TBATE-REDEMPTION

Chapter 5

I couldn't believe what I'd just heard. Turn back time? Go back to the past? My head was spinning from the flood of information we had just received. It was overwhelming—almost unbelievable. And while it was frustrating that we still didn't know the name of the Djinn responsible for all of this, that paled in comparison to the mind-blowing revelation of their creation.

"Art, you heard it too, right? I'm not dreaming right now, am I?" Caera asked, her voice shaky with disbelief.

"No," I replied, still trying to wrap my head around it myself. "You heard it right. As crazy as it sounds, it's true."

Caera suddenly pulled me into a tight hug, her excitement and hope palpable. "We can go back!" she exclaimed. "We can try to change everything—the outcome of the war! We might be able to save your dad... my brother..."

I could feel her hope surging, and a small spark of hope flickered in my chest too. I returned her embrace, my voice soft but determined. "Yeah, you're right. If we can't stop it, at least we can try. We might be able to save them—your brother, my dad, and who knows how many others."

Just as the gravity of what we could do started sinking in, Regis's voice cut through the moment, playful but urgent. "Alright, lovebirds, enough of the mushy stuff. I'm starting to feel left out here. We still have a book and relics to find, remember?"

We quickly broke the hug, both of us flustered but trying to refocus on the task at hand. The room wasn't that large, but every inch was cluttered with boxes and objects. We'd have to go through them one by one. The notes attached to each box were either blank or scribbled with nonsense lines, which only added to the challenge.

As I moved through the room, something caught my eye—a large, deep purple box. It stood out among the others. Bigger, heavier, and somehow more significant.

"I've got something here," I said, raising my voice slightly. With a rush of anticipation, I opened the box—and there it was. The book.

"I got the book!" I called out, waving them over as I eagerly flipped through the pages.

The spell was complex, but after spending about two hours carefully reading it, I began to understand how it worked. It was a one-shot deal—no retries. Once used, the spell and book would disappear from the past, meaning we had only one chance to get things right. The spell wouldn't create a new timeline; it would reverse time entirely, leaving only the people within the magic circle with their memories intact. But the information here......just didn't feel adequate. It felt like something was missing here.

I could feel the weight of the decision pressing down on me. If we failed, that was it. There would be no second attempt.

Meanwhile, Caera and Regis continued to search through the remaining boxes, finding a few relics in the process.

"Alright," I said, closing the book, "let's see what we've gathered."

Regis handed me the relics they'd found. "We've got a tempus warp, which can be used a few times, and a pair of rings that allow mental communication. Oh, and this cloak—though that wasn't mentioned by the Djinn."

Curious, I held up the cloak, draping it around my shoulders. Almost immediately, I felt a strange sensation, and Caera's alarmed voice echoed through the room.

"Art, your body—it's disappearing!"

I glanced down. Sure enough, my form was slowly fading from view. "It's okay," I reassured her, lifting one now-invisible arm. "Looks like this cloak makes the wearer invisible. Definitely useful."

Caera exhaled in relief, but her smile returned, excitement twinkling in her eyes. She seemed as impressed as I was by the cloak's powers.

"You two should take a look at this," Regis interrupted, handing me a small piece of parchment. "Try channeling some aether into it."