Die. Respawn. Repeat.

Chapter 102: Book 2: Trial Run

"...That's one hell of a story," I mutter. I don't know how to respond for the longest moment. What Miktik tells me is horrifying and terrifying in equal measure — horrifying because of what's being done to Guard, and terrifying because of the sheer amount of power Whisper seems to wield.

It's not a surprise, necessarily. I've fought her. I know how strong she can be. But if this story is any indication, there are many cards she still has left to play.

"Do you think Guard is still in there?" I ask. "You said she did something to him, turned him into the robot we see today... but do you think he's still actually alive?"

"We're not sure," Miktik says doubtfully. "There are rumors. Sometimes He-Who-Guards doesn't act the way we expect him to — he shows mercy when he otherwise wouldn't, or lets someone escape him when he could easily catch them. We think that's him fighting back, but it could just as easily be a trick Whisper is playing."

I think back to the glimpses I've caught of Guard behaving strangely — the purple Firmament withdrawing to reveal a flash of iridescence within. "I don't think it's a trick," I say. I hope it's not, anyway. I'm still going to need his help getting back into the Fracture, although I'm going to have to convince him to help me first.

And probably find a cure for him. And defeat Whisper.

My to-do list is only getting longer. It occurs to me that if I get strong enough to fight Whisper, I might be able to fight the monsters in the Fracture without worrying about Guard.

It still doesn't feel right to just leave him be, though. I sigh. "Sometimes having a moral compass is annoying," I mutter.

Tarin gives me a strange look. "What you say?"

"Don't worry about it." I exhale again, looking around the room at the motley group of rebels. "This can't be all there is to you guys, right? I'm assuming a rebellion can't be comprised of six people trying to get out from under Whisper's thumb."

"Oh, no," Thys says.

"There's way more of us," Thaht says. "But Miktik's workshop doesn't really have a lot of room, and it's one of the only places we have that are secure against Whisper."

"Relatively," Bimar says under her breath. The rest of them ignore her, apparently used to this by now. She sits up in her chair, glowering at me. "And I still don't trust you enough to answer that. Don't think I didn't notice you avoiding the question I asked earlier. How do you know about the Firmament sinks?"

"I'm the Trialgoer," I say dryly. "You should assume I know a lot of things I'm not supposed to know."

"Still not answering the question."

"Would you trust me if I did answer it?" I ask. "Because I doubt you would, and the story is pretty unbelievable anyway."

"More unbelievable than what you just heard about Whisper and Guard?" Bismar shot back.

I pause. "...You have a point, there," I admit.

Whisper more than likely already knows what's going on. I don't think it'll hurt that much to tell Miktik and the others about the loops, as loathe as I am to lose the information advantage. Unlike the Hestian Trialgoers, the rebels don't have a way to pass information back to themselves, so the worst they can do is try to manipulate my actions by limiting or altering the information they give me...

...which they're even more likely to do if I don't tell them the truth.

"So you'll believe me," I say. "Even if I tell you that the reason I know is time travel?"

There's a long pause.

"...Why don't you tell us the whole story first," Bismar says, her tone guarded.

It takes longer than I'd like to convince them. They believe me eventually — it's difficult not to, when I have Ahkelios and Tarin both to back up my story and Temproral Link to create clones of myself, not to mention my knowledge of Thaht's war-construct and its weakness to being punched through time. Thaht is simultaneously proud of and insulted by the construct's ability to withstand a Trialgoer and the fact that its apparent weakness is time.

"How am I supposed to make something that can defend against a time punch?!" he grumbles. "It's hard enough defending against Firmament blasts!"

I shrug. "Cancel out all Firmament it passes through?" I suggest.

"You say that like it's easy," Thaht mutters, but he looks thoughtful.

They do believe me, in the end, and that's enough for us to get a start. Miktik's a lot more open with what her tools are and what she can do when she doesn't have any more secrets to hide — or no more major secrets to hide, anyway.

"I do have the materials to make more Firmament sinks," she admits. "But I have to keep a steady supply available for everyone, not just for myself. I wish we could give it to everyone, but the more people we give it to, the more likely it is that Whisper finds out. I'm surprised she didn't already know as it is. Part of me thought she was just messing with us."

"She definitely didn't know when you first used it in front of her," I say. "So whatever you're doing to keep it secret, it's working. It just doesn't take much for her to get past it when she does know."

"And you said you have a way to improve the design?" Miktik asks.

"I think so." It's not as easy as I make it sound. I don't even have an imbuement stone yet. "Thys, Thaht, you both fight in the Craven Arena. I assume you've collected a lot of points by now?"

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"I don't bother redeeming anything from the barracks," Thaht says with a shrug. "That place pisses me off. Bought a couple things from the Ringmaster, but that's about it."

"I've redeemed a few things," Thys says. "Better those weapons go to us than some goon of Whisper's, right?"

"Unless it's trapped," I say. "But I don't disagree. You think you have enough to grab me some imbuement stones from the Ringmaster?"

I could use my own points, especially since the Arena's points seem to tie into the Interface in some way — but this loop is going to be a tight one as it is, and I'd rather not spend another few days fighting people in a glorified gladiator arena just to get the materials I need. Thys and Thaht exchange glances.

"We could do that," Thys says cautiously. "But we've got some stones in our shop as well. Why don't you come with us and check it out?"

