Die. Respawn. Repeat.

I was, unfortunately, right about having a glaring headache in the next loop. It's all I can do to roll to the side and activate Temporal Fragment, and even that takes a lot out of me; the pulse of pain in my head spikes, and I lie there on the ground doing nothing, letting my temporal clone do all the work.

It's a choice I regret slightly when the mantis-monster half-collapses onto me. It doesn't hurt, thankfully; Tough Body is more than enough to handle a vaguely heavy monster falling on top of me.

It is, however, annoying.

I lie there for however long it takes for my headache to fade away. I think I fall asleep at some point — the sun has moved in the sky when I open my eyes again, and when I take a look at the Timeline Tracker in my Interface, it looks like around four hours have passed. The corpse of the mantis-monster is in a frankly disgusting state. I drag myself away from it.

I consider banking the Firmament points now and seeing what it does, but I'd rather do that after I hit Cliffside. The thought of doing it now, next to a corpse, somehow doesn't appeal to me.

Besides, I've seen that the rewards are always based on what I've done. If I do a little more, maybe I'll get a little more in turn. Even if that little more I do is nothing more than a conversation with Mari.

I probably shouldn't show up to the Cliffside like this, though. I'm covered in mantis blood. I can only imagine what Mari will think. There's a river near the Cliffside that I can wash myself in; as long as I make sure to do it downriver so a bunch of mantis blood doesn't flow into their laundry, I'm pretty sure I can get away with falling asleep under a corpse for four hours.

Probably. I'd kill for some soap right around now, honestly.

A part of me wants to call out Ahkelios and ask him about the mantis monster, but I decide not to do that just yet. I'm not fully recovered on my Firmament, and more importantly, I remember his initial reaction to me when he saw me covered in blood. I doubt his reaction will be the same, but I still don't want a repeat of that occurrence.

So I only call him out when I'm in the river and have thoroughly washed out most of the blood. I can't do much about the stains it's left on my clothes — it's not like I have anything to change into — and I find myself shivering when I step out of the river. It's not as cold as it could be, thanks to the effects of Tough Body, but this still isn't pleasant.

"Ahkelios," I say.

Ahkelios appears in the air as I tug on the skill, and he immediately glances around expectantly. His face falls when he can't find his favorite piece of bark. "I forgot that we don't get to keep things between loops," he grumbles.

"I kind of forgot, too," I admit, feeling slightly awkward. A physical gift isn't all that useful if he can't keep it. "I think I remember where I found it, though. We can go back if we have time."

"Really?" Ahkelios brightens almost immediately. I can't help but chuckle — I wonder if this was what he was really like, beneath the despair that the loops had evidently forced on him. Some of it might be the nature of the skill itself, 'persuading' him to be helpful in any way he can, but...

A lot of this seems genuine. Like he's just a good, simple man that takes joys in the simple things. Maybe that's why he went into the fields he did.

"Yeah," I say. "Here, I'll make a mark for it on my map, so we remember to go back."

The Interface is, if nothing else, convenient for basic things like that. I leave a marker in the approximate area I think I found the bark; it won't be exact, but I'll remember better once we're in the general vicinity.

"By the way," I start. "Were you yelling out chlorophyll while fighting Naru?"

Ahkelios has the grace to look briefly embarrassed. "I figured it would confuse him."

"Well, it confused me, but I'm not sure Naru is smart enough to get confused," I say dryly. "I don't think he was paying much attention."

"At least I distracted him," Ahkelios argued, and I grin at him.

"That you did," I say. "And you did a damn good job. We didn't beat him, but... I think we'll get there. Soon. A few more loops, a few more challenges..."

"Are you going to go to the Fracture?" Ahkelios asks, and I pause in thought.

"I need to see how Tarin is doing," I say finally. "And Mari. I need to make sure they're fine. If it looks like I have the time, I'll go to the Fracture and see if I can find what you're talking about. If it turns out I'm running out of time... I think I can get Mari to distract Naru long enough that I can grab the Phantom Roots. Hopefully that will be enough to actually help Tarin."

Ahkelios nods, apparently on board with the plan. I pull myself to my feet — the wet clothes are going to be uncomfortable to travel in, but it's not like I have much of a choice.

Time to go back to the Cliffside, and see how Tarin and Mari are doing.

—

Mari is... fine, in a manner of speaking. I'd been a little worried, since I'd lost sight of her at the end of the last loop, but she's not dead. Nor have the Integrators interfered with her, as far as I can tell.

She is different this loop, but that's the effect of the Firmament strain more than anything. When I find her, she's much grumpier than usual.

