Chapter 40: Ways Out
Adwyrma snarled and threw her gray blade at them, but Tollvard Rhamsolk simply snapped his fingers and the blade melted into drops that splattered harmlessly across the floor. The initial spell had quenched Wynchard's flames and Suria realized again that, even if these two older students were stronger than her, the gulf between them and full professors was impossibly larger.
For a moment everyone paused and Suria's eyes desperately moved around the room, trying to gather what information she could. Tollvard Rhamsolk stood at the front of the professors, his statue-like body gleaming in the shadows. Lia Huen Rei stood behind him, more curious than upset. Suria didn't know much about him, but she recognized Nulphus Abouric as the Throne of Naturalism, holding back with a slight frown on his face. Zaasif Drazen floated a pace behind them, eyes narrow, while Slagterwese was just catching up, hobbling on a gnarled cane.
"What is going on here?" Professor Rhamsolk demanded. "Who killed her?"
"Dammit, the cycle is lost." Adwyrma raised a hand to her chin, forming a knife as if she intended to slit her own throat without hesitation.
But acting "without hesitation" wasn't enough against opponents like this. Somehow in an instant both Wynchard and Adwyrma had silver bands of metal wrapping around their bodies, binding them in place. Once it would have been too fast for Suria to understand anything, but now she could catch up with the flow of mana: she realized that Professor Huen had conjured the metal in order to bind them.
This was clearly a disaster and Suria was haunted by memories of Lirngelf being ruthlessly eliminated. It might be better if a madwoman like Adwyrma was eliminated, but Suria didn't want to see Wynchard die. All that was protecting them at the moment was the fact that the professors didn't know the full situation and wouldn't - at least in this case - murder students.
Flames lit up in Wynchard's eyes... and then died out. His body sagged in the silvery bonds, already a corpse.
"Oh, you bastard!" Adwyrma thrashed and tried to grow her blade long enough to kill herself, but once again it melted away.
"Shame that Frunah left," Slagterwese said mildly. "Don't think I can restore internal collapse like that."
"Who would kill themselves so immediately?" Professor Rhamsolk pondered. "Spies?"
"I recognize them as third year students." Professor Abouric stepped closer to Wynchard's body, examining it thoughtfully. "No, I think... Rije, move the students out of harm's way, if you please."
Rije gave a curt nod and took both Suria and Maut-mai by the arms, ready to escort them out. This was so far beyond any scenario Suria had experienced before or properly considered, she had no idea what to do.
It seemed likely that Wynchard's suicide would trigger more suspicion, which could be disastrous. Suria would have been happy to let the professors eliminate Adwyrma, except they might try to gather information first, and if Adwyrma pointed at her next, she was dead. Yet killing Adwyrma first would mark her as guilty, if the professors didn't intercept her spells before they even arrived.
In the end, any decision she might have made was irrelevant, because Suria wasn't the first to act. Because she was standing on the opposite side of the group, she actually saw it first: Professor Drazen took a shuddering breath and then attacked.
Once the battle between archmages had been so fast that Suria couldn't comprehend any of it. While she was still outclassed, now as the spells flooded through the corridor, she could grasp the basics: Professor Drazen had definitely cast first, sending a lethal spell toward the back of Professor Abouric. In this cycle, at least, he had intentionally struck first from behind.
"Come on!" Rije dragged her away from the chaos of the battle and Suria could only stare, trying to absorb as much as she could.
One fact was obvious to her: all the professors were using some variation of what Orinyan had called the mage's star, allowing them to think and act more quickly. Most of the magic was just terrifying to her, but she could feel the tug of time magic in her stomach as they began to fight.
There was no "time department", but it seemed like every single one of them had at least some proficiency with time magic. In theory the time loop could have been caused by any of them, or even potentially none of them.
