Chapter 6: Crimson Waves at Dawn

Time is truly a mysterious phenomenon.
Various sages and philosophers have interpreted this enigma in vastly different ways.
Is time a human construct, or does it exist inherently within the framework of our world?
Are there eternal entities, like God, or is He, too, finite—and if He can end, can He truly be called God?
A fascinating question, one we likely cannot answer within the bounds of our reality and spacetime.
For us, it's sometimes a pleasant, sometimes an unsettling mystery—one we can use to tickle our minds, though we'll never find the answer.
A strange sort of amusement...

For Tom, the night passed both fleetingly and endlessly.
How so?
Even if I summoned all my creative abilities, I doubt I could describe it precisely, but I'm certain each of you has felt something similar at least once.
That feeling when, in the middle of the night, your body is utterly drained, screaming at you, "Time to sleep!!! I'm at my limit, I can't go on!"—yet with every attempt to drift into even a light slumber, your mind refuses to let go. Over and over, it replays the memories of the previous day.
It's a sort of zugzwang, where you can't let go and dive into sleep to gather the strength needed for clarity.

Tom felt something like this that night after his conversation with Steffen.

"Why didn't he tell me right away?"

"What was he warning me about?"

"Could he have faced a problem like mine?"

"What did he want to share with me?"

"Why was he acting so strangely?"

These were just a small fraction of the questions swirling in his mind. Some came to the forefront, then others, leading back to the first ones in an endless spiral that dragged him to the very bottom.
But true introspection never came. Tom wasn't ready yet... It wasn't time.
The doors to his deepest secrets remained locked to him. Compared to the abyss he needed to plunge into, his current depth was merely "wetting his feet."

Charlotte sensed Tom's growing anxiety, but she couldn't help him, as she had been feeling something similar all along.
It's incredibly hard to help someone, even if you desperately want to, with a problem you haven't resolved yourself.
So Charlotte decided to do the only thing she believed she could—she stayed by his side.

Perhaps it was her magic, the simple, everyday magic we often fail to notice amidst the Atlases of life's burdens, that helped Tom finally close his eyes at dawn.

Tom gathered himself quickly...
He rushed headlong to the southern coast, where Steffen was supposed to be waiting for him.
At least, that's what Tom thought.

With each step and turn toward his destination, Tom's heart pounded harder.

Soon, he would piece together new fragments of the puzzle, fragments that would surely help him find answers.
He would resolve all his family troubles.
And everything would be wonderful...

The sea breeze brushed against Tom's face.
He would never stop loving that sensation.
The smell of saltwater and seaweed washed ashore invigorated him, giving him the strength to focus his gaze in search of Steffen.

But as he looked around, Tom saw no one.
Was he late?
That couldn't be.
Steffen was always a model of discipline and punctuality. If there was anyone in Bristol who kept their promises like clockwork, it was Steffen.
So where was he?

Then Tom's attention shifted to the cliff. In summer, children often jumped from it into the water. Tom himself had jumped there as a boy...
"Steffen must be waiting for me there."

The thought had barely crossed his mind when his legs carried him toward the cliff.
No, not his legs—some strange, otherworldly force was calling him there.

- Tom...

His head began to spin.

- Come to me... Tom...

Step by step, Tom climbed the hill where the old man was supposed to be waiting. His body moved on its own, while his mind sank deeper into oblivion.

- Hurry... Tom...

The sky turned a bloody crimson. Against its backdrop, the sea waves looked more like tongues of blue flame, reaching out to the small, defenseless human bodies on the shore.
What were they against its might and overwhelming destructive desire?

- I need the final toy, Tom... Hurry... I need the final toy. The most important one.

Finally reaching the cliff, Tom was greeted by a magical view of nature. The same crimson kiss of dawn mingled with the turbulent chaos of the sea in a passionate dance.
It seemed to beckon Tom to join their dance.
That dance would sweep away all his problems, worries, troubles, disagreements, and burdens.
All he needed to do was reach out his hand.

- Just give me your hand, Tom! I'll take care of the rest!