"I headache today!" she barks at me when she sees me. "No time for Trialgoer. You go talk to husband. He help you."

She doesn't know that Tarin is in a coma yet, and... I'm not sure I should tell her. I could just enter his hut and check the state of his Firmament; that was one of my goals in coming here. But I don't want to spark some sort of misunderstanding. I can only imagine how it'll look if she catches me leaving the hut and Tarin in a coma.

"I need to talk to you," I say quietly.

Maybe there's something in my voice that convinces her to listen, because she takes a second glance at me, and something in her demeanor changes. She grumbles in annoyance, but that doesn't stop her from leading me to a secluded corner — away from her home, I realize.

I wonder if she's instinctively trying to protect Tarin.

It takes me a moment, but I explain to her the nature of the Trials, starting with the prank she played on me. Her expression stays uncharacteristically serious the entire time — she doesn't interrupt me, doesn't say a word, not even when I mention Tarin's coma. She only reacts when Naru's name comes up, and I see a visible tightening in her face.

But she keeps her anger controlled and lets me finish the story.

"I go check on Tarin first," is the first thing she says, and I nod. I get up to follow her, but she holds up a wing. "You wait. You come check him after. I make sure you tell truth. I fast. You no worry."

Indeed, she's a lot faster than last time. I see visible distress in her eyes, but also a certain determination.

Maybe something's carried over. Or maybe hearing about her son has changed something.

"Naru idiot," she tells me. "Foolish child. Blinded by power."

I wait. She seems like she has more she wants to say.

"But he not always like that," she finally says. She slumps slightly. "I not know where we go wrong."

"The Trials push people to their limits," I say quietly. "It's what they're designed to do. I don't think you did anything wrong, it's just... the Integrators know what they're doing. They know how to break people."

Mari nods, but my words don't seem like they're much of a comfort to her. "You go check," she says after a moment. "I stay here. I need think."

She wants a moment to herself, in other words. I acquiesce, and make my way into the hut to check on Tarin.

He's... fine. The Firmament battle is still raging within him, but it doesn't seem to be much worse than it was before; the Interface has gained a little ground, but not by much.

Tarin's a fighter in every sense of the word. I let myself smile a small, rueful smile.

I hope I get to talk to him again.

"He's not doing much worse," I tell Mari as I step out of the hut. She seems lost in thought; she's sitting on a log, staring out into the horizon, and she jumps a little when I speak before abruptly relaxing again.

"That good," Mari says. "Husband strong. Can fight for days. Have seen him fight for week, even."

"I didn't know him for long, but I did spar with him a few times." I give Mari a faint smile. "He kicked my ass."

Mari snorts. "Of course. You new Trialgoer. Still weak. Firmament unstable." She pokes me in the chest with a wing, and I chuckle.

"Fair enough," I say.

We sit in silence for a moment. I'm thinking I'll head out to the Fracture next — if we have time, then I want to make sure we deal with Naru. I don't want him to become a problem later in the loop. If Hotspots aren't persistent, meaning that they stop appearing once I complete them... this is the only way I have of guaranteeing that one of Hestia's Trialgoers appears this early in the loop.

Though I suppose if I take him out, he might just be fine the next loop. I'd have to take full advantage of the one loop where he's gone. I file that thought away.

"Mari," I say. "I'm going to bank some of my Interface credits. I don't know what's going to happen when I hit a milestone. Can you make sure nothing goes wrong?"

Mari glances at me. "You very trusting," she says after a moment. I stare blankly. I could say the same of her. "We fight together?"

"More than once," I admit.

The crows have always been particularly willing to listen to me when I tell them about the Trial, now that I think about it. I doubt it's always going to be this easy — the idea of a time loop is no doubt going to be much harder to believe for most. But for whatever reason, Tarin and Mari have always believed me nearly immediately.

"Strong bond," Mari remarks. The smile I give her is weak. It'd be a strong bond if she remembered any of it, but she doesn't.

She seems to notice my look, and she rolls her eyes. "I not remember, but I still feel you trust me," she says. "It matter. All things matter."

I suppose that might be true.

She waves an irritated wing at me. "You bank points now! Not do later. Later you forget. Do now, I watch. I want see what happens."

No time like the present, for sure.

[ Are you sure you wish to bank 68 Firmament credits? ]

Yes.

[ 68 Firmament credits banked! Rolling for results...]

[ Select between:

Color Drain (Rank C)

Resonant Pulse (Rank C)

Weaker Dispel (Rank C) ]

[ You have unlocked an Inspiration. Bonus will commence once skill selection has taken place. ]