The Time Keeper

Chapter 75 - First Snow

A peculiar sensation pulled me back to consciousness, but something felt off. I blinked, trying to make sense of my surroundings, only to realize I was seeing through someone else's eyes again within a dream.

My own senses were locked and I couldn't effect what I was seeing.

Through a circular window, the vast expanse of water greeted my vision, the gentle rocking of the boat beneath me.

I tried to focus on the details outside—the churning waves, the distant horizon—but it was the dark, rolling fog that caught my attention. It loomed ominously, an impenetrable wall of grey and black.

The eyes I inhabited turned downward slowly, and their hand moved to touch something tucked in the chest pocket of their coat. Their fingers brushing against a small, solid object beneath the fabric of their clothing.

Then, the figure I was in, moved towards a small, cracked mirror hanging on the opposite wall.

I couldn't see his face or eyes, yet I could still see.

He had light crimson hair with long curls that went down past his shoulders and clung to his skin, flowing over his face in its damp state.

With his right hand, he pushed the damp hair out and I got a better look at his features. The sight was striking—a rather sharp face with no notable features except his eyes. Eyes that stared back with a mix of determination and something darker, a shadow of fear or maybe regret.

And then, just as abruptly as it had begun, the vision faded. The mirror, the ocean, the boat—all of it dissolved into nothingness, replaced by a blinding light.

I woke with a start, the remnants of the dream clinging to my consciousness like cobwebs. My body ached, and every breath sent a sharp pain through my chest, but I was awake. The familiar sounds of the waking world replaced the eerie silence of the dream.

I was lying in a bed. Where was I, what happened to the estate?

I blinked a few times, trying to clear the fog from my mind. The last thing I remembered was the chaos at the estate, Rex, and then Wakley. I sat up slowly, the dull ache in my chest serving as a painful reminder of the ordeal.

Glancing around, I found myself in a small, dimly lit room. The gentle sway of the surroundings indicated that we were on a boat. On the bedside table next to me lay my pocket watch and revolver. The sight of them brought a small measure of comfort. At least my belongings were still with me.

"Finally, you're awake," a voice said, breaking the silence.

I turned my head toward the corner of the room and saw a man with a monocle, a metallic arm and a face with sharp features sitting in a chair, his posture relaxed but his eyes alert. It was Wakley Weber.

"You've been out for over a day," he continued. "As a matter of fact, we've almost arrived back at Leode."

The statement hit me like a cold splash of water. We were on our way back to Leode already?

"What happened?" I managed to croak out in a hoarse voice.

"You passed out from the pain and exhaustion," Wakley said, leaning forward slightly. "I ended up treating the lot of you and making sure you rested up."

"What about before that? The estate, Rex, Pink?"

Wakley sighed. "I didn't want you to go to the Estate and see Rex," he said. "Yet I knew it would happen. It was the path that Fate had already laid out."

I furrowed my brow, confusion swirling in my mind. "Fate?"

Wakley nodded. "I ended up using an artifact to transport you all onto this boat, taking you back to Leode."