Sat on a bench in a park, myself and the raven perched next to me observed the four year-old Arthur Moonleaf. As he struggled to realise that he had travelled back in time to his fourth birthday as his mother handed him a toy sword of crude wood.
"So time went back to this point." I muttered. Glad it hadn't gone back any further.
It would have gotten troublesome having to fix the Limit Prodigal and the Choice Prodigal's souls repeatedly to stop them exploding fromClarity's soul fragments fusing with them. This point in time while far back is quite preferable to anything else.
Staring at Arthur with a squint Thorn tilted his bird head, "is that the kralscell of memory's blessing on him i see?" Thorn asked.
[skill: astral third eye - observation]
Observing the energy flow around the four-year-old i could see a thin stream of aether leading out from the planet likely to wherever the kralscell of memory's is at this very moment.
"Yeah, by the looks of it." Spreading my arms across the bench i got comfy. "Looks like Arthur became her emanator before he died in the first timeline and thats carried over through the regression like his memories despite losing everything else. Though the connection is so weak he's no more than a lesser incarnation of her power currently. Like a regular god or transcendent's evangelist."
"So he's still a normal human currently." Thorn simplified.
"For now. Its not a proper connection but through the regressions its safe to say Arthur will turn into a true emanator of a Kralscell gradually." Tilting my head at the same angle as Thorn to observe the child a little more I then said, "I'd say about five-thousand regressions would be needed with how infinitesimal the connection currently is."
Thinking for a moment Thorn wore a worried expression. "You think she has memories as well?"
"Betting it depends on her connections depth to Arthur." I said matter of factly with a wave of my arm. "The Kralscell of memory's powers can manipulate time better than anyone else, but regression on such a vast scale to encompass the universe is beyond their authorities."
"It's only possible thanks to the throne of fate's power resting in the Fate Prodigal. As the regressions continue and the connection between them strengthens her ability to remember each regression will turn from vague feelings and dreams into misplaced memories before becoming full retention of each timeline."
Mentally drained Thorn huffed trying to keep up with all the theories and guesses. Pushing his tail-feathers between the short horns above his misty eyes the raven asked, "How long until Clarity notices?"
"Probably part of their plan if I'm being honest. Already know in all likelihood." I shrugged.
"Think they noticed that you're immune to the regressions?" Thorn questioned.
"Likely betted on it." Thinking for an exaggerated moment i explained why. "....Clarity already revealed they failed the great salvation once before. Long before any of the current Clarified Sinner's were in their service. The Erroneous Virtues definitely had something to do with it. Hence why Clarity is so desperate for it to succeed this time. Even giving the three prodigal the failsafe measure known as Arthur in case one died."
"That being the fact that the infant over there will reset the entire universe to this point in time upon death." After Thorn said it he noticed just how over the top the safety measure was. "Is there really even a need for the other two prodigals to even have safety measures when that smooth brain juggernaut over there dying can screw everything up?"
"Clarity has been patient for potentially billions of eons, Thorn. A few thousand years is a couple seconds compared to that to them."
Becoming silent Thorn and I both watched the infant Arthur Moonleaf get surprised as his rich cousins came by to bully him. Just like a scheduled event in a story before he swiftly handled it with the skills of his past life.
Having a thought the question of why we never heard anything about Laegii's pilgrimage become a curious topic to me.
In the future I remember exalted beings from all corners of the universe were watching the
Not a random nameless soldier like the version of him i briefly saw in the original timeline.
The reason for that had to be because of Cayde Barbaten, the boy who Silven Windrega of Earth reincarnated into. In the future his death started the
A world where an ordinary mortal that was the incarnation of an Outer God and had rare mystical beast's under his control before the pilgrimage even began would make any exalted question what kind of other mortals the world was hiding.
That outer god that helped him is also the individual that dropped me into the manifestation of hell itself. Someone I've been waiting a long time for to show up.
His name is Incursik. And the reason the fucking bastard dropped me into hell was for the purpose of reclaiming Cayde Barbaten's soul for resurrection after he was killed by a fourth exalted. A devil, that forced through the
Incursik made it my mission and purpose to resurrect Cayde Barbaten after finally escaping hell.
