The Time Keeper

Chapter 56 - Using it in Action

The streets of Leode were cloaked in the hushed whispers of the night as I made my way back to Caius's house. Darius's words echoed in my mind, resonating with the profound truths he had shared within the halls of the church.

My mind, ever analytical, dissected the information Darius had unveiled. The pathways—Time, Space, and Fate—were threads woven into the very fabric of our existence. I had long been familiar with Time and Space, intricately entwined in my journey as an arcanist. But Fate, the revelation of a third path, was an enigma. Could arcanists truly manipulate fate itself?

Knowing that there are three different choices I could've taken when becoming a tier 8 arcanist—a mental, a physical and a spiritual choice—it tells me that there are likely nine different choices you could pick when becoming an arcanist. Time, Space and Fate, three different choices for each path.

With the Church of the Keeper of Time here in Leode, the Time path was an inevitable choice. But in Goldeen, with its allegiance supposably to the True God of Space, it was separate. A connection formed in my thoughts, linking back to the others in the Den—Jo, Erick, and even Alexei. All hailing from Goldeen, they might inherently be aligned with the Space pathway, a revelation that added another layer to our diverse group.

But with our more local team, it was different. Darius had previously mentioned that Jean was the only other 'official' Arcanist in The Den. If the rest of The Huntsmen were unofficial Arcanists, gaining their abilities from a source other than the church, they might belong to other distinct pathways. Unofficially gaining their abilities as an arcanist from the space or fate path.

Yes, they all could be still part of the Time path, but it was probably unlikely. Though Jean, by deduction, was likely aligned with the Time path as an official arcanist, but everyone else remained a mystery.

Even if I could figure this out, the rest such as Fleur and Lucas would have already known this. This makes sense in the fact that hiding your abilities as an arcanist is vital since people are likely to already know which pathway you are, as long as they know if you're official or not.

Lost in my contemplation, I arrived at the outskirts of Central Leode, where Caius's residence stood. It wasn't the most luxurious area, nor the modest abode of the working class. Instead, it occupied a niche between, well-kept and livable, nestled in the quieter outskirts of the city, closer to the Homeless District than the bustling Entertainment District.

As I approached Caius's house, a lingering question resurfaced in my mind. How could Caius, at his age, afford a place that, while not extravagant, still boasted a standard of living beyond what one might expect? It was a mystery I had never probed, perhaps out of a subtle respect for his privacy.

Lost in my thoughts about the diverse paths of arcanists, I almost missed the figure that emerged from the shadows up ahead of me.

A cloaked silhouette, barely discernible in the darkness, caught my attention. The individual wore a cloak that concealed most features, but a glint of goggles in the moonlight atop their forehead betrayed a careful attempt at anonymity.

As we both drew closer, the distinct features became clearer—burnt orange hair and a sharp face that instantly identified the figure.

Lorenzo.

Slowly and casually, my hand fumbled into my innermost jacket pocket to reach for the hollow marble that I had bought from the beggar earlier.

The tension thickened in the air as the gap between us shortened. My mind raced, trying to devise a plan to handle this unexpected encounter. Yet, before I could initiate any action, Lorenzo seemed to anticipate my presence.