Die. Respawn. Repeat.

I need to figure out my plan. I've revealed myself, in a manner of speaking, which means that no matter what happens a confrontation is probably inevitable; I'd like to be ready.

In fact, I'd like to make the first move. This is an opportunity for me the fight with the mantis-monster at the start of the loop no longer gives me credits. I need to push myself to earn more, especially now that I know my time is limited. If I'm going down here, I need to go down earning as many credits as possible.

"Where Trialgoer?" Naru demands. I notice the change in his speech, the way he's too flustered to speak in that prim-and-proper way he's no doubt learned from his elevated status. He notices it too, and visibly grimaces, forcing himself to speak 'properly' once again. "Don't think I don't know he's here somewhere."

"Obviously you not know, otherwise you not surprised," Mari snorts. "Trialgoer not important. I want know why you here. What so special about this place? You know what happen to Tarin?"

"I don't know and I don't care," Naru growls. "You two stopped being my parents when you kicked me out."

Mari's gaze hardens. "You hurt village. We not want to kick you out, but you not learn. What you expect?"

"I expected my own parents not to abandon me."

"Abandon?" Mari folds her wings across her chest. "We tell you you come back if you learn control. If you stop killing crows. But you not stop. Now we here."

She's being surprisingly calm about the fact that her son has killed others in their village. I'm not sure all the villagers would be nearly as accepting about welcoming Naru back. Maybe that's her blind spot or maybe she just knows something I don't. Maybe there was more to that whole situation.

I can only barely watch what's happening. I'm hidden behind a tree and peering out between some leaves, but it's not perfect coverage. I have to flinch backwards and hide again the moment Naru starts scanning the horizon, looking for the Trialgoer he's certain is here.

And I'm thinking.

I'm not powerful enough to beat Naru. Mari and I together won't be powerful enough to beat Naru not as we are right now. She has some leverage over him, being his mother and all, but I doubt it's going to be enough to stop him from killing me.

I need to get my hands on the Phantom Roots. Ideally, if I can complete the Hotspot this loop, there won't be a reason for Naru to investigate at all, and I won't have to deal with him on subsequent loops. The gimmick for the Hotspot is fairly obvious a slowly expanding circle of deadly Firmament that converts each pool of color it touches into a deadly monster which means that this is a time-based puzzle more than anything.

That picture doesn't feel complete, though. There's no challenge to it. If I'm right, then all I have to do is dive in as quickly as possible and touch the obelisk presumably, that's my goal. What do I have to do? Destroy it?

That's a probable solution.

I use Temporal Fragment and summon Ahkelios again. It's a little draining, calling him out so soon after he was forcibly dissipated; I wince at the small spike of pain in my head.

"Hey," I say, keeping my voice low. Naru's no doubt listening for anything abnormal, and I'm not certain even speaking softly will stop him from listening in. If he does hear me, though, he doesn't react to it. I keep my words vague; I don't want Naru to know Ahkelios is a former Trialgoer. "Do you know how to complete this Hotspot, by any chance?"

"I'm not sure." Ahkelios picks up that small piece of bark I've given him, then climbs halfway up the tree, sitting with a tiny hand pressed to his chin. He doesn't seem at all bothered by the fact that he was just killed though I suppose that only makes sense. "But I think I recognize some of the inscriptions on the obelisk."

That's a start. "Where from?"

"You're not going to like the answer."

I give him a look. "Just tell me."

"There's a place up north called the Fracture," he starts, and I suppress a groan.

Of course the Hotspot is connected to something else. Of course it is. That it happens to be one of the places I've already been is even worse; it makes me wonder how all of this is connected, or if it's just somehow a coincidence.

I suspect there's an easy way to complete the Hotspot: destroy the obelisk, and the Firmament waves stop. Color returns to the world, and I get a reward. Presumably, that's how we're expected to complete it.

On the other hand... There might be another way. If I'm right, and this is one of Ahkelios' Hotspots, then his memories are almost certainly relevant. Going to the Fracture first probably leads to better rewards, considering the lengths I'd have to go to to complete it that way.

And it might put me in a better position to fight Naru.

I have to keep in mind that we don't have that much time. Tarin's battle with the Interface Firmament is continuing, and as far as I know, it doesn't get reset by the loops. I'll have to check in on him properly to be sure, and I'm planning to do that as soon as the next loop rolls around, but for now...

I'll make my decision when I see how he's doing. If he can last, going through the Fracture might represent a better chance for us all. I'm much stronger than I was, after all; the Fracture will represent a challenge, but it might not be an impossibility.

