Chapter Text
Everyone knows that of the three primary casualties following Riddle’s overblot, Laras was the first to wake. However, what they didn’t know was that she had received an unprecedented visitor…
“Who are you,” Laras wondered, voice low, hushed, almost as if afraid that she’d rouse the slumbering. She kept her gaze trained on the intruder before her, who had appeared before her in a crash of thunder and a flash of emerald lightning. She didn’t know when the storm began, but somehow, she was absolutely certain that the presence before her had been the perpetrator.
The figure chuckled. “A humble guest, with a thirst for knowledge.”
“Who are you?” She asked again, voice slightly more forceful as she hoped that her fear wouldn’t bleed through her words.
“You are fascinating, Child of Man,” the figure murmured, completely ignoring the girl’s question. His voice sounded like the steady rumble of a storm, crisp like the crunch of autumn leaves. She couldn’t quite see him in the darkness of the room, but she could vaguely make out a pair of emerald eyes glowing from the unknown, staring at her as the rest of his figure was shrouded in utter darkness.
“Who are you,” she repeated for the final time, eyes now glowing, shimmering with time magic as her fear subsided from her veins. “Step into the light and show me who you are,” she commanded, a warning, to someone she could hardly classify as a friend or foe, but certainly a being more ancient than her, with a hint of oblivious condescension and an unusual tonal quality.
At that moment, she noticed how something changed in his gaze. She noticed the way their eyes went wide, feral; the way he shifted back, recoiling as if prepared to run. Then, they softened, rounding slightly as he seemed to gather his senses and shift closer, perhaps leaning forward towards her.
“Lady Time,” he breathed, reverent in awe. However, Laras only bristled, blood running cold at the casual mention of her true power.
The figure rose. Laras’ raised her gaze higher and higher, heart pounding as those green eyes rose past the height of the supply closet. Whoever this was, they were much taller than any of the freshmen boys, taller than the man she and Ayame met in the greenhouse.
Then, the click of sole against cold stone, echoing through the room as they heeded her request. The moonlight, whilst obscured by the haze of rain clouds, was still far too dim to discern their exact features, but Laras could see a pair of curved cranial appendages atop his head, vaguely the shine of silver or metal across his chest and around his abdomen, glimmering in thin strands like threads.
It was at that moment the lightning returned, a crack of drums booming throughout the school as the person’s snow-pale features were illuminated, a hint of pointed ears and ebony locks visible to her as quickly as the light retreated into darkness, shrouding her visitor in mystery once more.
“Lady… Time?” She repeated slowly. The figure closed his eyes, tilting his head far too low to be a mere nod.
“I have heard tales,” he continued, the pace of his speech picking up noticeably. “Of the human woman who once held the threads of fate in her hands and spun the fabrics of time that govern the world. Why do you appear before me trapped in a mortal shell?”
“I-” Laras was stunned, to say the least. Sensing that she had paused for a moment too long, she cleared her throat. She was less than willing to leave this… admirer? hanging. “I’m not this Lady Time person you’re referring to. My name is Laras and I’m… a guy.”
“Why do you remain in this mortal, adolescent shell?”
“I’m not in a shell; I’m just a normal human. I’ve never once ‘held the threads of fate’ or ‘spun the fabrics of time’ or anything, really. I don’t understand why I- my friend and I have been brought to this world but we do not belong here.”
“I… see.”
Despite the immense headache that had resulted from her attempt to process and respond to his words, Laras somehow felt a bit upset at potentially disappointing him. However, before she could come up with a response to give him some peace of mind, he spoke again.
“Where is your heart?”
“My… what?” Laras frowned. “Right here? Beating in my chest?”
“No, your Temporal Heart. It’s missing,” he continued gravely, the air stilling at his realization. “It is no wonder your power is limited.”
“I don’t follow,” Laras admitted. “Where is this Temporal Heart supposed to be?”
A gloved hand curled into itself, pointing a finger toward its owner’s heart. Laras placed her hand over her chest.
“Well, it’s definitely there,” she commented, noting the thump, thump of her cardiac system at work. Pressing a bit deeper, her fingers brushed upon an uneven segment of her “ribcage”. A birth defect, resulting in a crevice instead of calcium bones. The doctors had managed to create a titanium-based imitation in its place to protect her heart.
“Tell me,” she gulped, considering a chilling possibility. “Would it happen to be located right above the heart?”
“Yes. The Temporal Heart rests over its organic equivalent. Without it, Lady Time’s control over her temporal sense would vanish – she would instead find herself in a world where the boundaries between past, present, and future cease to be… ,” he continued, “it would be detrimental to the world if a cruel-hearted soul obtained The Heart’s power.”
Spheres of light bubbled from beneath, illuminating his ebony robes which billowed violently as magic gathered all about him.
“We must find your heart. I shall lend you my aid.”
He disappeared before Laras could ask him his name.