Of course a lot of things happened during my crusade through hell and after i escaped hell in the first place. Resulting in me being sent 60,000 years in the past before Cayde Barbaten and his past life as Silven Windrega were resurrected together by me.
So by all accounts, for Laegii to gather attention. Cayde needs to exist. But where was he in the original timeline?
Coming to a conclusion I let out an angry puff. "I thought we'd be done with Cayde after placing his soul in his mothers womb. Dammit. Looks like we're heading back north to Pandero."
"We are?" Thorn asked shocked.
"The planets fame comes from Cayde's last stand before he gets killed by the devil that invades Laegii. Without Cayde, Incursik never sends my original self into hell, Arthur never becomes desired by all the exalted in the universe, and our original timeline never returns."
Staring at me like i said something stupid Thorn asked, "and thats our issue how? Last i checked you weren't supposed to exist to begin with so ensuring your beginning won't make much of a difference, no?"
"Fair point, but I'm curious what happened to Cayde." Standing up from the bench i then offered my hand down to the raven. "Once we find out what happened to him we'll head to Sathuna and tell her the future we're from has started."
Climbing up to my hand with his sharp talons Thorn reluctantly assented. "Alright then. At least with Sathuna involved the future will be anything but boring. Lets go then, princess."
[skill: autumn kings conquest - mach rush]
[skill: astral third eye - atlas!]
Blitzing out from the park with divine speed Thorn and i quickly arrived at the northern part of Laegii's continent. At the border between two of the kingdoms where my aether guided me to my target of a group of medieval carriages going down a mountain.
Watching the procession as they went right past me, unaware of my or the ghost raven's presence. We found the young Cayde Barbaten being cradled in his mother's arms as he napped.
"Looks like this is just before Cayde gets lost in the Fenrir's Forest." Thorn noted for me. "If i am remembering correctly... the Pandero kingdom knights should attack at the bottom of the mountain. It should be about then Cayde gets chased into the forest after running away."
"Lets watch and see then."
Walking along with the carriage's journey down the mountain i spent most of my time observing Cayde but felt something odd from him. His actions were just like a dumb three-year-old but unless he was acting i don't know why he would be doing that. It was me who personally reincarnated Silven's soul with his memories into Cayde.
[skill: horizon chain - soul search]
Growing more intrigued several chains flew out from the air. Being invisible to everyone as they inserted into the infants brain making him start crying suddenly from others point of view.
"What?" Dumbfounded by what i found in the child my feet stopped in place. "...Silven's memories... aren't there? They've been locked away."
"Heh?" Scratching what i said Thorn flew across to the carriage Cayde was in to get a closer look at him. "You're joking. I watched you put shiny's soul in there. How does that just happen?"
"Could of been causal mending..." sitting on the ledge of the carriage with Thorn i got a closer look at Cayde with him. "I'll admit i wasn't very thorough, and Silven was never supposed to reincarnated originally as Cayde. So because of that, the universe's causality must have tried fixing it by wiping Silven's memories before being fully reborn as Cayde because it was too late to try and kill him in the mother's womb. Only explanation that fits."
Accepting the explanation from me Thorn nodded like he was impressed. "Thats lenient of causality. Must have decided to let Cayde be if he's still alive till now then."
"Some of my paracausal traces did cling to Silven's soul after i was handling it. Didn't think much of it though but that's probably the only reason he's survived this long. By looks of it though... those traces are near extinct."
Knowing what that meant Thorn became deathly quiet.
"Ordinarily exalted who mess with the cycle of life, death and reincarnation use tricks to convince causality what they'd done is normal to causal progressions. But i just shoved a soul into a supposed to be dead baby and left it at that. Thanks to my influence he's had a normal life until now but... so long as i don't touch him. Cayde will die today."
A yell echoed in the sky and in the next moment a mage's fireball exploded the rear carriage in the procession killing all the people inside it. Several screams of horror filled the sky immediately.
