Soft evening light filtered through the tall windows, but it did little to warm the atmosphere.
The usual cozy glow of the house felt muted.
Florence and Ravene sat side by side on the large sectional couch with gloomy faces.
Florenceās hands were clasped tightly in her lap, fingers twisting together nervously.
Her face was pale, and dark circles had begun to form under her eyes from restless nights.
She turned to Ravene, "Itās already been a week since Husband, Elize, and Charlotte went missing..."
Her words trembled "I am getting even more scared as time goes."
Ravene was sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs.
She tried to force a reassuring smile onto her lips, "Donāt worry, Florence," she said, reaching over to gently squeeze Florenceās hand.
"Both Elize and Charlotte are incredibly strong. Nothing can harm them."
Florence turned her head to look at her, "B-But what if it has something to do with those gods?"
"They canāt fight those... Theyāre on a completely different level."
"W-What if-"
Raveneās pulled Florence into her arms, holding her tightly as Florence buried her face against her shoulder.
"Shhh... donāt say that," Ravene murmured, stroking Florenceās hair with trembling fingers.
"Brandon is too stubborn to disappear on us. And Elize... sheās one of the strongest people I know. Charlotte too. They will come back."
Ravene was trying to be strong for Florence, but the fear was eating at her too.
A whole week with no words, it was terrifying.
Eira walked into the room quietly, carrying a tray with steaming mugs of herbal tea.
She had been trying to keep busy, but her eyes were red-rimmed from crying earlier.
She set the tray down gently on the coffee table and sat on Florenceās other side, wrapping an arm around her.
"Mom... we have to believe theyāre okay," she said softly. "Brandon wouldnāt leave us."
Florence nodded weakly, but fresh tears slipped down her cheeks.
"I know... I know he wouldnāt."
She took a shaky breath "I just... I miss him so much already."
*swoosh* At this time, a space tear appeared in the living room and Eliza and Charlotte stepped out, covered fully in sand.
Their clothes were torn and stained while their faces were streaked with exhaustion and grief.
Charlotteās legs gave out the moment she fully materialized and dropped to her knees on the rug.
Tears welled up in her eyes "K-Kael..." she choked out.
Elize stood beside her, looking utterly devastated.
Her usual calm composure had shattered and she took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to hold herself together.
Charlotteās head hung low, "I failed in protecting him... I-I failed as a big sister."
Florence, Eira, and Ravene stared in horror, their faces draining of color as Charlotteās words sank in.
Florence shot up from the couch as she lunged forward and grabbed Elizeās collar with both hands.
"Where is Brandon?" she demanded. "Where is he?!"
Elizeās gaze quivered as she simply looked at Florence with eyes full of pain and guilt.
"He is missing..." she whispered. "We tried... we tried so hard. We searched every layer we could reach. But we couldnāt find him."
Florenceās grip on Elizeās collar loosened and her legs gave out.
She stumbled backward and fell to her knees on the rug, a heart-wrenching cry tearing from her throat.
"Ahhhhhhh-!"
Ravene closed her mouth with her palm, silently sobbing as fresh tears ran down her cheeks.
Eiraās gaze trembled and she forgot to breathe for a second.
The stress that has been accumulating for a week finally caught up and the intense emotional shock... Her vulnerable heart couldnāt handle it.
Her chest seized and her vision blurred.
*thud* She collapsed backward onto the rug and gasped, clutching at her chest as a sudden cardiac arrest gripped her.
"Eira!" Elize yelled and rushed forward.
"Eira!" Ravene dropped to her knees beside the girl.
Both women reached her at the same time.
Elize quickly turned Eira onto her back, checking her pulse while Ravene cradled her head, stroking her hair with trembling hands.
"Eira, breathe! Stay with us!"
Raveneās tears fell onto Eiraās face as she whispered desperately, "Come on, sweetheart... breathe..."
Florence quickly crawled to her "I-Is she getting cardiac arrest again?"
Eira placed the heel of one hand on the center of Eiraās chest, the other on top, and began CPR.
"One... two... three..."
Florence reached them and grabbed Eiraās hand, squeezing it tightly.
Elize continued the compressions but her own hands were shaking slightly.
After thirty compressions, she tilted Eiraās head back, pinched her nose, and blew two steady breaths into her mouth, watching the chest rise.
"Come on, Eira."
Elize continued the CPR cycle while Ravene and Florence kept talking to her to keep her anchored.
After what felt like an eternity, Eiraās body jerked.
She gasped sharply and her eyes fluttered open as she clutched at her chest.
Elize immediately stopped the compressions and supported her head as golden healing ether flowed steadily from her palms into Eiraās body to stabilize her heart.
"There you are... breathe slowly... thatās it..."
Eira gasped again, "B-Brandon..."
Florence leaned down and pressed her forehead to Eiraās "Eiraaaa."
Ravene wiped Eiraās tears with trembling fingers.
Charlotte remained on her knees, head bowed, tears falling onto the rug and mixing with the sand still clinging to her clothes.
"I failed..." she repeated under her breath. "I was right there..."
Eiraās breathing slowly evened out "He... is really gone?"
Elize took a deep breath and muttered "No, h-he is just missing. We will surely find him."
As she spoke, she turned her head and saw Charlotte was missing āHuh, where is Charlotte.ā
---
It was already night in the desert.
If itās smoking hot in the morning, itās chilling cold now at night.
The night air was crisp and sharp, carrying a chill that seeped through his torn clothes and made his skin prickle.
Sitting on a dune, Brandon stared at the sky.
He exhaled slowly, watching his breath turn into faint white mist in the cold air āI keep thinking about it...ā
His mind refused to let go of the realization that had struck him earlier.
In a Bootstrap paradox, the events are self-causing. There is no original timeline... the future creates the past, which creates the future. A closed loop with no beginning.
If he was the "second awakener" that future Rheanne had spoken of... then his presence here wasnāt changing anything.
It was fulfilling it.
He was always meant to be here.
āIf I am really in a Bootstrap paradox, anything I do in the past wonāt āaffectā the future, because itās already predetermined...ā
He rubbed his hands together to fight off the growing numbness from the cold.
āIf thatās the case, the future Rheanne knows me before she even met me in the Church.ā
āBut she acted as if she didnāt know me...ā
āNo, no, there was that one time, she was talking in riddles... saying that I gave her hope.ā
His eyes narrowed as the pieces slowly clicked into place āSo, she already knows me from the past, and she knows that I will time-travel here.ā
āSheās been waiting for this exact moment for centuries.ā
His frown deepened āBut wait, if I time-traveled, what happened to my present self in 2051, who time-traveled to the past to 1502? ā
āAm I dead or is my body somewhere else?ā
If it is really a Bootstrap paradox, then nothing he does here could break the future he knew.
Florence, Elize, Charlotte, Eira, Ravene, Yverine, Dhayun, and Jiyeon. Everyone he loved back home... they would still exist.
He would still return to them.
Somehow.
He exhaled slowly, watching the mist of his breath disappear into the cold night air.
āThis is insane... Iām literally sitting here, 550 years in the past, talking to the woman who will one day wait for me in a church centuries from now.ā
He ran a hand through his sand-filled hair, shaking his head āAnd I have no idea how to get back.ā
The cold was starting to bite deeper now.
He glanced at the tent Rheanne was setting up, and his gaze lowered āRheanne...ā
He stood up from the dune āI hope my theory is correct, and itās actually a bootstrap paradox. Because with that, anything I do in the past wonāt affect the already predetermined future.ā
āOr... maybe I am just overthinking the whole situation.ā
ā...Everything will be clear once I leave the tower.ā