“Tell me you have something good,” Marcus started apprehensively. “Because from where I’m sitting, the Warden already beat us. There’s nothing else we can do.”
“Yeah,” Ivy piped up. “If Charlie hadn’t broken Ava, she’d have been there at the Elven Gate, and she’d have taken the Warden down. His fight with her fucked us all over. All we have left is Ilamanthe, and we’re going to lose the city, too!”
“You think I don’t know what happened?” I demanded. “I was there. I didn’t call this meeting to decide who’s at fault for this shit. I’m here to talk solutions, so you can either be a part of saving everything we have left, or you can go. I really don’t care at this point.”
Chancey’s tone was softer than Ivy’s, edged with hope. “You really got a solution, pal?”
I hesitated, because it wasn’t a solution so much as an option… and our only one left. The Warden had already done so much damage, but we still had a chance to stop him on his warpath. “We lost the world, and we can’t undo the damage. Ilamanthe is all that’s left outside the Warden’s control, so we have to focus on saving the people of this city, because they’re all we can save.”
“It’s not going to happen,” Ivy insisted. “Our shield has protected us so far, but the Warden’s ascended to the Blessed Haven. How much longer do you think this shield will hold before he breaks through?”
“I’m not talking about shielding ourselves from him,” I said. “I’m talking about getting rid of him completely, and sending him to a place where he no longer exists.”
Kallie’s tone was no longer aggressive, but curious. “What exactly are you suggesting?”
“Oberi has knowledge of something called time vortexes. It’s a break on the timeline where whatever lies inside does not exist, period. If we can open one and force the Warden into it, he’ll be destroyed. Then, once he’s eliminated, we can get to work repairing the broken boundary, so souls can cross over into the afterlife.”
“The power to open a time vortex would be immense,” King Ethan argued.
“But possible,” I countered.
“And who are you going to get to do it?” Kallie demanded. “Because from where I’m standing, I’m the only one with time powers, and I can’t summon them now. Even if I could help, I’ve never opened a time vortex before, nor do I know of anyone who has.”
“Just because we’ve never seen it happen doesn’t mean it can’t be done,” I remarked. “Tell them, Oberi.”
Oberi propped his front paws on the table and gave a commanding bark. He spoke to me telepathically, and I repeated his words to the group. As you all know, I am a being known as a mutabeecha— an ancient, shape-shifting creature born at the dawn of time, with powers that transcend reality. In my current form, I experience time and space as linear concepts alongside you, but there is a part of me that sees time and space as existing everywhere and happening all at once. Between the layers of reality are voids that exist outside of any timeline.
“You’re talking about a myth,” Chancey chimed in. “There’s only one reality, and it's the one we live in.”
That’s what the angels believe, Oberi said, which I repeated. It benefits the Celestial Church to think that way, as a means to govern right from wrong and take away your choices. But it is not an inherent truth.
Takahashi hummed thoughtfully. “Yes. Oberi is correct in his theory. As an Astromancer, I have been studying multiple dimensions for years, the idea of various timelines existing, and various versions of us taking different paths. This idea that there are breaks on these timelines, or even spaces between realities, holds some weight.”
“If there are versions of us in different timelines making every choice possible, then what choice do we really have in the end?” Danny asked. “Every outcome is therefore inevitable.”
Inevitable— or an opportunity, Oberi said. It only depends on how you look at it, and believe me when I say that I have a much broader view of reality than any one of you.
“Don’t give us that bullshit, Oberi,” Ivy spat. “You’ve told us before you don’t remember jack shit of all that wisdom you were supposedly born with.”
Oberi remained calm while I translated. As a transdimensional being, sometimes it is difficult for me to organize all my knowledge into coherent thoughts that make sense in the three-dimensional world that we live in. There are things I do not remember about my life before becoming a Familiar, because it simply does not make sense in this physical state. But what I do know is that this universe is larger than we are— bigger even than the spiritual realm.
Oberi went on. There are versions of ourselves on alternate timelines, living out various decisions and separate lives. This is why timelines change when Kallie casts her time magic and causes different choices to be made. But that is neither here nor there, as it is the voids between these realities we’re most interested in. We can sit here and debate spirituality all day, or we can get a move on this plan and release the people of Ilamanthe from the clutches of the Warden.
“Say these time vortexes do exist,” Danny said thoughtfully. “How do we access one and force the Warden into it?”
The mutabeecha, Oberi said simply. I know the power to open time vortexes exists, and mutabeecha like myself possess such power. However, I cannot achieve this on my own. It would require the assistance of all my brethren, together. Much of my former life is difficult to recall, but one thing I know for certain is that I am not alone. There are other mutabeecha out there. I believe that if we find them, their combined power will allow us to reshape reality and open a time vortex where we can send the Warden and end his very existence.
Liam spoke up. “You’re the only mutabeecha we’ve ever encountered. How do we find the others?”
They’re in the afterlife, I am certain, Oberi noted. I am one of the few mutabeecha that left the Ancestral Lands to come to Earth. The others remain there. We must go there, and speak with them. Then we can convince them to help us.
“As a mutabeecha, can you cross the realms and speak to them?” Nadine asked.
Under normal circumstances, yes, but these are unprecedented times. That is why we’ve called this meeting. The bridge to the afterlife has been destroyed, but we know there are always exceptions. Someone among us must know some way where the living can gain passage to the afterlife, transcending death and the usual means to get there. With the powers of all supernatural races combined, I’m certain we can find a way to reach the afterlife together.
“The merfolk have no knowledge of crossing realms that I know of,” Opal said.
“Neither do the vampires,” Danny added.
