Chapter 309: Running out of time [2]

After a brief massive lore drop from Chronos, Rachel, and her crew fell silent from their predicament. At this point, who wouldn’t panic? They’ve just been told that even Chronos himself is being restricted. Hearing that statement made everyone understand they only have a limited number of retries before this time loop ceases

“God damn, our lady’s ex was a real doozy. Why did he have to pull a freaking plot twist? The good guys are evil what are then-”

“Shut up Hugh! Now’s not the time for some idle chatter don’t you think? Lives are at stake, and by that, I meant the Timekeepers!!!” Sandra tolerated him long enough until she finally blew a fuse and bombarded him with her complaints

“Sandra, pipe the fuck down! You nutjobs might trigger an alarm or something. We can’t risk dying an unavoidable death-”

Just before the group could hear another word from Daniel they died from an orbital strike imbued with Heavenly aura. The magnitude of the attack devoured the entrance and left anything in its way to a crisp, including Rachel and her gang. Time once again moved in their favor and the first thing they did upon recovering was to run away from the entrance

“Shit!!!” Daniel punches the ground in his fit of rage and glares at his comrades who he glares with a passion for slaughter

“Daniel-”

“You fucking idiots!!! Did you see that? One reversal went just because of the stupidity of you two! I told you to shut the fuck up!”

“We didn’t mean to-” Hugh tries to justify their actions but he stops the moment he sees Daniel reaching for his spear the moment he explains

“You don’t get it, do you? It was obvious! She had us in the beginning. Why do you think she easily found us in the first place?”

Daniel wasn’t wrong to assume the entrance was rigged, having the workshop breach once was enough for Deus to act. Although Rachel, Jin, and Airis retrieved Shin that momentary victory of theirs bore seeds of malice waiting for it to bloom. It paves the way for Deus ex-machina to take control of the workshop and govern it with her authority making it impenetrable

“That’s enough!!!” Everyone including the furious and uptight Daniel fell silent with just a word from Rachel paired with her depressing tone

“It’s none of your fault. I should’ve anticipated this but it seems I underestimated the enemy. I thought it was just a computer but with how it acts it feels similar to being alive,”

[You’re not far off there, Rachel. Although their origins came from machines they were designed to be gods. Just knowing that means that these things would one day become independent enough to think for themselves]

’Oh dear, my worst fear is coming to life. But even this is doable. Give me the textbook and tell me how many reversals are left,’

[System: The player’s contracted deity, [The One Who Bend’s Time] is using its authority to bring forth a relic to the trials!

Fleeting Diary: A tattered book that stores the memory of the person deemed worthy to be the ’Warden Of Time’

Outcome: The memories of past regressions stored within the book violently shake upon feeling the player’s presence!]

“Open Recent logs; Workshop battle. Grant the following; Map, Controls, and Traps. Allow viewing to those I permitted,”

{[… Processing request….]}

{[Identity confirmed! Title; Warden Of Time. Contractor; Rachel Ainsley. Role; Chosen Vessel Of Creator]}

{[Request permitted! Selected memories are now being displayed. Viewing of the third party is now implemented…]}

A bundle of chains burst from within the book which aimed for the hearts of everyone in its range to insert Rachel’s memories. Knowledge concerning the weaponized workshop flooded their minds as well as the return of Ainsley’s memories. As for the reason she seals her memories, the human mind can’t handle her timeless experience thus forcing her to seal it away

[Rachel… can you hear me?]

’What?’

[Well… you see…]

’Oh shit,’

In the middle of transferring her sealed memories, her focus was taken when she heard the voice of her deity. His tone varies from his usual careless manner which went to a worrisome omen as the glimmer in his tone fades. Rachel easily followed through with his demeanor and broke from her usual blank mug as she began to shake

[Don’t worry… I have this all under control. However, I didn’t expect I’d be that restricted. Turning back time with all of you was a fluke]

’What do you mean?’

[I’m saying is that if they die I can’t bring them back. I can only send you back in time. So if they die-]

’Geez, stop explaining everything, will ya? I know what you mean. They won’t remember everything up till this point in time,’

[That’s not even the worst part]

’What could possibly make this worse?’

