It had been about two years since I heard the devastating news about my parents. The Eden agent who broke things to me took care of matters as he promised, and soon after, I went to live with the royal family.
I was exposed to a world I would've never gotten to know if it weren't for those unfortunate events. From that point on, the world of politics and luxury was in front of me. Gaining knowledge of those ways wasn't difficult or uncomfortable, and I managed to pick things up quickly enough to educate myself with my new life.
Like they had been when my parents were still here, the king and queen amiably took me in and gave me everything they could to ensure I wasn’t missing out on my childhood. Yet, some activities were meant for family members only, while others were meant for royals. Not that I felt excluded when those came into play; I understood that that was a reality worlds away from mine.
On this particular day, Aquilo and I were out and about in the city. I had no specific plans in mind, but because I’d recently passed the entrance exam at Blanc’s Academy of Magic, I wanted to splurge on a treat to celebrate. The king and queen had already held me a nice dinner, and Dante gifted me some potions that would help me retain my natural mana more efficiently the day before. Now, it was time for me to get myself something.
"Okay, so I’m thinking cinnamon rolls sound good, maybe?" I began, slowly pacing down the streets with Aquilo perched on my shoulder. "Or I think I have enough money to get macarons for everyone at the castle."
Since my familiar was a raven, he frankly couldn’t respond to me, but I felt as though I got the gist of what he was thinking even with the lack of verbal communication. After that sentence, I felt a slight peck on my shoulder.
"What?" I asked as I turned my face to look at him only to see him firmly shake his head. "You don’t think I should spend more than I should?"
He nodded once and left it at that, and we continued down the street to browse the rest of the pastries selection.
Back then, Eden offered to house me at HQ permanently, but the queen denied that request, saying it was unnecessary, and I was given a room within the royal palace immediately.
Aquilo found me crying in my new room that night. I’m sure he understood exactly what had taken place as the following days passed by and more and more information about my parents’ mission was revealed to me. I was positive that he had gone back to my house to look for me before realizing that things were never going to return to how they were.
Even as the Eden organization told me exactly what the agents on the same mission as my parents had seen that day, it didn’t lead me to any new ideas as to what they may have gotten into. My best guess was that an Abyss portal had taken them the same way it had released me. Was this retribution for what they had done when they secured such a blissful life for me?
"Alright, what if I just got macarons for the two of us?" I offered, checking for Aquilo’s approval.
He nodded, as if he was indifferent to the sentiment. Six years together and he was still the same as ever personality-wise, but I did notice he was by my side more. He used to roam outside for days and return at random intervals of time, but in the past two years, he hadn’t been gone for more than two days at a time. When he did leave, he made sure that I was taking note of his departure.
As we approached the macaron shop, I returned the smile the cashier gave me and ordered at the window. Blanc was sunny and warm today, and everyone was at their best as they enjoyed the weekend like any other.
Before long, I heard an uproar coming from the streets. As I turned my head towards the brick roads, I noticed about three Eden agents surrounding another agent.
"Listen, guys, I swear it’s true!" The surrounded agent proclaimed, holding his hands in front of him to distance himself from the rest of them.
"Don’t resist, Finn," one of the other agents warned, keeping his guard up. "Head back to HQ with us, and we’ll sort this out."
"Why don’t you believe me? I saw it happen with my own eyes!"
The volume of their conversation grew louder with each passing sentence, making it difficult for everyone not to redirect their attention and listen in.
"You just came out of an Abyss portal! You’re not making any sense," another agent on the defense expressed, trying to keep her voice down.
An Abyss portal? An Eden agent comes out of an Abyss portal and they recognize him? Is something like that possible?
The cashier from the macaron shop brought my pastries to the counter before whispering to me. "They’ve been at the potion shop since this morning."
"What’s been going on?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the group.
"Apparently, that middle man there saw something and has been trying to prove it as true. There’s no reason for any of those other agents to believe him, though."
Something he’s been trying to prove? It must’ve been something major if there was this much of a struggle to get him to cooperate with the rest of his comrades.
"Finn, come on, please. The time disturbances have affected you. You’re–"
"Don’t touch me!!"
With those threatening words, a few shards of ice manifested out of thin air and crashed in front of the agents before dissolving into particles and vanishing.