Cayde was smothered into his frightened mothers chest who was staring at the blaze in a fright.
Moving out the way me and Thorn let a man that was Cayde's father and another man grab his son and wife. Yelling, "Pandero knights are attacking! They know we stole the noble's possession! Go with Rex and take our son as far away as you can before we're surrounded!"
"But-!"
"Miss Barbaten we have no time!" Lifting Cayde and his mother up the fathers friend leapt off the road sliding down hill just before kingdom knights and soldiers surrounded the final two carriages.
"No! Alan!!" Shouting her husband's name Cayde's mother cried as loudly as the baby held against her breast while being carried away.
Following them myself and Thorn watched them being pursed by a knight and several soldiers. Being chased all the way down the mountain and through a marsh.
"They're really goddamned persistent!" Rex hissed. "I'm sorry, Fleur!"
Taking Cayde from his mother by force the man then tossed the woman into a marsh.
Before she could even yell to ask he said, "hide in the tree! I'll get Cayde away even if it costs me my life. I can't escape with you both I'm afraid!" Not waiting for a response Rex continued running.
The pursuit party completely unaware to the mothers presence as she held her breath beneath the marsh waiting for them to pass until they did.
Coming to a more forested part of the marsh, Rex panicked as he noticed the pursuit party was still chasing and hid the infant Cayde in a hole beneath a tree. Hiding the baby beneath a large rock as he sobbingly said, "I'm sorry little guy. J-just hold out here for a few days until i get back. I promise I'll be back."
Hearing a yell Rex wasted no time going back into a sprint. Getting spotted by a knight as he yelled and continued the pursuit after the speedy thief sprinting through the forest on horseback.
Hours passed one after another from there. One became two. Two became four. Then on the fifth hour the infant Cayde finally left the hole in the tree managing to push the rocks out the way before going crawling through the forest searching for someone.
Despite his young age the child new better than to be loud in such a dangerous forest where anything could come out to kill him, but he was also beginning to get hungry, and didn't know how he was supposed to feed himself.
Thorn and i watched the child aimlessly wander through the forest for hours. Trying to find something edible instead of plain grass before coming to a water stream with several bushes of berries. Immediately the starving toddler leapt for the berry pushes eating them one after another until there were no berries left and passing out.
The issue was that... those berries were poisonous. It was a weak poison that most people would be able to digest easily, but the infants immune system was still barely developed. While asleep, the poison spread through the infants body making it writhe and squirm in slight pain turning into a fever.
The baby slept through the pain for half an hour as his body's young immune system tried to save itself before the three-year-old quietly died right next to the stream water. With no one to know he had died from a weak poison that could of been solved by eating the flowers on the very same bush the berries were on.
"So this is why Cayde wasn't in the first timeline. And why he also won't be in the first regressions timeline, our any on from that." I announced coldly.
"If he had Silven's memories he would have survived this forest no problem." Thorn muttered. Unsettled after watching a child get poisoned to death with me. "I know it's Cayde and all we watched die but can you have some reaction to this at least, pisspot?"
Busy thinking i ignored Thorn's gripes while still staring at the dead child. Trying to satiate my curiosity while searching for an answer.
Cayde died due to the fact he was just an ordinary baby. That shouldn't have happened because he was supposed to have Silven's memories and experiences from Earth. But causality interfered after i finished the reincarnation and erased Silven's memories.
Its a fixed point of fate. Cayde's death as a child is something thats supposed to happen. But without Cayde the future i know of that involves my origin won't come to pass.
Its a simple fix resurrecting Cayde and inserting Silven's memories as i have my own copy of them, but i don't know if that will set things right. I don't want to waste my time inserting Silven's memories into Cayde each regression.
There's also another variable required for the future i know. The elderly lady in the forest cottage thats supposed to rescue and adopt Cayde. She should have shown up by now.
[skill: astral third eye - observation]
Scanning the entire forest with my aether senses it quickly became clear. The elderly woman doesn't exist either.
Brushing a hand through my hair beneath my pink beanie a perplexed expression covered my face. "Things have gotten very weird all of a sudden."