Die. Respawn. Repeat.

Whisper was exhausted.

She was exhausted because she had been manually controlling all of He-Who-Guards's bodies... she couldn't even remember how long it had been. She was exhausted because she had not been able to sleep, to pause for a break, to do anything besides exert perfect, unassailable control over the myriad of automatons patrolling all of Isthanok.

She could do it. She could. She had the power and the strength and the skill, and her mind was quick enough to handle the sensory overload. She'd been bathing in sensory overload ever since she acquired Whispers on the Wind, so it wasn't like this was anything new.

But she'd underestimated exactly how much He-Who-Guards's new nature as a construct aided him in exerting simultaneous control over all of his bodies. She wasn't used to having her perception split across so many different points wasn't used to experiencing hundreds of hours worth of experiences in just a few real-time hours. She felt like it had been weeks.

It had, in fact, been two days. That realization was when she'd decided to call for Miktik. When she decided to... to ask for help.

There was a part of her recoiling in disgust at the very idea, but her exhaustion prevailed in the end. This situation was not sustainable, nor did she enjoy wasting so much of her time and Firmament on this illusion of normalcy.

And yet even Miktik had no idea what was wrong with He-Who-Guards. According to the little inventor, he was perfectly fine; there was nothing wrong with any of the components on his main body.

Has the Trial already started? she wondered. She was hoping she'd have more time. But surely this couldn't be related to the Trial she'd told the Integrators that He-Who-Guards was off-limits. No permanent harm was to come to him.

It wouldn't be the first time they've lied to you, a little voice whispered inside her, and she ignored it.

She was good at ignoring that voice now.

She could check if she'd recorded any information for herself, but... no. She'd have to give up some of her hard-earned credits to do that, and she had no intention of losing them. Not when the other Hestian Trialgoers were all still active, and not while there was a new Trialgoer to contend with. He would have little to no chance of standing against any of them, of course, but considering the nature of his Trial, he might not be so new anymore.

All of that was moot, though. She had a far greater concern. She-Who-Whispers shook her head and stared at the automaton in front of her.

Anyone less familiar with He-Who-Guards might not realize that there was anything wrong; he was still powered, and the Firmament that cycled through it seemed healthy.

Yet he didn't speak. Not even when she commanded it. He didn't respond to any of her attempts at speaking to him or controlling him. Every one of his bodies that normally patrolled Isthanok were left without anyone to control them, forcing her to take up the reins herself.

The countless threads of Whispers on the Wind suddenly reverberated, her Firmament catching on something relevant, and her attention snapped to it.

Miktik she's an inventor that has her own workshop, I'm sure some of the stuff she's built could be useful to She-Who-Whispers

A new voice.

She-Who-Whispers narrowed her eyes. Not just a new voice a new voice that knew her mechanic. What were the odds of that?

"Let them in," she says with a Whisper. Her Firmament carried her words to her guards far below.

Maybe she would spend a few credits to check on her Interface reports.

"We help Miktik fix parts," Tarin elaborates. He seems to have the situation handled Whisper's a little thrown off her usual game, for whatever reason, and that combined with Tarin's usual boisterous nature is enough for him to take control of the conversation. "You need help?"

"I am investigating a problem," She-Who-Whispers says smoothly.

I'm paying attention to what they're saying, but only just. There's a faint trace of Firmament I'm trying to track through my senses. Firmament Sight doesn't help me here, unfortunately. Whisper's castle is so flooded with it that what I see is just a blinding array of different colors streaking in and out of every window, with Whisper herself acting as a central point that most of it converges on. It's hard to spot an anomaly in the midst of all that noise.

Feeling for an anomaly with my Firmament sense, though? That's a different matter.

I focus on the small trace of Firmament that's pinging strangely on my senses. It doesn't feel like what Whisper uses to listen in on everyone, nor does it feel like the ambient Firmament that's present everywhere. It feels... it feels a little like Guard, but something about it is twisted.

I frown. Not unlike when Tarin was caught in a coma when the Interface tried to destroy him after the raid on his village. But nothing like that happened to Guard this time; as far as I know, he was killed by the Time Flies, just the same way Miktik, Tarin and I were.

Is there something that makes him different?

He's been killed in the Fracture before, and it's clear his original death didn't affect him this way. If there's something different, it has to either be something about the way the Interface treats him changing, or some facet of the Time Flies that hurt him more than the Firmament explosions that resulted in his first death.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"This sound like doctor problem," Tarin says in the background, his tone doubtful. He folds his wings across his chest. "Why you not call doctor?"

"It is a mechanical problem," Whisper bites out. Seems like she's losing her patience.

I try to follow my senses to wherever Guard is. He's not anywhere near Whisper's... throne room, for lack of a better word. He's somewhere above this area, in what feels like a specialized room full of strange Firmament

It occurs to me that this is much, much farther than I've been able to stretch my Firmament sense before. I frown. An effect of my phase shift?

Anyway. Not important for the moment. I close my eyes, trying to focus on what I can identify about Guard and the room he's in; as far as I can tell, it's a laboratory that's scattered with... Firmament samples? There are little pockets of Firmament that all feel like Guard's, and then a larger, Guard-shaped pocket that I assume is Guard himself. He's been laid down, completely unmoving.

I don't sense the usual veil of purple Firmament around him. Strange.