Rank C, though. About the same level of strength as the harpy I only beat because I ripped her throat open before she evolved. Hopefully, the golems aren't that high a rank, and the danger ranking is about something else hidden in the Fracture.

Naru and Mari have been talking, but it's more blame and accusations being thrown back and forth. I've tuned it out, but now I force myself to pay attention again; there's something in their tones that tells me something is about to happen soon.

"You not learn." Mari repeats those words, but this time, there's something heavy and regretful in it like she finally understands that changing her son's mind is going to be impossible. Naru glares at her in response, full of stubborn pride and arrogance.

"I don't need to learn," he says snidely. "I'm respected among the Integrators. I'm respected among the Great Cities. You're the only person that doesn't respect me, mom. You and dad."

"The Great Cities," Mari says. She looks disgusted by the mention of them. She and Tarin never mentioned them to me, but I suppose it makes sense; I doubt the isolated village of the Cliffside Crows is the only bastion of civilization in all of Hestia. "They say they great, but they not fight Integrators. They just accept."

"Why would they?" Naru snaps, irritated. "You keep talking about fighting the Integrators. Fighting them is pointless, mom. They brought us power. The world has changed, you just haven't learned to deal with it."

Mari shakes her head and looks, for a moment, utterly disappointed. I feel a pang in my heart the familiarity of that expression stings, even when it's not directed at me. "I tired of pretending to be happy," she says quietly. "They take my husband. They take Tarin. And even when they take Tarin... You not understand. You not care."

She takes a breath. "You not my son."

Naru takes a step back, as though struck. I grimace a little. I'd sort of assumed that was the situation they were in already, but it sounds like there was a lot of denial all around; everyone in the family trying to convince one another they were right, and not quite accepting that they would never compromise on who they were.

Part of me feels bad.

Most of me just thinks Naru is an asshole, and that Mari is right to do this.

I don't know if her words unlock something within Naru, but when the fight begins again, it's fierce. Naru doesn't hold back, this time I see him moving, and even with Mari moving all her Firmament to block it, she's blown back, smashing through several trees in the process.

It's time. No more hiding. If I want to gain credits if I want to survive this fight as long as possible I need to start fighting while I have Mari's help, or Naru will crush me in a second.

I need four more Firmament credits. I don't yet know what gets me those credits besides killing, but I do know that it tends to happen when I face something much more powerful than I am.

Four more, and I hit that first milestone one hundred points of Firmament banked. I need to know what that does.

Now to figure out how to survive long enough for all this to matter.

Second Wind is the most powerful skill I have, and it's resisted even the force of the Interface pressing down on me before. It can't do it forever, but if I cast the skill now, instead of waiting for him to kill me...

Second Wind.

Firmament flares up across my body, blue tinged with flecks of gold. I can feel it reinforcing everything about me. To my surprise, the Second Wind Firmament flickers down the bond I share with Ahkelios, too, and the mantis gains tiny flecks of gold all over his body; he looks down at himself with surprise.

...I need to spend some time working directly with these skills and understanding them. It's become clear to me that each skill can have hidden depths Temporal Fragment is an obvious example, but Second Wind's interaction with Ahkelios is yet another.

It's unexpected, but I can use this. "Do you still want to help?" I ask him, and he gives me a determined little nod; I flash him a small grin. "Then go for his eyes."

If Ahkelios is as reinforced as I suspect Second Wind will make him, then he might as well be a tiny, homing bullet. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Triplestep. Firestep.

I have to keep Naru's Dispel ability in mind. I'm not expecting to kill him not yet. I want to use him to earn as many credits as I can. For that to work, I need to survive against him as long as I possibly can, which means I can't let him Dispel my Second Wind.

Mari emerges out of the brush with a terrifyingly powerful screech, her muscles all bunched up beneath her wings. She looks ready to smash Naru into the ground. Her eyes meet mine for a fraction of a second, and she gives me a small, slight nod; I don't know if she understands what I'm planning, exactly, but I understand the message anyway.

She'll be fighting with me once more.

For all that the last time we fought together was technically just about a day ago, it still makes me feel a pang of nostalgia.

She dashes forward. She's faster than me, more powerful than me. Ahkelios can almost keep up with her, maybe because he's got a body of pure Firmament; he darts in an erratic pattern towards Naru, yelling some gibberish loudly. I'm pretty sure I hear "Photosynthesis!" and "Chlorophylls!" in his battle cry.

...I'm going to ask him about that later. For now, it's time to do my part.

Crystallized Strength. Barrier.

I'm the third and last one to strike Naru, the force of my blow cracking across his face at the same moment Mari strikes his stomach and Ahkelios flies directly into his eyes.