Caleb walked alongside Midnight as they entered the clock tower at the heart of Clockworks.
“The Chronos Vault is a mystery,” Midnight said as they walked, climbing a spiraling metal stairway that corkscrewed a wide, shallow climb around the inner perimeter of the clock tower. “No one knows when it was made, or who made it. It’s been in this tower since… if you believe the builders and the architect… before the tower was built.”
Caleb blinked. “Wait, hold on,” he said, noticing Midnight’s smirk. “You’re messing with me?”
“No,” Midnight said. “Tantalizing, isn’t it? Their stories all match up, as insane as it all sounds. And the closest anyone’s gotten to opening it has just been the discovery that it requires Time Magic — Time Magic, but in a way and form that no one’s ever been able to do. No one even knows what you’re supposed to do beyond the type of Magic needed.”
“Then how do they know that much?” Chelsea asked.
“But hey, wait, aren’t you gonna explain how it was here before the tower was built?” Addie asked.
“They didn’t know it was here until they’d started building, though, did they?” Ingrid asked.
“Oh, now we get a good question,” Midnight said with a grin. “That’s what everyone wants to know — how could this have happened? How could they know, if they didn’t know until they knew?”
“Can you phrase that in a way that doesn’t make my brain do somersaults?” Addie asked.
“The Vault, for all everyone has ever said or recorded, did not exist when they started building the tower,” Midnight said. “Or at least, it didn’t seem that way. No one saw it, no one knew about it, no one touched it. But originally, the tower was meant to be one hundred stories taller than it actually is. They only stopped because of the Chronos Vault.”
“So what happened?” Addie asked.
“They were building, up and up and up,” Midnight said. “And then they reached what was to be any other ordinary floor, still quite a ways to go to reach the top. And then… they found it. The Chronos Vault was there, even though it never was before, they were sure of it. But there it was. They finished the floor they were on, went to start the next one, and realized… they had a ceiling. But there shouldn’t have been a ceiling, because they hadn’t built one yet.”
“The ceiling was the floor of the Vault,” Chelsea said.
Midnight jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, pointing at Chelsea. “She’s got it. The Vault wasn’t there, it never was, but when they completed the floor, it was. How it got there, why it got there, they have no idea. But when it got there… that’s the interesting part.”
“Before the tower was built,” Caleb said. “But how? How could they even know?”
“There are ways of using Time Magic I haven’t taught you,” Midnight said. “They’re rarely useful. One technique allows you to see the truth of a thing, chronologically — how old it is, and more importantly… how long it’s been where it currently is.”
“And when they saw how long it had been there,” Ingrid said, “they saw that it had been there since before they started building?”
Midnight nodded. “Long before. So long ago that they couldn’t understand it. It’s older than ancient, older than anything anyone’s ever seen. And it’s been in that spot, what’s now the three hundredth floor of the clock tower, the entire time. It’s always been there. Never been moved, and after it was discovered, anyone who’s tried to move it has failed.”
“But couldn’t they be wrong?” Chelsea asked. “Divination Magic can’t see everything truthfully, even from masters of it. Scientific instruments sometimes give faulty measurements.”
“I love a good skeptic,” Midnight said. “Never stop seeking out the truth. But something this curious, this impossible attracts all the experts. The previous three Mister Midnights examined the Vault, I’ve examined the Vault. Even Madame Chronos got special permission to leave Chronoshin long enough to come examine it for herself. Everyone’s come away with the same conclusions, no matter how much we’ve tried to find other answers. For millennia, hundreds of human lifetimes, we’ve kept looking, kept researching, kept exploring the possibilities. But the Vault doesn’t change. It gets older, certainly. Everything does. But it doesn’t stop being ancient. It doesn’t stop it from having been here since long before the tower was built, no matter how impossible it all is.”
“And you love it,” Mineria said with a laugh.
“Of course I do,” Midnight said. “Impossibilities are the most exciting things in the whole universe.”