Rije pulled her away quickly, so Suria only had seconds to try to absorb what she could from the battle. The initial spell had been the equivalent of a knife in the back, but it hadn't worked, because Professor Abouric had survived. After that the fight became chaotic, with so many archmages casting against one another in such a small space. Suria thought she saw a spell pierce Adwyrma's bound body and she had no idea whether it was intentional or an accident, a simple death or a soul kill.
But Suria saw one thing clearly: Professor Drazen cast a spell from his runebook and the spells moving toward him simply stopped. Not as if they had been frozen or blocked, but as if time no longer ran for them. The beauty of that spell was entrancing and Suria strained toward it even as she was pulled back.
"What's going on?" Maut-mai wailed as they tried to escape. Her voice pulled Suria back to her senses and she started walking properly so that Rije wouldn't have to drag her with his injured arm.
"Let's just get out," the guard told them. "This is faculty business."
"But who were those lunatics? And why are the professors fighting each other?"
"There's nothing we can do about it. Just come with me."
Even though they were moving at a half-run, the battle between the professors was so accelerated that it was expanding faster. Suria was relieved when they fled through the western door, because she was beginning to see the walls spiraling apart behind them. On the outside she saw the wards shudder, barely able to contain even the secondary effects of the professors' spells, but she finally had something between her and the deadly effects.
"Okay, stay here," Rije said, and he turned back.
"Wait!" Suria grabbed his arm. "You're going back in? You'll die!"
"There's an old woman doing research," Rije told her. "She might live if someone helps her."
Though Suria tried to hold him, her physical strength was nothing compared to Rije's and he pulled away from her, marching back into the door. Suria grabbed her force talisman, wondering if she would actually cast to try to save his life, and never got a chance to make her choice.
An explosion erupted in the exit hall and the flames escaped through the door, encompassing Rije. Even several steps away, Suria felt the blast singe her hair and she cried out in despair as she saw Rije fall backward, once again horribly burned.
No, she couldn't let this happen again. When there wasn't another explosion, Suria ran forward to pull Rije further away. He was surprisingly heavy in his armor and she realized that she should have tried to use her force spell, though her thoughts were too frazzled for careful control. To her shock, Maut-mai appeared beside her, helping her drag Rije onto the grass.
They didn't get far before they all fell together, strained and exhausted. Suria glanced nervously toward the hall and its shuddering wards, since that wasn't much defense, but in the end she stayed.
"Live," Suria murmured under her breath as she cast her best healing spells over Rije. He had been horribly burned and his armor didn't seem to have done much good, but the injuries weren't as severe as those she'd seen before.
"Is there anything I can do?" Maut-mai asked from the other side, fidgeting anxiously. "I don't know any healing spells..."
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"Do you have any kind of mana potion?" Suria asked, as if she didn't already know.
"Oh, I have this!" Maut-mai pulled her runic potion from her bag and Suria drank it as soon as she finished casting her spells.
She had a feeling that it wouldn't be enough, no matter what she did. Increasing her runic capacity a little wasn't enough for her to create a spell with better inscriptions, if Rije could even survive that long. Everything she'd done so far had reduced his pain at best, not stabilized him. Perhaps if she had spent more time studying healing she could have found an answer, but with the tools available to her, she thought he was going to die again.
Tears welling up her eyes, Suria kept casting even though she knew it was useless. She'd known Rije had died in most previous cycles, but it hurt to see it happen right in front of her. Should she use the rest of her mana on pain relief spells and at least ease his passing?
"Step aside," a quiet voice said. "I'll take it from here."
Frunah Gwaslos stood just behind them and Suria scrambled out of the way as the professor began to cast. Soft light grew in her hand, immensely powerful and yet gentle, then floated down into Rije's body. As soon as it touched his chest, he let out a gasp and his body arched as the healing magic coursed through him. Suria watched in awe as burned flesh healed itself, a wave of restoration sweeping across his body and leaving him whole again.
When it was done he sagged back, as if the process had exhausted him. It was the most powerful healing spell Suria had ever seen, but it must have taken a physical toll.
