"Alright, since we've all calmed down… let's talk."
We all sat in a circle, and all of us had varying expressions on our faces. This was a matter of utmost seriousness, and as such it needed to be handled with the utmost care.
"H-hey, I already apologized. You don't need to throw more shade at me." Ciara mumbled, most likely feeling guilty because of my opening address.
"It was just a general announcement. No need to take it personally." I sighed.
I hadn't even meant it to be personal, but I could understand why she would think that. Still, with everything going on, it was better to focus on the most important subject.
What happened to everyone here… and how could we get them back?
"Ah, my bad. Please proceed."
With Ciara's kind 'go ahead', I resumed the address, taking a moment to observe the countenance of everyone present.
The one with the most troubled expression, who also seemed to be deep in thought, was Kuzon.
"Kuzon, what is Leo saying about this?" I asked.
Having a Constellation—no, two—on our side had its perks. If were to begin investigating, the best way to start would be to ask them.
Kuzon stared at me for a few seconds before sighing and shaking his head.
"Nothing. I haven't been able to contact him since arriving here."
"What?" My eyes twitched the moment I heard that.
"It's the same for me. Aries hasn't been responding to me at all."
What was happening here? Not only was everyone missing, but now the Constellations weren't even present to answer our queries.
It could only mean one thing at this point.
"We're on our own, it seems."
There was no point moping around or beating around the bush. As curious as I was about the absence of the Constellations, I couldn't let it distract us from the current problem.
"Does anyone have any hypothesis they'd like to share with everyone else here?" I asked, staring at everyone present.
The one to raise his hand first was Edward, and he had a grim expression that matched the present situation perfectly.
"What if this is because of Legris? I mean, he sent us to various places, right? What of the rest? Maybe he did something to everyone else?"
That was perhaps the worst-case scenario, and I too had thought of something like that happening. But… there was a reason I dismissed it.
"That wouldn't make any sense. Neron would have been able to foresee something like that occurring. So, if it was part of his plan to have us vanish, he would have done something about everyone else."
The moment I responded, however, another problem popped into my mind.
"Why didn't Neron say anything if this was a part of his plan?" This time, Kuzon was the one who spoke.
I knew he would be able to instantly notice the problem with my explanation model.
"That is the mystery, isn't it? But considering how he didn't inform us of anything the first time, isn't it possible that it could be the same now?"
Kuzon's doubtful stare greeted me instantly. I could see some of his distrust for Neron rising, and with the mere fact that he couldn't see anyone still left in our world, those feelings were compounded.
At this point, even I couldn't defend Neron.
"Jared, if this is all going according to Neron's plans, I doubt our friends are dead. The problem is that he would have said something about this when we last saw him. Since he didn't say anything, we should probably consider the possibility that—"
"That what, Kuzon? Our friends and families are gone?" Aloe Vida was the one who spoke up this time, and she had a look of disbelief at the meaning Kuzon was trying to convey.
"Neron isn't absolute, Vida. He is capable of making mistakes. It's possible there was a force out of his control that interfered. We can't be so close-minded as to simply chalk everything down to his plans."
Kuzon had good points, as usual. However, I could tell that he too would prefer all of this to be one of Neron's unspoken schemes.
At least, that way we would be guaranteed of the safety of our loved ones.
While everything played out, Ciara was silent, and so was Edward for most of it. For the former, I didn't think she had anything she wanted to say, and as for the latter, he was probably trying not to imagine the worst.
As I juggled all of these thoughts and possibilities in mind, Kuzon's voice interrupted me.
"What do you think, Jared?"
The gaze of everyone was on me again, and I sighed in contemplation. After a while of thinking, an idea suddenly popped into my mind.
'Why didn't I think of this before?' My eyes widened slightly.
A smile formed on my face as I stared at my audience. If I used this method, then even if we couldn't completely solve the problem, we could understand the root cause.
"I'm going to see into the past using [The Hermit]."
I could hear surprised gasps from everyone, and that was to be expected. The moment they heard of it, they must have realized how incredibly viable that option was and wondered why they weren't the ones who thought of it.
"Can you do that?" Kuzon asked, narrowing his eyes. I could see flickers of doubt and caution embedded in his eyes.
"Not sure. I've never tried it before, but I should know how it works in theory." My response was curt, and I began to imagine the possibilities.
Considering the fact that the wedding site was almost the same as we left it, with a small difference marking at least some passage of time, I estimated a couple of months—at most—had passed since our sudden departure.
'If it's only that long, I should be able to manage.'
All the unused Aether in the environment was mine to command. Plus, I had more than enough stockpiled energy within me.
The main problem was navigating through a concept as complex as time. However, this wouldn't be my first time using [The Hermit], so I had gotten used to its mechanics.
'What did Neron call that Magic again…?' With focused eyes and a determined face, I braced myself for my travel into the past.
Ah, that's right! I remembered now.
"[Time Immersion]."
*
*
*
[A/N]
What truth will the travel into the past reveal? More hope, or greater despair?
Read more to find out.