Bystanders nearby moved away from the scene, and even the macaron seller urged me to enter her shop. Yet, my feet stayed glued to the ground beneath me as I watched on.
"Manifestation magic?" I thought to myself. An agent using their power to harm when no threat was present was prohibited. Using it against other agents was an even worse offense in these circumstances.
"Look," Finn began, pulling a vial out of his back pocket and showing it off to the others.
"Poison?" One agent uttered, with confusion coloring his tone. "How did you get that? We’re not authorized to carry that outside of missions, and I didn’t see you–"
"It doesn’t matter how I got it, because now you guys will see what I mean."
As he loosely held that potion vial in front of his face, I could feel the panic heighten in the rest of the agents. What was it he wanted to prove? It was evident to me at this point why the Eden operatives didn’t simply lunge at him. If he hadn’t dissolved his manifestations in time, it would’ve genuinely hurt them.
Finn flicked the cap off of the vial and poured a bit onto the streets as everyone remaining within the area fixed their gazes with wide eyes. It felt like if one of us were to stir the focus away from what was occurring, we would become his next targets.
He suddenly jolted his wrist forward as the liquid flew, splattering all over an agent’s forearm. The fabric of his Eden uniform burned, and the concoction had begun to rip into his flesh.
"AAAHHHH!" The injured agent screamed out as he fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
"Come on, it’s different now," Finn calmly assured. "It heals you now, right?"
The tone of his voice was as serious as anyone’s could’ve been. It didn’t appear as though he was taunting them or toying with them. It was as if he sincerely believed in the words he was spewing. The question was: why?
Two of the remaining agents instantly targeted him with their magic, but their efforts did not reach past the barrier he manifested in response.
I then came back to my senses and noticed the hard tug on my sleeve that must’ve been ongoing since this whole thing started. Aquilo was trying his best to pull me away from the imminent danger, but even that didn’t convince me. The wind around my ankles picked up, forcefully drawing me further from the scene, but I swiftly used my time magic to freeze Aquilo’s efforts.
"Sorry, Aquilo," I began, making my way towards the commotion. "I have to do this!"
The culprit swiftly revealed two more poison bottles and flung their contents, leaving his colleagues with merely a split second to react with their powers, which I determined was going to be to no avail. Without a second thought, I raised my hand and concentrated my power, shutting my eyes to brace for any impact.
Silence met me after the fact, and as I opened my eyes, I observed that time had stopped, except now, the extent of it went above and beyond what I assumed I was capable of. Everything in front of me was frozen: the erratic man with the poison, the other Eden agents, the remaining bystanders, and even Aquilo.
Just like that, the scene was frozen, and I was relieved to see that the poison was still in midair and hadn’t reached its targets. With no certainty of how long I could keep this up, I quickly snatched the bottles from the man’s hand and safely collected the liquid. As I scooped up the last bit of it, I felt my grip on my powers faltering, and soon, I bounced back as time returned to its natural state.
"Huh? What?!" Finn exclaimed once he perceived that what he had seen just a moment ago was no longer true.
I breathed out heavily to calm myself, but I became aware that I had put myself in a very dangerous predicament.
"Hey, kid," one of the agents called out as she used her vine magic to shield me. "Stay back!"
The chatter from the citizens of Blanc began filling the immediate area, and it appeared like Finn was at a loss.
What just happened?
When did that girl show up?
The poison he threw is gone?
"You," the main man accused, closing in on the vine barrier and pulling out more vials from his shoe. "Did you want to see the effects of this with your own eyes too?"
Straightaway, he sloppily poured the poison onto the vines, liquifying them and causing the vine-using Eden agent to forcefully produce more. The other agent used his ice magic to freeze the vines from disintegrating further, but their combined abilities were no match for the manifestation ability.
As the vines cleared in front of me, he swiftly flung the contents of a vial in my direction, and with no time to be reluctant, I exerted my power with everything I had left. In a wink of time, the man froze, along with the poison that was only a few inches away from my face now.
The Eden agents and bystanders stood in shock, but before long, the vine-wielding agent proceeded towards me.
"Time magic?" She pondered, not in a questioning way, but as if she was thinking aloud.
I heard some panting behind me and recognized the wounded agent still kneeling on the ground with the other Eden agent beside him. I brought my hand up and froze the poison’s effects as much as I could. His painful cries halted almost instantly, and he looked at me in awe.