Even through the relief, part of Suria's mind kept working and she understood what must have happened. In the original timeline, Professor Gwaslos had rejected whatever they were discussing at the meeting and left about half-way through, but Adwyrma's attack had interrupted them early. However things had played out in the basement, Professor Gwaslos must not have departed entirely.
"Now tell me," the professor said, "just what happened here?"
"Oh, it was terrible!" Maut-mai rose and grabbed her robes desperately. "There was this madwoman and she was fighting and then the other professors just... just..."
Suria rose as well, wiping her tears with her sleeve. For just a little while she had been filled with relief that Rije wouldn't die this time, but now she became aware of just how dangerous this situation was. Maut-mai's hysterics were actually doing an excellent job of covering for her, but eventually Suria was going to be questioned as well.
If she'd had an effective method of committing suicide, the safe option would have been to use it now. She judged that was impossible, especially with Professor Gwaslos standing beside her: even if Suria cast a spell directly against her head, the professor might be able to save her before she actually died, and that would condemn her as a looper.
Pain stabbed into Suria's stomach and she felt the wave of gray death before it crashed into the wards. They actually shattered this time: fragments of mana cascaded throughout campus and stones were blown from Convocation Hall. That alone might have been lethal, but Professor Gwaslos shielded all three of them without apparent effort.
Afterward the hall went still... except that Suria could feel powerful sources of mana moving within. If the battle played out like it had on previous cycles, all the professors would be alive except for Zaasif Drazen. Except this time, there was no hope of containing the conspiracy within Convocation Hall and she had no idea what would happen.
Professor Rhamsolk was the first to appear, his marble skin actually marred for the first time she had ever seen: a crack ran through his torso. It didn't seem to bother him as he casually walked toward them, his molten gold eyes flickering over the group. Was it her imagination, or did they fixate on Suria?
He was followed soon after by Professor Abouric, who was holding his ruined hat, and Professor Huen, who had a line of blood across her cheek. They didn't look much worse for the wear, given the battle they had just been through, and Suria wondered if they had been working together. Then again, the professors had all made peace enough to attend the feast together on other cycles, so she probably shouldn't jump to conclusions.
"The other attacker died," Professor Huen said flatly. "I cannot be certain whether or not it was intentional."
"Should we be discussing this in front of students?" Professor Gwaslos asked.
"They're not innocents." Professor Rhamsolk shifted and now he was definitely looking at Suria. "Just what were you doing in there?"
"I'm here for my interview," Suria said weakly, pulling out her paperwork as if that could shield her.
"Of course you were. We already have two false students sabotaging Darkmoon, what's a third? Let's get Slagterwese to strip their minds until they tell us everything."
"That seems extreme," Professor Gwaslos said. "We should simply question them first."
"We've already seen that the spies are willing to kill themselves the second they get a chance. Standing here talking about it is a mistake."
A choking sound interrupted the conversation between professors and Rije pushed himself up with one elbow. It looked like he could barely keep his eyes open, but he managed to rise to one knee and bowed in front of the thrones.
"I saw most of it," he reported in a ragged voice. "These two students were here first, waiting for proctor Shuguja. Then the other two students broke inside, fighting one another. I'm sorry, I don't remember everything they said. But these two were just caught up in it, and I almost lost my life trying to evacuate them."
Suria held her breath as the professors considered this, trying not to look guilty as the archmages scrutinized her. She didn't think her performance had been perfect, and someone who had watched her consistently would probably have noticed incongruities. But Rije's testimony was apparently enough, because Professor Rhamsolk stopped looming so threateningly.
"Then should we move them to the medical ward?" Professor Gwaslos suggested.
"No," Professor Abouric said quietly, "they're already part of this. That could be useful."
"What do you mean?" Professor Huen narrowed her eyes to slits as she spoke, but Professor Abouric simply shrugged off her suspicion.