[Rachel… Deus isn’t playing here. Although she isn’t physically at the workshop her authority is absolute. If I have to try and brute force my way in so you could rewind time you’ll only have three charges at most. The chance of you reaching the other side is low, and the security gets worse the more you go in, you’ll have to do it]

Rachel knew what her deity meant. The reason why she nurtures the people within her circle. Was so she has a scapegoat. A pawn in the grand scheme of things, a sacrifice fly so she can open a new path in this never-ending loop. Yet she froze, being a regressor meant she was willing to do anything to win, but it’s also the reason why she can’t

’Damn it… am I really a regressor? Killing them off should be easy. But why… is it the hardest decision I’d ever make?’

Although she was a Regressor, Rachel had her memories sealed every time she died and regressed anew. The only thing she can’t forget is her purpose, her identity, and the people whom she’ll scout to become a valuable piece. Without any background, she had to interact with them and care for them, and thus her pawns became a weakness in itself

[I’m sorry but that’s the best I could offer]

Rachel clenched her fist, and in her fit of rage, she didn’t notice that her nails dug through her soft and delicate skin. It didn’t take long for this band of misfits to formulate a plan with the added knowledge they gained from her diary. Rachel’s group once again reached the entrance but they eventually split once they stumble upon different paths

’Having everyone gathered as one is us asking for a one-way trip to the netherworld; it might sound stupid, but it’s not. From my memories, it seems this workshop is equipped with a tech that alerts its owner of any would-be intruders. As long as we’re not gathered, our body’s natural leakage of mana wouldn’t trigger the alarms as long as we control its flow,’

[Behind you!!!]

Rachel leaps from her previous spot, and upon gracefully landing with her feet, she spots a hound model of a golem. Its red eyes and black coloring stood out as it foretells the arrival of a dark and bloody future waiting ahead. It wasted no time and pounced right before its prey and Rachel mimicked her foe and rushed forth as well

“Chrono-Blades!!!” Dual blades appeared at her unoccupied hands and as their collision was nearing its peak Rachel disappeared

“Chrono-Shift,”

Time seemingly reversed, but the one affected was herself, rewinding her to the moment she escaped the golem’s ambush. Her current location was on top; she arrived at the moment she leaped to avoid her demise and now uses it as her way of countering. The blade in her left hand strikes the golem in its back although it reveals her spot she drives the blade in her right

“Enemy detected!!!” The golem’s tail contracts revealing a sharp and pointy blade which it thrusts and aims for Rachel’s neck

“Were you built with a bunch of scraps? My computer ran faster than this. Or is it an unforeseen technical difficulty?” The golem’s tail was so slow that even Rachel needn’t worry about dodging and just tilted her head the avoid the tip

“What does it feel like to abide by time?”

She retrieved her dual blades and severed its tail, and as the golem noticed the loss of its weapon, it began to shake her off. But that didn’t work as it intended as well, everything it tried to do had no impact from the moment it was struck by her blade. The Golem then realizes the truth, it lets out a smoke to blind her, and it manages to escape in the process but to no avail-

“I guess you caught on to my little trick?” Did it work, in its rear, the golem was then struck by Rachel’s blade, and it was revealed that anyone struck would have their time slowed

“Let’s get this over with,” She retrieved her blades, and upon stating the golem’s demise she uttered the very word that would allow her to do so

“Fast-forward!”

She disappeared for a split second and reappeared at the golem’s head as she gently tapped its nose, causing everything to fall apart. Although Rachel eliminated the threat harboring her life, she didn’t fully wreck the golem and left its core untattered. She deciphered its coding and found the algorithm had changed being nearly a hundred times harder than she had decoded

’Looks like she even raraisesefenses here as well. I guess having the workshop turn on her really pissed her off. I need to find another way, hold on, why didn’t I think of this? The power generators. If itit’sead then even with fer authority she’ll have to use divine power just to make everything work,’

“Everyone I found something. Meet me back at the enentranceThis is important it might even cause the downfall-”

Rachel quickly turned off her communicator as more than five seconds had passed, and she knew what that had meant. All of them were either lazy to pick and answer their comms and the second was their dead and incapable of answering. The latter was the most probable as she instructed her group to answer the moment she spoke, and if they were late no more than five seconds

“They’re… dead?”

[They are…]

“Tell me… if I regress now will Deus know we rewind time? Will she have any recollection of what I do at this time?”

[If it were everyone then she might. But if it’s you, someone with my blessing and protection… then the answer is no]

“Perfect…” She wielded her pocket watch and time reversed sending Rachel back to the time they received her memories

[{Faulty Pocketwatch} – A timepiece that moves Counter-clockwise endowed by a divine force of unknown origins

{1•} Fleeting moment – Returns the user back to a point in time which was previously recorded by the wielder. Charges left: 2]

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