“But Prince Glen said his family’s been sealed in the Vault,” Caleb said. “If no one’s been able to open it…”
“You can get something inside a vault without opening it,” Midnight said. “Use your imagination. Magic can do all sorts of things. But that’s the rub. Just because you can get something into a place doesn’t mean you can it out again. Sometimes extraction is a lot more difficult than insertion.”
“But why put them in there?” Caleb asked. “And… wait, have they had food and water? They’re not dead in there, are they?”
“We can hope,” Midnight muttered. Then he spoke more clearly. “Only one way to find out, right? It’s all on you, kid.” He smirked at Caleb. “Let’s see just what your new powers can do. But don’t worry, you’re not really alone in this. I’m here to advise.”
“And the rest of us are here for moral support,” Ingrid said with a smile.
“So don’t screw it up,” Chelsea said, poking Caleb in the back.
“I suddenly feel so confident,” Caleb said, laughing.
Up and up and up the stairs went, passing all sorts of doors and halls leading into the tower itself, but Midnight passed them all by, leading on without much in the way of explanations. He liked talking about the Chronos Vault, but he didn’t say much about the tower or Clockworks itself.
After saying so much all at once about his past… he’s probably glad to never talk about this city again.
What was most surprising was how none of them tired out. They climbed and climbed and climbed, stair after endless metal stair, and yet no one complained. Well, Addie complained multiple times about it taking too long, and Chelsea occasionally let out a sigh that Caleb recognized as her restraining a complaint.
But no one complained about being tired. And Caleb certainly felt fresh, no matter how many steps he climbed.
After a while, Midnight’s occasional chatter about the Chronos Vault came to a sudden halt mid-sentence. He held up a hand for all to stop, and for a moment all stood there in silence.
“Something’s not right,” Midnight said softly. He pointed to Chelsea. “You’re with me and Caleb. Weapons ready. Everyone else wait here.”
“But —” Addie started, only to be softly hushed by Mineria.
Midnight led the way upward, taking soft, stealthy steps, Caleb and Chelsea close behind. Their leader didn’t say a word, but the black ring on his right index finger silently crackled with energy. They went around three times, passing three new floors, and then Midnight stopped again. After a moment, he started forward alone, holding out a hand to tell Caleb and Chelsea to wait. He almost passed out of sight, but then stopped, standing up straight. His expression was grim as he beckoned Caleb and Chelsea forward.
“I wondered why it was so quiet,” Midnight said. “Whoever did this is long gone.”
Caleb felt his heart catch in his throat when he saw what Midnight was looking at.
Blood.
Crimson liquid pooled around the bodies of uniformed guards, their baton-like weapons still holstered. A trail of bloody, unmoving corpses led upward, strewn about the stairs and against the walls. Their wounds…
Caleb couldn’t look any longer. He stared at the ceiling, trying to catch his breath.
He’d fought so many battles. Destroyed so many Hollows.
But Hollows simply turned to ash when destroyed. And the mages he’d fought… he’d never killed anyone. He’d never even seen others be killed around him. He’d seen blood, but many magical injuries and wounds didn’t bleed, instead leading to bruises, broken bones, or burns.
He’d never seen…
This.
“We can’t let Addie see this,” Chelsea said in a hollow voice.
“Or Ingrid,” Midnight said. He took a deep breath, then let it out. “You two go on back. I’ll clean this up. Keep the kids occupied somehow.”
“Yeah,” Caleb said shakily, still averting his eyes as he turned away.
“Wait, what’s that?” Chelsea asked.
Caleb brought his eyes back to the scene, watching as Chelsea stepped gingerly over and around bodies and blood to a guard slumped against the wall.
Something was clutched in his hand.
“An envelope?” Chelsea asked, plucking it from the dead man’s fingers. It was black, with a blue seal. She turned it over in her hands, then started back, holding it out to Caleb. “It’s for you.”
Caleb stared at the envelope, confusion stalling him for a moment. When he finally took it, he saw the silver letters along the back: Caleb Greyson. “What the…?” he asked, slowly breaking the seal and opening the envelope.
Inside was a card, black like the envelope. And written on it in silver letters:
“Caleb Greyson
You are cordially invited to a grand announcement!