"Wait," the ice magic agent uttered as he got up from his colleague’s side. "Lacie Benoit?"
I didn’t get a good glimpse of this man’s face amidst the disorder, but now I realized that it was the same agent who broke the news to me two years ago. He appeared visibly older and even more exhausted than he was back then, but it was definitely him.
"Captain Florian," I greeted, noticing the new badge on his uniform.
"Benoit?" The injured agent on the floor called out as he slowly got to his feet.
The sound of wings flapping resounded behind me before I felt a weight settle on my shoulder. I glanced at Aquilo, noticing the fear in his eyes at what I’d done. The only thing I could think of doing was to give him a small smile, silently apologizing for my rash actions.
"You two head back to HQ first," Florian began, as he turned to his comrades. "I’ll wrap things up here."
Although the two of them hesitated, they obeyed the captain’s orders and went on their way. He calmly dispersed the crowd and cuffed Finn to avoid any future mishaps. And now, the spotlight was on me.
Thinking that he was about to reprimand me for using my magic to that extent, I braced myself.
"Time really is on your side, isn’t it?" He spoke, his tone not holding a hint of displeasure.
"I just did what I thought was right," I explained, not knowing where that level of power even originated from. "If I’m in trouble, please don’t involve the king and queen."
"Don’t worry, you saved us there, so I’ll let you off this once. We had our watches stored in our bags and didn’t consider that we would need to have them accessible this time."
The Eden pocket watches were given to every agent upon admission. It had the power to stop time briefly, but compared to someone with innate time powers, it seemed like child’s play.
As we spoke, I heard Finn’s time start moving again, and he spared no moment howling about.
"Let me out of this!! Florian, you son of a bitch! And you, with your time manipulation abilities! Can’t you see I’m trying to help?!"
With a wave of the captain’s hand, a muzzle made of ice covered Finn’s mouth, muffling any further nonsense he wanted to vocalize.
"Have you heard about the time disturbances?" The captain asked.
Time disturbances haven’t been talked about much in the city, but within inner circles, it was a prevalent topic.
"Only from what I’ve heard within the castle," I responded briefly.
"Keep this between us since you helped us out," he began, as he pointed behind him. "That guy back there came out of an Abyss portal a couple of days ago. He’s been claiming that poison from the shops can heal people."
"And Eden says that’s because of the time disturbances?"
"We’ve run all the tests we could on him, and everything from his brain functions to his body composition was normal. At this point, it’s the only viable explanation we have."
The king and queen have been talking about the time disturbances with city officials for a while now. From what I knew, they were anomalies within the world that didn’t follow what was generally known. Not that I knew exactly what that meant.
"Because your parents were Eden agents, I assume you know more about the Abyss than the average Blanc citizen," Captain Florian continued. "It appears that those who get lost in there and manage to come back remember a slightly different timeline than the one we know."
"Different timeline?"
"Finn back there thought poison could fix someone’s wound at HQ, and you saw how he hurt Caspian a few moments ago. No one sane does something like that unless they fully believe it to be true. And no one that comes out of the Abyss is sane themselves."
This man doesn’t know that my parents found me falling out of an Abyss portal, and I didn’t want to add fuel to the fire by debunking his belief. Nonetheless, it was shocking to hear the part about different timelines. A part of me did believe it, because no one knew for certain what the Abyss truly entailed.
"Captain, is that man the first person to come back from the Abyss?" I wondered, holding a glimmer of hope within me.
The captain sighed heavily before he answered my request.
"Yes, he’s the first that we know of," he started. "Lacie, I know it’s been hard with your parents-"
"No, it’s fine," I interrupted, not wanting to hear any more. "If there’s nothing else, may I please be excused?"
"Of course, thank you for your help again," he surrendered. "You just got accepted into the Academy, right? I’ll put in a good word for you with the headmaster."
"It’s fine. Like I said, I just acted as I saw fit, so there’s no need."
With my parting words of gratitude, we went our separate ways. I heard the culprit shouting meaningless things as he was dragged off, but I spared no moment to look back. I despised the selfish thoughts I was having, but why did that man get to return while my parents presumably perished in that endless void?
Even if they came back with delusional thoughts such as the ones he had, that was something they could recover from. Yet, the Abyss was unforgiving in so many ways. Could I save them from their fate if I was able to travel to different timelines? I think a chance like that would be enough.
