Once the two had both taken a seat, the Seer gave them each a grave look, as though trying to instill the seriousness of the situation with her gaze alone. “As you may have guessed,” she answered firmly, “there are many other worlds not unlike Kris’s, in which a being imbued with a particular energy– ‘Determination’– is capable of altering the flow of time. While that ability can manifest magical powers outside those timelines, it cannot affect time itself… Hence why none of those powers will work here.”
Kris seemed to perk up a bit, though the bored-looking teen’s chin didn’t lift from its place on their crossed arms. They were pretending not to listen just for the sake of being a pain, but it was a pretty obvious ruse. Truthfully, they’d been wondering for a while why their Resets wouldn’t work at the Order– or, in fact, much of anywhere outside their own world. This certainly explained a lot, at any rate.
“Most of those timelines are exceptionally unstable,” the woman continued quietly, “But after a time, they sort themselves out, so-to-speak. However…” Here we go, Kris commented silently, watching the lady with a dull, apathetic expression. “Recently, one timeline in particular has been detected that… Well…” For once, the Seer seemed to be at a loss for words. Kris glared at her for a long moment, then finally decided it was time to prod.
“What?” they asked with an air of faint impatience.
“The timeline is continuously resetting, always after the same exactly amount of time. A perfect loop, if you will.” Catching Kris’s unimpressed expression, the Seer decided to elaborate… “Furthermore, there is a great deal of suffering occurring in that world, for reasons that… I cannot be certain of. However, it seems likely that whoever is conducting these Resets is responsible.”
“… So that’s why you need me? To Reset on them?” The woman shook her head.
“When two beings of equal Determination are at odds with one another, they cancel each other out.” Now Kris was beginning to understand… The kid’s eyes widened as the implications sunk in. “As such… Your mission is to catch the one responsible, and stop them before their actions damage the surrounding fabric of time-space beyond repair. And, if it is at all possible, save the inhabitants from this neverending purgatory.”
Elric’s expression darkened, and his heart sunk. Someone resetting the timeline over and over, and the mentions of suffering? ...The alchemist had ideas, but he wasn’t sure he even wanted to consider them. Then again, it didn’t seem like he’d have a choice, since he was going to go headlong into this world and figure out what was going on.
“ ...Just great.”
He was certainly used to alternate universes by now, but he had a grim feeling that this one was going to be a bit more ...overwhelming.
“ So, Kris is just gonna tag along then, to make sure this bastard can’t reset anymore..? ...Makes sense, I guess. ” He folds his arms, placing a finger on the desk.
“I’ll- ...” Elric glanced to Kris for a second. “ We’ll do our best to save these people. And stop this asshole, whoever he is... Maybe even save him if that’s the case, though I somehow doubt we’ll be let off without some kind of sick bullshit going on. ”
“ Is there ...anything else we need to be aware of? ”
kaledo-art
annaxmalina
pixelskylines
jbbartram-illu
titsay
yousharknotpass
germansingergirl