The truth will soon be revealed. Are you prepared for it?
Let your curiosity be sated at the Seat of the Seven.
Solstice Day, 12:12:12”
“It isn’t signed,” Caleb said, looking all over the invitation. “And what’s Solstice Day? And these numbers?” He looked up, intending to look at Midnight, but he saw once more the trail of corpses and felt his heart catch in his throat.
“Go back to the girls,” Midnight said. “Both of you. I’ll come get you when it’s clear.”
Caleb and Chelsea walked back slowly, Caleb fixating on the invitation so his curiosity could pull him away from the horrific sight.
“You okay?” Chelsea asked, holding his arm lightly.
“No,” Caleb admitted. “I… I’ve never…”
“Yeah,” Chelsea said. “I know you haven’t.”
“It’s horrible.”
Chelsea nodded. “Always is.”
“You…” Caleb started, but he stopped himself.
Of course Chelsea had seen such before. For her, the deaths she’d witnessed were far worse, far more horrific than guards she didn’t even know.
“I’m sorry,” Caleb said. “I’m…”
“Soft-hearted,” Chelsea said, giving his arm a gentle squeeze. She was smiling. “It’s not such a bad thing.”
“But you can just shake it off so well,” Caleb said.
“Well, that’s why we’re a good team,” Chelsea said. “Strengths and weaknesses and complementarity, all that stuff. Right?”
Caleb laughed. “Yeah, you’re right.” He sighed. “Can’t do everything alone.”
“And you shouldn’t try to.”
They returned to the girls and Mineria, and Caleb had a handy way to keep their attention focused on something other than where Mister Midnight was: his invitation.
“I understand the date and time,” Ingrid said. “Solstice Day is one of the few universal days, a day that’s shared everywhere in the universe. And that time… twelve-twelve-twelve.” She looked at Mineria, who nodded.
“The Moment of Truth,” she said.
“Moment of Truth?” Chelsea asked.
“For one small moment — a single vrem — everyone across the universe can only tell the truth,” Ingrid said. “It’s a phenomenon no one’s been able to explain.”
“What’s a vrem?” Addie asked.
“The smallest unit in universal time,” Ingrid said. “It doesn’t exactly convert over to Human time, but it’s around twenty-seven seconds.”
“Your smallest unit is pretty big,” Chelsea said. “But… really? Twenty-seven seconds where everyone everywhere can only speak the truth? That’s a thing?”
“It is,” Ingrid said. “The last one… well, the last Solstice Day and Moment of Truth happened before you were born. The next one is coming very soon. We won’t have much time between getting the Crystal Family out of the Vault before we go to the Seat of the Seven, if you’re answering that invitation.”
“We were already going to go there, according to Prince Glen,” Caleb said. “So I don’t see why we shouldn’t answer it.”
“We’re all set,” Midnight said, coming round the stairs toward them. “Come on. Only six more floors to the Vault.”
“We’re so close!” Addie said, hurrying after Midnight. Up they all went, and Caleb was stunned to see no signs of prior violence. Not even the slightest stain or scuff. All was just as clean as what had come before.
How did he clear all of that up so quickly? More than that, how did he do it so effectively? It’s… like they were never here. Like nothing so grisly ever happened.
Soon enough, they arrived at a circular door covered with clockwork dials of varying sizes, each with different numbers around their faces, but each dial having twelve numbers. No more, no less.
“This is the door to the Chronos Vault,” Midnight said. “Hate to say, but I can’t help you more than this. Caleb, you’ve gotta use your Time Magic and see what you can find out. Don’t be afraid to use it multiple times, coming back to report your findings. I might be able to help you with more information. Don’t push yourself too far, don’t overexert yourself, and don’t try to do it all at once. Got it?”
“Got it,” Caleb said. He didn’t actually feel ready for this. There was so much he didn’t know, so much no one knew.
Going in totally blind like this… it’s the best way to test out and learn about my new Time Magic, right? It’s kind of exciting.
Caleb pulled out his watch, spun it on its chain, and stepped into Time-state.