I was exposed to a world I would've never gotten to know if it weren't for those unfortunate events. From that point on, the world of politics and luxury was in front of me. Gaining knowledge of those ways wasn't difficult or uncomfortable, and I managed to pick things up quickly enough to educate myself with my new life.
Like they had been when my parents were still here, the king and queen amiably took me in and gave me everything they could to ensure I wasn’t missing out on my childhood. Yet, some activities were meant for family members only, while others were meant for royals. Not that I felt excluded when those came into play; I understood that that was a reality worlds away from mine.
On this particular day, Aquilo and I were out and about in the city. I had no specific plans in mind, but because I’d recently passed the entrance exam at Blanc’s Academy of Magic, I wanted to splurge on a treat to celebrate. The king and queen had already held me a nice dinner, and Dante gifted me some potions that would help me retain my natural mana more efficiently the day before. Now, it was time for me to get myself something.
"Okay, so I’m thinking cinnamon rolls sound good, maybe?" I began, slowly pacing down the streets with Aquilo perched on my shoulder. "Or I think I have enough money to get macarons for everyone at the castle."
Since my familiar was a raven, he frankly couldn’t respond to me, but I felt as though I got the gist of what he was thinking even with the lack of verbal communication. After that sentence, I felt a slight peck on my shoulder.
"What?" I asked as I turned my face to look at him only to see him firmly shake his head. "You don’t think I should spend more than I should?"
He nodded once and left it at that, and we continued down the street to browse the rest of the pastries selection.
Back then, Eden offered to house me at HQ permanently, but the queen denied that request, saying it was unnecessary, and I was given a room within the royal palace immediately.
Aquilo found me crying in my new room that night. I’m sure he understood exactly what had taken place as the following days passed by and more and more information about my parents’ mission was revealed to me. I was positive that he had gone back to my house to look for me before realizing that things were never going to return to how they were.
Even as the Eden organization told me exactly what the agents on the same mission as my parents had seen that day, it didn’t lead me to any new ideas as to what they may have gotten into. My best guess was that an Abyss portal had taken them the same way it had released me. Was this retribution for what they had done when they secured such a blissful life for me?
"Alright, what if I just got macarons for the two of us?" I offered, checking for Aquilo’s approval.
He nodded, as if he was indifferent to the sentiment. Six years together and he was still the same as ever personality-wise, but I did notice he was by my side more. He used to roam outside for days and return at random intervals of time, but in the past two years, he hadn’t been gone for more than two days at a time. When he did leave, he made sure that I was taking note of his departure.
As we approached the macaron shop, I returned the smile the cashier gave me and ordered at the window. Blanc was sunny and warm today, and everyone was at their best as they enjoyed the weekend like any other.
Before long, I heard an uproar coming from the streets. As I turned my head towards the brick roads, I noticed about three Eden agents surrounding another agent.
"Listen, guys, I swear it’s true!" The surrounded agent proclaimed, holding his hands in front of him to distance himself from the rest of them.
"Don’t resist, Finn," one of the other agents warned, keeping his guard up. "Head back to HQ with us, and we’ll sort this out."
"Why don’t you believe me? I saw it happen with my own eyes!"
The volume of their conversation grew louder with each passing sentence, making it difficult for everyone not to redirect their attention and listen in.
"You just came out of an Abyss portal! You’re not making any sense," another agent on the defense expressed, trying to keep her voice down.
An Abyss portal? An Eden agent comes out of an Abyss portal and they recognize him? Is something like that possible?
The cashier from the macaron shop brought my pastries to the counter before whispering to me. "They’ve been at the potion shop since this morning."
"What’s been going on?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the group.
"Apparently, that middle man there saw something and has been trying to prove it as true. There’s no reason for any of those other agents to believe him, though."
Something he’s been trying to prove? It must’ve been something major if there was this much of a struggle to get him to cooperate with the rest of his comrades.
"Finn, come on, please. The time disturbances have affected you. You’re–"
"Don’t touch me!!"
With those threatening words, a few shards of ice manifested out of thin air and crashed in front of the agents before dissolving into particles and vanishing.
Bystanders nearby moved away from the scene, and even the macaron seller urged me to enter her shop. Yet, my feet stayed glued to the ground beneath me as I watched on.
