As the new year approached, the Tesla Institute was gearing up for its first teleportation experiment. The lead developer, Helios Olympus—better known as Gilliam Yeager—was set to participate. Normally, a project head wouldn't take part in such a test, but this was the Tesla Institute. Director Kazahara's enthusiasm had apparently given the green light.
The confidence wasn't baseless, though. The developers' faces on the monitor radiated assurance in their creation, Aguieus.
"Hey, Axel, what's going to happen?" Lemon asked, watching the experiment unfold on the monitor beside him.
Lemon had planned to attend in person at Tesla, but Axel, knowing the experiment would fail, had convinced her to stay at the Ecuador base. Citing his "foresight," he'd argued that an accident was likely. In the original timeline, only Gilliam transferred to another world, but with an unpredictable variable like Lemon present, who knew what could happen? Better safe than sorry, so they were observing via a communication feed.
"Probably an experiment failure," Axel said, keeping his tone neutral.
Vindel, watching a different monitor, muttered, "Most likely." His screen showed a vast grassland—the intended destination for Gilliam's teleportation. If the experiment succeeded, Gilliam would appear there.
"It's just a vague feeling from my foresight," Axel added. "Nothing concrete."
"Shouldn't we have warned Olympus about the failure?" Lemon asked, her brow furrowed.
A fair question, but letting Gilliam know about Axel's supposed foresight would complicate things—especially since it was a lie. "No," Axel said. "My gut tells me this accident is part of the… right flow of history? It's hard to explain, but I think the teleportation itself won't work as planned."
"Quiet, you two," Vindel interjected. "It's starting."
All eyes turned to the monitor showing the Tesla Institute. The Aguieus device was surprisingly simple: a cross-shaped core encased in an outer frame resembling bird wings. Despite Axel's visits to Tesla, this was his first glimpse of it.
"So that's Aguieus," he said.
"Yep," Lemon confirmed. "The teleportation device Olympus and I worked on."
On the screen, Gilliam positioned himself near Aguieus while developers bustled around, making final adjustments.
"Here we go," Vindel said, his voice tense.
"It's happening," Lemon murmured.
A field—likely a teleportation field—formed around Gilliam, shimmering into existence. Vindel let out a surprised grunt. "It's small. That field can barely envelop one person."
"It's the first test," Lemon explained. "They set the field to minimum range, just enough for one."
As they spoke, the teleportation field intensified. The developers moved frantically, tweaking controls. Lemon whispered, "It's transferring."
With a brilliant flash, the field on the monitor vanished, taking Gilliam with it. All eyes shifted to the second monitor—the grassland where Gilliam was supposed to appear. Nothing. No field, no Gilliam, just open plains and a few distant Tesla researchers panicking.
"Failure?" Vindel asked.
Lemon nodded. "Looks like it. If it succeeded, there'd be no time lag."
"But where'd he go?" Vindel pressed, staring at the Tesla monitor. It showed only the Aguieus device and confused developers—no sign of Gilliam.
"Axel, is this what you foresaw?" Lemon asked.
"Probably," he replied, unable to say more.
"Lemon, what could cause the failure?" Vindel asked.
Lemon paused, thinking. Axel, meanwhile, knew Gilliam had transferred to the other world. In the original timeline, Gilliam arrived long before Shadow-Mirror's transfer, even joining the Gespenst training unit there. He's already in that world, Axel thought.
Lemon finally spoke. "Remember when Axel met Olympus at Tesla?"
"Yeah, when he dropped by your office," Axel said, recalling his shock at meeting Gilliam. Thanks to his experience as Axel, he'd kept his composure.
"His business was about Aguieus," Lemon said. "He mentioned, as a possibility, that it could enable not just spatial teleportation but dimensional transfer—crossing parallel worlds."
"Parallel worlds?" Vindel echoed, incredulous.
"Exactly," Axel cut in, playing along. "A parallel universe."
"That's absurd," Vindel said.
"No, Axel's right," Lemon confirmed.
"So, Olympus transferred to a parallel world?" Vindel asked. "Or got lost in a dimensional gap?"
"That's possible too," Lemon admitted. "As for whether this failure will halt Aguieus's development… I doubt it. The Inspector's surprise teleportation attacks make countermeasures essential. But they'll likely shift to a safer design rather than continuing with Aguieus as-is."
"Makes sense," Vindel said. "Keep ties with Tesla, then. Teleportation tech is too valuable to abandon."
"Fine, but the project might scale down," Lemon warned. "If it does, my involvement could shrink."
"I'll pull some strings," Vindel said. "Tesla would benefit from a scientist like you."
Perfect, Axel thought. This increased the odds of Shadow-Mirror acquiring the Ryukeios. In the original timeline, Shadow-Mirror destroyed it with a timed bomb after transferring to the other world. But with his spatial storage, Axel might smuggle the Ryukeios across. That stays my secret, though.
"That's it for Aguieus," Vindel said, wrapping up. "A success would've been nice, but oh well."
As the discussion ended, Axel glanced at the clock and realized the new year had arrived. "Hey, you two, it's the new year."
"Oh, you're right," Lemon said, surprised.
"Hm," Vindel grunted, nodding.
The realization settled over them, marking the moment with quiet significance.