"...And you're not going to trap me in your shop?" I ask dryly.

Thaht looks offended. "If we wanted to trap you, we wouldn't use our shop to do it," he says. "That place is our livelihood. You think we want you to blow it up? Besides, if you're telling the truth about the time travel thing, trapping you would be stupid."

I laugh. "I don't know," I say. "You two are pretty smart. I'm sure you could figure out something I need to be careful about."

Thys and Thaht both look pleased by that remark. If they were planning to launch some kind of trap on me, I'm pretty sure that was enough to change their minds.

Only one way to know for sure, though.

"I have enough to outfit everyone here with a prototype Firmament sink," Miktik says. "But if you're telling the truth, we're going to need your improvements to stand a chance against Whisper. Do you actually have a plan?"

"Right now, I just want to see if I can rescue Guard," I say. "I need his help to save Rotar and Ikaara, and I need your help to access the Integrator salvage you told me about. I have a feeling that will help me get into wherever the Integrators live."

"It's still going to take time to prepare the protective suits for that," Miktik cautions. "Even if I rush it — which I can now that you know what I'm doing — it's still going to take at least a week."

"Why do I need a protective suit?" I ask. It's possible one of the skills I already have from the Interface will provide me with the protection I need. Verdant Armor is a strong skill on its own, and modified with an Inspiration, it should be enough for me to survive near anything. "You told me it's because the ambient Firmament will crush me, but is that the whole story?"

"It's part of it." Miktik hesitates. "The ambient Firmament will crush just about anyone, but you're a Trialgoer. I can't say the same will happen to you. The problem for you is the Firmament differential — even if you can withstand the pressure, the sheer difference in Firmament between you and everything around you is going to force excess Firmament into you."

"And that's bad," I say.

"Like overcharging a battery," Miktik confirms.

"...So I could explode?"

"While you're in there? No. The pressure will force you to stay in place. But the moment you leave..."

"Got it." I grimace at the idea. "What can you tell me about the salvage yard? Is there going to be anything I can use?"

Miktik shrugs, a full-body shudder of her plating. "There's always something useful in there," she says. "The problem is getting deep enough to get it. There are places I can't get to even with my suit. You might be able to get to those places, but I can't tell you what you'd find."

I glance at Ahkelios. "What're the odds this will help me get to the Integrators themselves?"

"Pretty high?" Ahkelios hesitates, tapping his arms against each other as if performing a mental calculation. "Pretty high. I never fought any of the Integrators myself or found a way to get to them, but a place that high in ambient Firmament has got to be related to where they are. I bet Phaseslip will show you something while you're there."

"Then I guess we've got the beginnings of a plan," I say.

It's not a good plan, but it's a start. Get the Firmament sinks completed so we can ignore Whisper's commands. Find a way to rescue Guard so he can help us rescue Rotar and Ikaara. By that point, hopefully Miktik's protective suits will be complete, and I can go in and retrieve Gheraa... somehow.

Just as long as Whisper doesn't interfere with any of those steps, which she almost certainly will.

"Well," I say. "Can you guys take me to your shop so we can take a look at those imbuement stones? Miktik, if you send a prototype with me, I can probably work on the sinks while we're at the workshop instead of carrying them around where Whisper might see it."

"The only one I have with me is the one I'm using," Miktik says with a slight grimace. "I can lend it to you, just be sure to get it back to me before Whisper—"

A crystalline sound rings out throughout the workshop. I blink, then glance back toward the sealed entrance.

"Please tell me that isn't Whisper," I say.

Miktik stares at a screen feeding her an image from a camera outside. "Okay," she says. "I won't."

"...Who is it?"

"You told Miktik not to tell you." There's her nervousness again.

I feel exhaustion sweep through me. "It's Whisper, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Another crystalline knock rings out through the workshop.

"You guys stay here," I say. I take the prototype sink that Miktik is holding out to me. "And don't open the door."

Phaseslip.

I step out through the side of the building, wincing slightly at the strange sensation of solid crystal passing through my body. Whisper's gaze lands on me the moment my feet touch the dirt and the quietest whisper of a sound echoes through the now-silent air.

An idea begins to percolate in my head.

"Trialgoer," she says.

"What's a Trialgoer?" I ask, gathering Firmament within me. She narrows her eyes.

"You know, I thought perhaps we could be allies," she says. "But it appears you have chosen to align yourself against me. Am I wrong?"

"Probably," I say.

"Wrong answer," Whisper replies. "I'm never wrong. Now tell me the truth. What are your plans? Who is in there? What have you done with He-Who-Guards?"

I hear her words as a Whisper on the Wind. Her Firmament coils around me, deadly and insidious, binding itself to my Firmament and attempting to force me to obey.

Phaseslip.

The thing is, Phaseslip doesn't protect me from Firmament attacks. I'm just as vulnerable to them when I'm phased as when I'm not. I learned this when Virin hit me with a rock that was leaking Firmament.

Which also taught me something else: When I'm phased, I can treat concentrated exposed Firmament like it's a solid object.

I grab the coil of Firmament headed toward me, stopping it in its tracks. Whisper's eyes widen in shock and anger.

Crystallized Strength.

For a skill too powerful for the Void to consume, it is remarkably easy — and satisfying — to tear it apart.

"You know, Whisper," I say. "Maybe you should try a different trick for once."