"Manifestation magic?" I thought to myself. An agent using their power to harm when no threat was present was prohibited. Using it against other agents was an even worse offense in these circumstances.
"Look," Finn began, pulling a vial out of his back pocket and showing it off to the others.
"Poison?" One agent uttered, with confusion coloring his tone. "How did you get that? We’re not authorized to carry that outside of missions, and I didn’t see you–"
"It doesn’t matter how I got it, because now you guys will see what I mean."
As he loosely held that potion vial in front of his face, I could feel the panic heighten in the rest of the agents. What was it he wanted to prove? It was evident to me at this point why the Eden operatives didn’t simply lunge at him. If he hadn’t dissolved his manifestations in time, it would’ve genuinely hurt them.
Finn flicked the cap off of the vial and poured a bit onto the streets as everyone remaining within the area fixed their gazes with wide eyes. It felt like if one of us were to stir the focus away from what was occurring, we would become his next targets.
He suddenly jolted his wrist forward as the liquid flew, splattering all over an agent’s forearm. The fabric of his Eden uniform burned, and the concoction had begun to rip into his flesh.
"AAAHHHH!" The injured agent screamed out as he fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
"Come on, it’s different now," Finn calmly assured. "It heals you now, right?"
The tone of his voice was as serious as anyone’s could’ve been. It didn’t appear as though he was taunting them or toying with them. It was as if he sincerely believed in the words he was spewing. The question was: why?
Two of the remaining agents instantly targeted him with their magic, but their efforts did not reach past the barrier he manifested in response.
I then came back to my senses and noticed the hard tug on my sleeve that must’ve been ongoing since this whole thing started. Aquilo was trying his best to pull me away from the imminent danger, but even that didn’t convince me. The wind around my ankles picked up, forcefully drawing me further from the scene, but I swiftly used my time magic to freeze Aquilo’s efforts.
"Sorry, Aquilo," I began, making my way towards the commotion. "I have to do this!"
The culprit swiftly revealed two more poison bottles and flung their contents, leaving his colleagues with merely a split second to react with their powers, which I determined was going to be to no avail. Without a second thought, I raised my hand and concentrated my power, shutting my eyes to brace for any impact.
Silence met me after the fact, and as I opened my eyes, I observed that time had stopped, except now, the extent of it went above and beyond what I assumed I was capable of. Everything in front of me was frozen: the erratic man with the poison, the other Eden agents, the remaining bystanders, and even Aquilo.
Just like that, the scene was frozen, and I was relieved to see that the poison was still in midair and hadn’t reached its targets. With no certainty of how long I could keep this up, I quickly snatched the bottles from the man’s hand and safely collected the liquid. As I scooped up the last bit of it, I felt my grip on my powers faltering, and soon, I bounced back as time returned to its natural state.
"Huh? What?!" Finn exclaimed once he perceived that what he had seen just a moment ago was no longer true.
I breathed out heavily to calm myself, but I became aware that I had put myself in a very dangerous predicament.
"Hey, kid," one of the agents called out as she used her vine magic to shield me. "Stay back!"
The chatter from the citizens of Blanc began filling the immediate area, and it appeared like Finn was at a loss.
What just happened?
When did that girl show up?
The poison he threw is gone?
"You," the main man accused, closing in on the vine barrier and pulling out more vials from his shoe. "Did you want to see the effects of this with your own eyes too?"
Straightaway, he sloppily poured the poison onto the vines, liquifying them and causing the vine-using Eden agent to forcefully produce more. The other agent used his ice magic to freeze the vines from disintegrating further, but their combined abilities were no match for the manifestation ability.
As the vines cleared in front of me, he swiftly flung the contents of a vial in my direction, and with no time to be reluctant, I exerted my power with everything I had left. In a wink of time, the man froze, along with the poison that was only a few inches away from my face now.
The Eden agents and bystanders stood in shock, but before long, the vine-wielding agent proceeded towards me.
"Time magic?" She pondered, not in a questioning way, but as if she was thinking aloud.
I heard some panting behind me and recognized the wounded agent still kneeling on the ground with the other Eden agent beside him. I brought my hand up and froze the poison’s effects as much as I could. His painful cries halted almost instantly, and he looked at me in awe.
"Wait," the ice magic agent uttered as he got up from his colleague’s side. "Lacie Benoit?"
