Ch. 88: Ti for the Reset
The machine roared to life right before my very eyes, its massive arc flooding the workshop with waves of dancing light. It was breathtaking, no matter how much Hephaestus explained the science behind it, it still looked like an expensive glow lamp at a carnival. Let's be clear— I wasn't scared, just... nervous.
"So, I just jump into that thing, burn up, and then wake up back in ti?" I asked, trying to mask my apprehension with nonchalance.
Hephaestus snorted, his voice deep and heavy. "Yes, if you were a monkey, that is. This isn't a bonfire. It's revolutionary science at its peak, and you treat it like a parlor trick. There must not be many scientists in your ti."
He stood beside , a massive presence, yet I could feel the weight in his voice. I wasn't sure if he was angry at for agreeing to take Talos with or angry at himself for failing to earn her forgiveness. Either way, it didn't matter now. At least Hephaestus had tried to nd the rift between them, unlike — I had never even tried.
Experience tales at m v|l e'-
I instinctively reached for my hair, only to realize I'd lost that hand long ago. I still missed it. "We had scientists where I'm from. But I was never a man of science. I preferred the mysteries of life over equations and formulas," I said, attempting to break the awkward silence. But Hephaestus wasn't listening.
His deford face was focused on the swirling mass of colors within the machine, as if it held all the answers to the world's questions.
"I won't let her get hurt," I muttered. It was more of a vow to myself than to him.
Hephaestus grunted, a deep, rumbling sound. "Oh, I know. If you do, I'll make sure every curse in existence finds you."
He turned to face , a wide grin stretching across his face. "Now, let's get started."
I nodded.
In the corner of the workshop, Talos stood talking to Hers. They were too far for to hear what they were saying, but whatever it was, it left Hers looking downcast. When Talos caught my gaze, she ended the conversation abruptly, leaving Hers looking even more disappointed. She must've realized that ti was running out. She walked toward with slow, deliberate steps.
Gone was the cheerful Talos I had once known. I missed that version of her, but this wasn't the ti for such thoughts.
"It's ti, I suppose," she said, her voice steady but tinged with sothing deeper. I nodded in reply.
Talos cast a glance at Hephaestus, who remained silent, his eyes distant as if seeing sothing far away. For a brief mont, I thought he might give her a farewell, but instead, he turned and grabbed the case containing the serums we'd need before we could travel back in ti. Maybe gods didn't bother with sentintal goodbyes.
Hephaestus returned and opened the case, revealing two vials of a shimring, golden liquid inside syringes. He took one in his hand and looked up at , his eyes filled with a pain that mirrored my own. This was it. Everything that had happened since I arrived here—the suffering, the loss—had led to this mont. I didn't want to change the past because I wanted to. I had to.
He injected the serum into my arm. I had expected so kind of reaction—pain, nausea, sothing—but my body felt exactly the sa. Talos received her injection as well, and she looked unaffected too.
"Now, step into the arc of the temporal rift generator," Hephaestus commanded, his voice booming through the workshop.
Talos moved ahead of , eager to be done with this and distance herself from her adoptive father. But as she neared the machine, she hesitated. I watched her stop dead in her tracks. She wasn't as strong as she let on. I didn't say anything. We had already been injected with the serum; there was no turning back now.
I stepped past her and reached out toward the swirling vortex.
The mont my fingers touched it, I felt a cold, sticky sensation—like dipping my hand into a freezing puddle. I wondered if I'd lt the second I stepped inside, but I pushed forward, letting the light envelop . Out of instinct, I closed my eyes as I crossed through, unsure if keeping them open would do any harm.
When I finally opened them, I was fully inside. The colors settled into a swirling tunnel of light, a surreal kaleidoscope of motion. I glanced back, and through the transparent barrier of the machine, I saw Hephaestus and Hers talking, their faces serious. Were they expecting to explode?
Talos joined inside the arc, her eyes filled with pain. She was never one to dwell on emotions, though, so she stepped up beside in silence. The air between us was thick with unspoken words, but neither of us broke the quiet.
"That bubble you just entered is a stabilization chanism," Hephaestus explained, his voice amplified by the machine's hum. "It'll keep your bodies intact while the particle accelerator charges to full power."
He'd told before that the biggest challenge with ti travel was quantifying ti itself—turning years into numbers that a machine could process. According to his theory, to travel back two hundred years required an enormous amount of energy, far more than even the gods could muster on their own. But Hephaestus had a solution for that.
He raised his hands and bood, "SUMMON, THUNDERBOLT, MOTHER OF THE SKIES!!"
Golden lightning crackled in his palms, and a fierce wind whipped through the workshop. But inside the bubble, Talos and I were untouched. Monts later, Zeus's thunderbolt appeared in Hephaestus's grasp. He had once forged the weapon, and now he could summon it at will.
With a mighty roar, he thrust the thunderbolt into a small slot in the ground. The machine whirred and vibrated as the energy surged through it.
"In five minutes, the particle accelerator will be fully charged," Hephaestus said, his voice dropping to a softer tone. "Then I'll send you back."
I nodded in acknowledgnt, though I felt the weight of those five minutes bearing down on . Talos remained silent, her eyes fixed on the ground.
Suddenly, Hers darted forward, his expression frantic. "Wait! If you change the past, will I still exist? Or will I never be reborn?"
I rembered how he had confided in —his greatest fear wasn't death; it was living a life that didn't matter. If we succeeded in changing the past, saving the real Hers, the Hers standing in front of might never exist. It was a terrifying thought, like hitting a reset button on reality itself.
"If it cos to that... don't worry about ," Hers said, his voice trembling. "Save the real Hers. I've had enough fun for one lifeti."
I could see the certainty and determination in his eyes. Before I could respond, the machine let out a sudden screeching noise. Sothing was wrong.
The lights flickered, and a low rumble shook the ground beneath us.
"Hephaestus!" I shouted. "What's happening?"
He cursed under his breath and ran to the control panel, frantically pressing buttons. "It's overloading! The thunderbolt's power—"
Before he could finish, a deafening crack split the air. The machine exploded in a blinding flash of light.
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