian of the Threshold, and no one was talking. They had entered this mysterious place through the time magic research facility beneath Cyoria, met the guardian entity that managed the place, and found out they were trapped: Red Robe had already left the time loop, leaving them stranded inside. Neither Zach nor Zorian knew what to say to that, and the Guardian of the Threshold seemed content to placidly wait for further questions, so the endless void was silent. Without anything to mark the passage of time, Zorian was unsure how long he and Zach simply floated there. He would have liked to say he was considering the implications of this new knowledge at the time, but the truth is that he spent most of it mulling over how unexpectedly well Zach was taking all this. He had kind of expected the other boy to freak out and start swearing and shouting. But no, Zach was surprisingly calm and quiet. Only a slight frown on his face suggested he was in any way upset. “So,” Zach eventually said, his voice cutting through the unnerving silence that had sprung up around them. “What now?” “I honestly don’t know,” Zorian admitted. “I really didn’t think Red Robe had already left the time loop. It makes so much sense, though, now that I look back on things…” “Yeah, he really screwed us over, didn’t he?” Zach sighed. “Well, I wouldn’t exactly put it like that.” Zorian smiled. “I’m pretty sure this is not what he had been planning. We were meant to disappear. The time loop was supposed to collapse when the Controller of the time loop left this place, permanently removing us as a threat. But we’re still here, and if the time loop is this separated from its normal parameters, it might actually be possible to get out of this place.” Zach chuckled. “Now that you mention it, yeah. And also, this means I can stop holding back. You too, for that matter. We’ve both been doing our best to keep a low profile to stop Red Robe from noticing our activities. Now that we know he is no longer here…” “Yes,” Zorian agreed. “The way I see it, we have three main priorities. Number one, we need to find out how long we have until the time loop collapses. Number two, we need to find a way to get out. And number three, we have to try and find out who the hell Red Robe really is so that we can take care of him quickly if… when we exit this place.” Zorian turned to the side to look at the Guardian of the Threshold, who had been quietly floating in place not far from them while they talked. It didn’t appear bothered by them ignoring it. “We should question the Guardian about everything we can think of,” Zorian said. “Who knows what kind of critical secrets it knows, and it doesn’t appear as if it cares to share anything on its own initiative. Though that could take a while—we should probably return to our bodies for a bit to make sure we aren’t interrupted.” “Do we even have to worry about that?” Zach asked, pulling on his jacket in order to demonstrate the way their clothes seemed an integral part of their body. “The cube seems to have ripped our souls out of our bodies to bring us here. Does it even matter if our bodies get killed out there?” Zorian shook his head. “We could be just projected here. It seems like the simplest way to achieve this, to be honest. Then again, that would leave the loop Controller awfully vulnerable while messing around with controls. Hmm… Guardian?” “You are merely projected into this place, but your stay will not be cut short by events in the outside world,” the Guardian explained. It was apparently smart enough to interpret what his question was likely going to be based on his and Zach’s conversation. Interesting. “If your physical forms suffer critical damage, or if soul tampering is detected, I will draw your souls inside the Gate for safekeeping. Your time here will remain uninhibited, though you will have to start a new iteration of the loop in order to leave the place, as I cannot re-anchor your souls back to your bodies if they are not sufficiently intact.” “Well. Good to know, I guess,” Zorian mumbled. He looked at Zach and found that the other boy was already staring at him. “Do you have anything you want to ask the Guardian or…?” “You go first,” Zach told him, shaking his head. “All right. First of all, is there a time limit as to how long we can remain here?” Zorian asked. “When this iteration of the loop ends, so will your current visit to this place,” the Guardian responded. “Other than that, no.” So when the time loop restarted, they would be flung back to their bodies at the beginning of the month. Beyond that, they could stay as long as possible. Plenty of time, then. They entered the time magic research facility near the end of the restart, but there was still several days’ worth of time until the end. “What are the criteria for each iteration’s end?” Zorian asked. “Is mere passage of time sufficient, or is there more to it?” “Passage of time is sufficient,” the Guardian confirmed. “No iteration is allowed to last for more than a month. Beyond that, there is a multitude of contingencies that will cause the iteration to terminate prematurely.” “Can you list those contingencies?” Zorian asked. “No,” the Guardian stated emotionlessly. “You aren’t authorized for that information.” Zorian blinked in surprise. Though he had suspected the Guardian wouldn’t be able to answer all of their questions, he thought it would have to do more with it being just a dumb animation spell in the end, not that it would literally refuse to help them like that. “What? But I thought we’re the Controller,” Zach piped up. “How can we not be authorized to know?” “The Controller doesn’t have unrestricted authorization,” the Guardian explained. “Only the Maker and its agents have access to information about the workings of the Gate.” “Maker?” Zach repeated incredulously. “Maker of what?” “Of the Gate, of course,” the Guardian said. Zorian could almost imagine the Guardian rolling his eyes at the question, even though its eyes didn’t work like that and its voice never changed in tone. “So the Controller isn’t the ultimate authority when it comes to the Gate or the time loop?” Zorian asked. The Guardian immediately confirmed this. “What can you tell us about this Maker, then?” “You aren’t authorized to know the identity of the Maker,” the Guardian informed him. Of course. “Ugh. This thing is so damn annoying!” Zach complained.