I didn’t get a good glimpse of this man’s face amidst the disorder, but now I realized that it was the same agent who broke the news to me two years ago. He appeared visibly older and even more exhausted than he was back then, but it was definitely him.
"Captain Florian," I greeted, noticing the new badge on his uniform.
"Benoit?" The injured agent on the floor called out as he slowly got to his feet.
The sound of wings flapping resounded behind me before I felt a weight settle on my shoulder. I glanced at Aquilo, noticing the fear in his eyes at what I’d done. The only thing I could think of doing was to give him a small smile, silently apologizing for my rash actions.
"You two head back to HQ first," Florian began, as he turned to his comrades. "I’ll wrap things up here."
Although the two of them hesitated, they obeyed the captain’s orders and went on their way. He calmly dispersed the crowd and cuffed Finn to avoid any future mishaps. And now, the spotlight was on me.
Thinking that he was about to reprimand me for using my magic to that extent, I braced myself.
"Time really is on your side, isn’t it?" He spoke, his tone not holding a hint of displeasure.
"I just did what I thought was right," I explained, not knowing where that level of power even originated from. "If I’m in trouble, please don’t involve the king and queen."
"Don’t worry, you saved us there, so I’ll let you off this once. We had our watches stored in our bags and didn’t consider that we would need to have them accessible this time."
The Eden pocket watches were given to every agent upon admission. It had the power to stop time briefly, but compared to someone with innate time powers, it seemed like child’s play.
As we spoke, I heard Finn’s time start moving again, and he spared no moment howling about.
"Let me out of this!! Florian, you son of a bitch! And you, with your time manipulation abilities! Can’t you see I’m trying to help?!"
With a wave of the captain’s hand, a muzzle made of ice covered Finn’s mouth, muffling any further nonsense he wanted to vocalize.
"Have you heard about the time disturbances?" The captain asked.
Time disturbances haven’t been talked about much in the city, but within inner circles, it was a prevalent topic.
"Only from what I’ve heard within the castle," I responded briefly.
"Keep this between us since you helped us out," he began, as he pointed behind him. "That guy back there came out of an Abyss portal a couple of days ago. He’s been claiming that poison from the shops can heal people."
"And Eden says that’s because of the time disturbances?"
"We’ve run all the tests we could on him, and everything from his brain functions to his body composition was normal. At this point, it’s the only viable explanation we have."
The king and queen have been talking about the time disturbances with city officials for a while now. From what I knew, they were anomalies within the world that didn’t follow what was generally known. Not that I knew exactly what that meant.
"Because your parents were Eden agents, I assume you know more about the Abyss than the average Blanc citizen," Captain Florian continued. "It appears that those who get lost in there and manage to come back remember a slightly different timeline than the one we know."
"Different timeline?"
"Finn back there thought poison could fix someone’s wound at HQ, and you saw how he hurt Caspian a few moments ago. No one sane does something like that unless they fully believe it to be true. And no one that comes out of the Abyss is sane themselves."
This man doesn’t know that my parents found me falling out of an Abyss portal, and I didn’t want to add fuel to the fire by debunking his belief. Nonetheless, it was shocking to hear the part about different timelines. A part of me did believe it, because no one knew for certain what the Abyss truly entailed.
"Captain, is that man the first person to come back from the Abyss?" I wondered, holding a glimmer of hope within me.
The captain sighed heavily before he answered my request.
"Yes, he’s the first that we know of," he started. "Lacie, I know it’s been hard with your parents-"
"No, it’s fine," I interrupted, not wanting to hear any more. "If there’s nothing else, may I please be excused?"
"Of course, thank you for your help again," he surrendered. "You just got accepted into the Academy, right? I’ll put in a good word for you with the headmaster."
"It’s fine. Like I said, I just acted as I saw fit, so there’s no need."
With my parting words of gratitude, we went our separate ways. I heard the culprit shouting meaningless things as he was dragged off, but I spared no moment to look back. I despised the selfish thoughts I was having, but why did that man get to return while my parents presumably perished in that endless void?
Even if they came back with delusional thoughts such as the ones he had, that was something they could recover from. Yet, the Abyss was unforgiving in so many ways. Could I save them from their fate if I was able to travel to different timelines? I think a chance like that would be enough.