Third Through Seventh

11:14 PM - The Third (Continued)

This is an absolute disaster.

I try asking around to see if anybody’s interacted with our mystery person, but with their face hidden beneath a hood, all I have to go on is some blue hair I saw poking out.

Trying to find out if any of their stuff was bought in town goes poorly too, as most of the shops are closed, with their shopkeepers wandering the streets wearing masks just like everybody else.

I sigh upon realizing just how bleak this situation is beginning to look.

“Is everything alright?”

I glance up to find two customers from earlier in the day—maskless out-of-towners who’d stopped by for some local herbs and stones. Both wear glasses and standard black witch robes. The girl has light brown hair done up in braids, and the guy has fluffy brown-ish blonde hair. They're a bit eccentric… but definitely struck me as nice people.

“Yeah, I’m fine… Say, you wouldn’t happen to have spotted someone around here with blue hair and a hood over their head, would you?”

The guy shrugs. “Can’t say that we have.”

“Though we could help you search for them if you’d like,” the girl offers.

“Nah, it’s fine. I’ve inconvenienced you enough today anyway. You two enjoy the festival, and, uh… sorry about earlier.”

I… may or may not have almost blown them up earlier after accidentally ripping open a bag of specialty flour. You wouldn’t think there’d be anything all that dangerous about flour, but it’s highly flammable.

So, when I almost knocked over a box of jasper in a panic, things could’ve gotten pretty bad. Thankfully, the guy realized what was about to happen and dived for the box like his life depended on it—because it very well may have—and caught it before any of the jasper could spill out and strike against the stone floor, potentially creating a spark—

I gasp.

“A dust explosion—that’s it! That gold stuff she unleashed into the air!”

I immediately take off running, the girl shouting after me, “Oh, uh—good luck!”

I sprint around town until I find a safe vantage point to observe the town square from. I’ll admit, there’s still a hole in my hypothesis: dust explosions are far more destructive in enclosed spaces where pressure can build up, but the ceremony takes place outside. Still, with no other leads, this is all I’ve got.

After a bit more fruitless investigating, I return to the rooftop I chose, excited to finally make some progress—as morbid as that may sound.

I wait with bated breath, until finally—

GONG-KAKOOSH!

My hypothesis goes completely out the window as the nearly blinding explosion engulfs an area far greater than the cloud of gold dust ever reached.

A wave of nausea hits me as I realize not only did I just watch everybody I know and love get vaporized, but by surviving the explosion, I may have lost my chance to get sent back and save—

Before I can finish my thought, the ground begins to shake violently, and a deafening rumble erupts from all around me, loudest from somewhere behind.

I turn to see the shadows surrounding the town collapsing inward, the entire pocket of space folding in on itself. Streets are torn apart and buildings ripped from their foundations as a towering wave of earth and stone crashes toward me.

The artifact—it must’ve been destroyed by the explosion! It’s not just the townsfolk at the ceremony who are in danger, it’s the entire—

11:21 PM - The Fourth

I pull out my pocket watch and confirm another seven minutes have been shaved off.

This is so messed up.

Every loop, I’m stuck with less and less time, and now I’m back to having no leads! No clue how that mage is sabotaging the ritual! I’m completely in over my head here! I…

I have to try to get Master’s help. If anyone’s capable of saving the town, it’s him.

***

Racing over to the alchemy shop, I find Master with Jinx curled around his shoulders.

“Master!”

He turns around. “Felicity, I got your note! Is everything alright—”

The moment I see his face again, something inside me breaks, and I can’t help but burst into tears.

He pulls me into his arms and holds me tight.

“Master, I… I…”

I don’t even know where to begin.

He pulls back a little and looks me in the eyes, his expression full of concern.

“Felicity, whatever it is, understand that I will always be there for you. You know you can tell me anything, right?”

I spend the next few minutes explaining everything to him as quickly as I can, struggling to keep myself together as I recount everything that’s happened.

“—I just didn’t know what else to do! That’s why I need your help,” I sniffle. “We have to stop the ceremony before it’s too—”

I look back up at him, only to find that something in his expression has changed. I’ve never seen him look at me like this before…

“Felicity… we can’t cancel the ceremony. It’s crucial to the town’s preservation that the ritual takes place. I don’t doubt that your feelings are true, but… what you’re saying, it’s just… it’s beyond belief. I think you’ve been working yourself to the point of—

“Please, Master! I know how crazy this all sounds, but it’s the truth! I swear it! If we don’t stop that ceremony—”

I pause.

His face says it all.

Instead of wasting anymore time trying to convince him, I take off, rounding the nearest corner and racing down a flight of stairs to continue my investigation.

“Wait! Felicity!”

Even if he doesn’t believe me, I can’t give up—I have to save him! Save everyone! Even if it’s the last thing I do…

…or at least, that’s what I’d like to tell myself. But reality proves far crueler. No matter how many people I talk to, no matter how hard I rack my brain, I can’t uncover anything new about the saboteur or how they’re causing the explosion.

And yet… I keep on running.

GONG!

Keep on investigating.

KAKOOSH!

All in the hope that if I keep on trying, eventually I’ll— 

11:28 PM - The Fifth

My stomach drops.

Before I can even get my bearings, I’m falling forward.

I’ve looped back to when I was racing down a set of stairs.

More specifically?

Mid-step.

I crash face first into a step, my neck and back bending at angles I didn’t even think were—

11:35 PM - The Sixth

Looping back once more, I can’t help but laugh at the cruelty of it all—another loop, gone in a blink—completely wasted.