Even though it seemed her life had been saved, Suria still struggled to breathe due to the intensity of the air around her. This meeting could be critical and she doubted that she could arrange events like this again, even if she wanted to. What did she know and what effect could she possibly have?
Four thrones here outside the building, and they had spoken about Professor Slagterwese as if she was still alive, so she might be injured, or perhaps inside taking other actions. No mention of Professor Drazen and she definitely wasn't going to raise the question since this version of Suria shouldn't even know who he was. They most likely had a very clear idea that time magic had been active and she might be able to find out just how much they knew.
"Maybe they'll be useful, maybe not." Professor Rhamsolk turned to the others and folded his arms with a clink of marble. "Leave them, then. What do we actually know?"
"Two students assaulted Convocation Hall," Professor Abouric said, "killed needlessly, and then committed suicide when captured. Spies or saboteurs would not have behaved so recklessly. On the other hand, such actions are fully compatible with actors who believe they're in a time loop and want to acquire information at any cost."
"Bah, that still seems far-fetched to me. Zaasif was talking about forbidden time magic, but it was a proposal, not something he could have done alone."
"I'm not so sure," Professor Gwaslos said. "He framed it that way, yes, but you know Zaasif. He wouldn't take a risk like that if he didn't have a contingency, and what greater contingency than a loop?"
"Why wouldn't he use it on himself?" Professor Rhamsolk demanded. "If he'd already taken steps for a ritual, it makes no sense to target random students instead. You really think Zaasif would do that?"
"There's still the fundamental mana cost problem," Professor Abouric pointed out. This seemed to mean something to the other professors, who nodded thoughtfully, but it was meaningless to Suria. She stayed silent, hoping they wouldn't change their minds about having this conversation in front of students.
After a pause, Professor Huen spoke up quietly. "We could hypothesize numerous answers," she said. "He might not have been able to create a ritual for himself. This could be a secondary contingency. He might have been dying or anticipated his death. What matters now is that we have evidence to suggest that we've already moved through a sixth dimensional loop multiple times. We may not be in these circumstances again, so we need to take action now."
"I was thinking the same thing," Professor Abouric agreed. "Either we uncover Zaasif's ritual or, at minimum, find more of his agents. They're aware of soul killing magic, so either they were prepared for this, or some have been eliminated in past cycles. If we've been observed in past cycles, we can assume our normal actions will be anticipated, so we need to act indirectly." He gestured down at Suria and she swallowed. "So why not recruit them?"
"Us?" Maut-mai gasped, saving Suria the trouble of a response. "I don't... I don't know what any of this is! I'm certainly not attending Darkmoon after almost being killed!"
"You don't have a choice," Professor Rhamsolk told her, and Maut-mai flinched back.
"Peace," Professor Gwaslos said, raising her long sleeves by them almost like a shield. "I agree we can't let information leak, but I won't let you further traumatize innocent bystanders."
"What about me?" Rije asked grimly. He looked like he was overwhelmed by all this and clinging to a sense of formality. "I want to help Darkmoon, but this seems... a bit beyond me."
"This isn't going to be about strength." Professor Abouric smiled gently and knelt to one knee on the grass beside them. "We have criminals treating our timeline like a game, and judging from what we saw, they're ruthless. What we need now are people who can help us hunt them down. Are you willing to help?"
"Of course." Rije put a fist to his chest and lowered his head. "Just tell me what to do."
"And you?" Professor Abouric turned to Suria. "I imagine this isn't what you hoped when you came to Darkmoon, but you've shown remarkable resilience in the face of adversity. And now, you have an opportunity to bring justice to those who harmed you. Will you help us?"
Suria instinctively smiled when facing an authority figure, since this was just another situation where she didn't have a real choice. Regardless of what she attempted to do in these new circumstances, there were too many risks involved in refusing. One thing was clear: this cycle wasn't going to be anything like the others.
"Yes," Suria said. "Of course I'll help."