One step, and it would all be over—just as it had ended for Steffen. At last, Tom noticed him.

While he was mesmerized by this horrifying spectacle, he hadn't seen Steffen's body, gently swaying in a noose.
In any other circumstance, it would have looked horrific—but not now.
Against the backdrop of the scene unfolding before Tom, Steffen seemed almost harmonious.
Like the final, crucial stroke in a theatrical play, or the sound of a bell at the end of an opera, bringing a sense of closure after a whirlwind of emotions.

- What do you think of the picture, Tom?

- Steff...

Tom's mind was slipping away. It was unclear what kept him holding on.
Colors, scents, sounds—they assaulted his exhausted body and vulnerable mind from all sides, making it hard to focus.
And now Steffen...
He had taken all the answers with him.
Everything Tom had been worrying about.
Steffen had given Tom hope... and then taken it away. Not just from Tom, but from himself as well.

His arms fell limp. Then his legs gave out.
Tom dropped to his knees before Steffen's body and the spectacle unfolding before him.

- Don't cry, my boy... There's no need... The old man got what he wanted...

Tom could no longer ignore that voice... He remembered where he'd heard it before... The dream his mind had seemingly erased from his memory.
It was her! It was her voice speaking to him!

- What do you want?!

- Oh! Finally, you've stopped pretending you can't hear me, darling. I'm so glad!

- Enough mocking me!
Though the phrase sounded threatening, Tom's tone was more pleading than anything.

- I love it when you're like this, Tom! I'd say... hmm. You're so adorable when you beg! But please... Don't fall apart completely! It gets boring to play when you become too pathetic.

- What's happening?! What happened to Steffen?! What do you want from me?! Explain something, at least!!!

- Hey, calm down, calm down. I do love a whiny boy, but there's no need to shout like that! I already told you, Tom—you'll get your answers when the time comes.
As for the old man, don't worry. He wanted this. I didn't plan to touch him just yet, but his stories would have spoiled our little performance, so I had to help him along a bit.

- Steffen... Because of me?!

- Oh, Thomas... You're making me blush. I didn't expect to see your tears today...

- You killed him... Because of me...

- You could say that. The old man knew too much. Everyone laughed at him, but he really did find many answers. But understand me—I did it for us! For our story! It wouldn't have been fun to play with me if he'd shared what he knew! So I had to step in.

- No...

Despair consumed Tom, both inside and out. Nothing he had witnessed could take root in him.
His body, his mind, trying to protect itself, rejected everything. But he had no strength left.

- Tom... I have high hopes for you! So you need to be strong! Art always demands sacrifices, and this old man was just one of them. I'm truly sorry this happened to you, but it couldn't have been any other way. I don't recall what you humans call it... Fate? Yes, fate! Yours isn't an easy one, Tom Warren! But it's certainly a fascinating one, so please... Don't break before the end of the performance. Otherwise, we'll have to leave... Sigh. I think I've said too much today.
...

- You should actually thank me for not leaving you completely without explanations!

The words of that mysterious voice barely reached Tom anymore.
His powerless body now lay fully on the ground.
Above him, swaying in the wind, was the body of his second father, mentor, and old friend—a victim of his childish curiosity.
And that voice... "What is she talking about?!"

Suddenly, lightning struck above them. The sound was so sharp and loud that Tom's consciousness couldn't bear it, and he slipped into the embrace of sleep.

The crimson sky was soon covered with massive clouds, sending a cleansing rain over Bristol that morning.
Water can bring many things with it. But it can also wash away the excess, freeing one from the dirt of worries and troubles.
Tom finally lost consciousness and heard no one anymore.

- Damn it! I wasn't done with him for today! You decided to interfere again!

After a few angry shouts into the now-blue sky, the owner of the unknown voice left this world.
The rain washed her away too—she no longer held power here.
She no longer owned this morning.
She no longer owned Steffen or Tom.
The sea was no longer hers, nor were the innocent souls of the sailors within it.
At least for today.
But how soon would she return...?