"Is there something wrong with your companion?" Whisper asks, sounding irritated. Tarin smacks one of my arms with a wing and I snap my eyes open, scowling and rubbing my elbow.

"My apologies," I say. "I didn't get much sleep last night."

I'm not even sure when the last time I slept was. Maybe time loops aren't all that good for you.

Whisper doesn't bother commenting on this. I get the feeling that she would normally punish me much more severely for my perceived rudeness, but she's thrown off her game at the moment far more concerned about whatever's happened with Guard than she is about the Trial or the potential presence of a Trialgoer. If I had to guess, though, she at least suspects that this is related to the Trial in some way.

"Stay here," Whisper instructs no. Not just instructs. I feel the power of her skill seeping into her words, though this particular use of it is a little clumsier than the others. The Firmament going into it feels less well-shaped. If her normal use of it has her intent sharpened like a knife, in this one she's wielding it like a hammer. Still dangerous, but far less refined.

Seems like a good opportunity to test the modified Firmament sink.

I haven't actually combined the imbued stone with Miktik's Firmament sink yet I don't know where she keeps the thing, and more likely than not it's on her person right now. But the stone itself should still work. I just need to use Firmament Control to mimic what her Firmament sink would otherwise do...

Her Firmament brushes against me. I close my eyes.

She-Who-Whispers is gone, presumably to go get He-Who-Guards. That leaves me free to mess with her skill without basically doing it right in front of her. I wince at the sensation of her Firmament prying apart the layers of my own Firmament, trying to bury itself deep within. As much as I try, I can't stop the skill altogether; there's too much Firmament packed into it. It's like trying to move a river.

But I can redirect it.

"Ahkelios," I say quietly, and he seems to recognize what I want him to do. His Firmament melds with mine just as he did when he reinforced my Amplifcation Gauntlet, except this time he does it in a way that seems to augment my Firmament Control skill. His will combines with my own, and together, we carve a channel for Whisper's Firmament to flow down.

A channel that leads right to the imbued stone in my pocket, of course.

I have to bring up the Void Inspiration to help the combined effort of Ahkelios and I is significant, but Whisper's skill still threatens to break free from our grasp. With the Void's influence on Firmament Control, however, the channel we create drags and pulls at the very essence of her skill, forcing it in the desired direction.

So far so good. I'm not trying to prevent the skill from taking. I suspect if I did try that, I would fail entirely. Instead, I'm trying to make sure that when it settles into me, it settles in the way I choose. The output the punishment for disobeying, as it were needs to go to the stone instead of me.

A trickle of sweat drips down the back of my neck. This is putting more strain on Firmament Control than it's meant for. The structure of the skill is faltering.

But it works, and I release the skill as soon as the new channels are set in place, heaving a slight sigh of relief.

Tarin shoots me a suspicious look. I give him a thumbs up.

Ahkelios reappears, extracting himself from my Firmament with a groan and flopping facefirst down on top of my head. "That was exhausting," he complains.

"That cannot be a comfortable spot for you," I say, amused.

"Don't wanna move," he grumbles.

...Yeah, that makes sense. I've been there.

Stretching my Firmament sense upward tells me Whisper's still busy, so now is as good a time as any to test what disobeying her little trick will do with my imbued stone in effect. I take one step, and then two, feeling her geas start to protest. The Firmament within me begins to warm, and that warmth trickles down into the stone in my pocket...

I keep walking.

The warmth is uncomfortable, but it doesn't burn. The pain is greatest where the stone is as my imbuement alters the color of her Firmament, dulling the pain and effectiveness of the skill. The discomfort is significant, don't get me wrong, but

Miktik is watching me, her eyes wide. I can tell she wants to say something and is only barely stopping herself; she knows anything she says will likely be overheard by Whisper. I consider her for a moment, then point to my pocket and pull out just the tip of the Lightning stone. The look she gives me sharpens abruptly and she nods in understanding.

Silent communication. Come to think of it, if there's any kind of rebel faction that's against Whisper, they'd have to communicate silently, wouldn't they? I wonder if the Interface can translate sign language.

The pain sharpens to the point of being unbearable as I near the edge of the room, and the Firmament in the imbuement stone begins to fray and crack. The outermost layer the layer that seals in my Hueshift Firmament springs a leak, for lack of a better term; from that, pure Whisper in the Winds Firmament pours through, carving a burning path of pain into my skin. I grit my teeth.

Then I take a few steps more just to prove that I can.

The pain is debilitating, but it's not impossible to overcome. There's a small component of paralysis to it as well, so I can't necessarily rely on my pain tolerance just to fight through it. If she uses this on me while I'm fighting, that second of delay fighting through the paralysis could very well be the difference between life and death.

But it's worth knowing that it's not impossible. I stand a chance, no matter how small it is. It's the perfect use for Compounded Mind, even. The skill that gives me a mental speed boost depending on how long I charge it for.

...I start burning that skill. Just in case.

Then I make my way quickly back to my original spot, feeling the weight of the geas lessen with every step I take. I breathe a small sigh of relief when the pain finally fades entirely. The imbuement stone isn't even ruined the outermost layer of Firmament is slowly repairing itself, pulling in Firmament from the air to repair the fractures.

My Firmament sense warns me that Whisper is approaching.

"Come with me," she says, as soon as she steps into view. She looks worried. She hasn't brought Guard with her, either.

...Hm.