Bystanders turn to stare as I scream in frustration.

I can’t take it anymore! This isn’t getting me anywhere! I… I’m not smart like Master is. It’s hopeless, there’s no way I can figure this out! I’m just… I’m gonna have to confront that mage head on—even if I have to do it all by myself.

As much as my family tried to force it on me, I’ve never had much interest in magic, let alone combat—but I don’t have any other choice. I’m just going to have to figure something out. Maybe catch the mage by surprise.

I make my way to the town square and find a spot to lie in wait. I try to focus on the upcoming fight, but can’t help but feel horrible as I watch Master give his performance without full alchemical aid. It’s still good, but nothing like what he’s capable of at his best.

Inevitably, though, the performance comes to a close. As the hooded figure makes their appearance, I leap out and charge them, chanting a spell to slam them with a boulder—

“Ack!”

Before I can finish, I’m tackled to the ground.

I thought something looked off about the crowd—Master must have warned the town guard that I might try to sabotage the ceremony. He beefed up security to make sure I wouldn’t be able to ruin it.

And now it’s stuck this way.

I’ve looped past the point where I can take back what I told him. I’ve completely blown my chance of saving the town this way… it’s…

It’s over.

Unable to free myself, all I can do is sob on the ground, helpless to stop what’s coming.

Master kneels down next to me. “I don’t know what’s going on, Felicity, but I promise you, we’re gonna get you help, okay?”

I can’t even bear to look at him.

Instead, I just stare at the hooded figure. From down here, I’m actually able to see their face beneath the hood this time… but it’s nobody I know—a young woman with a blue bob cut, forked black eyebrows, a jagged tooth sticking out of her mouth, and two differently colored eyes: her right eye yellow, her left eye grey-blue.

She knocks over the crates once more, and I’m forced to watch as everything plays out the same way it did before…

To watch everybody die again.

11:42 PM - The Seventh

I loop back again, but with security amped up and less than twenty minutes before the catastrophe, there’s no point in even trying anymore.

It’s hopeless.

I just don’t understand… why me? Why couldn’t Master be the one chosen for this? He’s good at everything. Me on the other hand? I’m not special. If anything, I’m the opposite. Whose cruel cosmic joke was it to put me through this kind of torture? To set me up for such heartbreaking failure?

All I can do is sob away my remaining time, and wait for this hell to finally be over. After a while, though—

“Excuse me… are you alright?”

I look up. It’s the two customers from before. Unfortunately, I’m past the point of being able to put on a brave face.

“No… I’m not alright. Someone’s going to sabotage tonight’s ritual, a lot of people are going to get hurt, and I have no clue how to stop him.”

She takes my hand and gives me a comforting smile. “Well, you know, it just so happens we’re a couple of pretty powerful mages ourselves. What if we—”

I shake my head. “Security’s too high, and unless you plan on fighting your way through a town full of mages, a couple outsiders aren’t going to be allowed anywhere near the ritual. I can maybe get somewhat close and try to stop her myself on her way in, but I don’t even know which way she’s gonna come from.”

The guy cuts in. “Yeah, not gonna lie, that sounds pretty grim. But we have been walking around town all day—maybe we’ve seen her?”

I chuckle. Guess I can’t exactly tell them I’ve already asked.

“Somehow, I doubt it. Black hood, blue hair, two different colored eyes—one yellow, one—”

“Oh, yeah, we just saw someone with eyes like that not too long ago in the north part of town, hanging out by the park.” The guy thinks for a moment. “I think they had a big thing of crates with them too.”

I leap up. “That’s her!”

It completely slipped my mind that I have more details to go on now, and that we’re further along in the night than when I last asked them!

I check my pocket watch, but it’s too late to intercept her. I’m going to have to do it next loop… my last realistic chance to stop her in time.… and I don’t even know if I have the magical prowess to be able to do it…

“You two said you were skilled mages, right? You wouldn’t happen to have any tips on fighting with earth magic, would you?”

The girl gives me a smug grin. “You bet I do! What level is your magic?”

“Basic… and I’m pretty sure my opponent is at least an intermediate water mage.”

“That's okay! We can totally work with that!”

After talking with her for a little while, I can feel my spirits soaring—like I actually have a chance of saving the town.

“I can’t believe how clever some of these tricks are! Thank you so much!”

“Oh, stop,” she says, blushing. “I can’t take all the credit! I definitely picked up some of these tricks from other mages. That last one, for example? This mage I attend academy with named Finn—you actually remind me a lot of him, now that I think about it.”

I can’t help but smile.

My brother Finn… the one person in my family who actually supported me, even though it made him sad when I told him I planned on running away. He helped me the night I ran out on our family…

…and now here he is, helping me again—from who knows how many miles away.

“This Finn guy… is he doing alright?”

“He’s just about the happiest and most energetic guy I know.”

“Heh, I’m glad to hear that.”

“Oh? Do you know—”

“If you don’t mind me asking, I never caught your names.”

They look at each other, then at me.

“I’m Nora,” she beams.

“And I’m Lucas,” he adds with a smile.

“Thanks, you two… for everything. Truly. And, uh… I’m sorry about what’s going to happen next.”

“What do you—”

GONG-KABOOM!

Nora’s words are cut short as the ground begins to shake and the town collapses in on itself, towering waves of earth and stone racing towards us, ready to crush everything in their path.

I flash them a smile and a thumbs-up. “Don’t worry! Next loop, you can leave it all to me!”

Lucas screams, “WHAT DOES THAT EVEN—”