The horizonguard's group just connected their sixth district.

I'm delaying it as much as I can, but even that won't be more than… three hours.

You need to be ready.

Or else you won't survive what's next.

A shudder runs down my spine as the message disappears. I don't want to trust the quest for anything, but… for some reason, it wants to tell me this. Maybe it's required to do so to keep things fair since the system is blatantly favoring the horizonguard. …I can't honestly think of any other reason why.

I look up at the construct on stage. It looks back at me with tired, well-worn eyes. The kind of eyes that have already accepted that I'm going to do horrible shit to it. That isn't me. But I don't have time to screw around looking for a solution. All I can do is throw a coin at it and hope that, somehow, it not being tied to the subquest lets us get the hell out of here–reward or no reward.

"Shelby?" Agathe asks. "You okay?"

No. Shit, no, I'm not ready. "Agathe, can you help us out?"

She tilts her head to the side. "With what?"

"Surviving." I say with grim understanding. There's no more time for anything frivolous. No more saving constructs, no more searching for a Soul uplifting trial, no more trying to figure out what the construct brewery room was. In a few very short hours, things are going to speed along to a conclusion that the system wants.

All I can do is try to steer this train into a brick wall. And hopefully escape the wreckage with everyone's lives intact.

Agathe flinches. "Shelby… what are you…"

I push all those worries down and force myself to smile. Closed-mouth. "Sorry. Things are just about to get really bad for us, and we need all the help we can get. Would you be willing to be some of that help?"

"...For Gil." She says with a nod. "How?"

A flick sends an infusion at the construct's chest. It closes its eyes and bites its lip to brace itself for pain, but my coin just harmlessly sinks into its chest. The construct tenses up in anticipation. When nothing happens, it cracks open one eye and looks at me with tenuous confusion. I motion for Agathe to follow me as I make my way through the small crowd to stand at the edge of the stage.

The construct looks down at me. I hold up my hand and activate the infusion. Magic seeps away from the construct into my coin, ripping the system's hold on it little by little until nothing remains. I call the coin back to me, then toss a purification at the very confused construct to scour away whatever remains. Then I tuck the infusion away in my pocket for another time. The construct tilts its head to the side, eyes wide, and falls off the stage.

I catch its bony body with barely any effort. Thanks to my awareness I can see Agathe's mouth agape at the sight of what I just did, but I don't have time to care about any of this. The construct's shaking and sobbing in my arms. But it isn't making any noises. I feel at my awareness to see why… and feel that there isn't a tongue in its mouth. Just scar tissue all the way down its throat.

"They took your voice." I mutter, venom lacing my words. "Lord almighty, how far did the system have to go?"

The construct flinches and carefully raises an eye to peek at me. I offer it a toothier smile which seems to reassure it, then shift so I can give it a piggyback ride. It doesn't resist at all. Hell, it lets out a sigh of relief when it nearly collapses against my back. I shift a little more to get comfortable, all the while Agathe looks at me like I have two heads.

I turn to her and raise my chin. "What?"

"N-nothing." She stammers. "Is this… possible?"

I can't help but laugh. "For anyone else? Nope. Just me. Now, can you find some way to clear this thing now that the construct isn't the system's plaything anymore? Or do we just have to leave and hope it can find a way out on its own?"

Agathe furrows her brow. "Why the hurry?"

"Why? Because… because… you didn't get the message, did you?"

She shakes her head. "What message?"

"The message that said we have three hours before the main quest progresses. From context clues, I'm making the assumption that it's the last bit of progress that's going to happen. The system wants someone else to clear this quest so it can put this place back in the real world. I can't let that happen."

Agathe's confusion only seems to deepen. "Why? Isn't clearing the quest good?"

…Shit. I'm so used to everyone around me just understanding things that I forgot most people don't think like I do. To literally everyone here but my group and Gil, clearing this quest and giving the system what it wants is perfectly normal. Desirable, even, considering the system will probably reward them handsomely for it. How the hell am I supposed to explain everything to Agathe?

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"It's… complicated." I say slowly. "Did Gil tell you anything about his Class?"

Agathe's brows shoot to the top of her forehead. "Worth Class."

I nod.

She lets out a long hiss. "You, too?"

Again, I nod.

"Damn. Understood." She splays her fingers and raises her hands like a conductor amping up the volume. "I'll be quick. You'll explain later?"

Hopefully just seeing that some of the constructs are actually alive will be enough for her, but if not, then there's a story I can tell. Or she can go to the room where all the constructs save for Click are staying and as for herself. Either way, I nod one more time. Agathe takes a deep breath, then gives me a small smile.

Her hands drop. Threads coat the room in a flurry of motion nearly too fast for the eye to see. Even my awareness struggles to keep up to the violent flurry of materials as they coat everything and anything in the room–save for the three of us–in a sheen of black-purple with silvery accents. Another simple motion–a clutching of a fist–contracts the threads in one violent instant. This one is actually too quick for my awareness. Just… there one moment, little balls of hyperconcentrated threads the next.

My Class Card lets out a strange, strangled noise. I summon it while Agathe casually recalls all her threads to join her dress that… somehow didn't get any smaller from her attack. She's the first really powerful human I've seen in action since Noland. And a horrifying reminder that the people from the Preservation and HuSt won't all be as weak as the ones I've personally faced.

I sigh and pull out my Class Card; it's just one more pleasant thought to heap atop the pile. Can't devote too much brain power to it.

Subquest complete.

Rewards: invalid.

Did not sufficiently participate.

Whatever. One more room on the tower complex wouldn't mean shit anyway if we're destroying this place on the way out. I send my Class Card away and turn to the wall we came in where Agathe is already waiting at an opened door. She motions for me to join her, but before I can move, another door opens up right next to her. With a hum of curiosity she steps aside to let it form, giving all of us a view into the large space taken up by all the constructs we've rescued.

"So many." She says quietly. "All… saved?"

I nod as I walk up to the door to hand off our newest rescue. Slice runs up to take it from me with a nod of thanks, then rushes back to rejoin a group that's working on… something I can't really make out. Before anyone can say anything else the door slams shut. They must know about the time limit too.

"I can't… they…" Agathe snaps her mouth shut and goes quiet. Her face twists as she puts some things together that I know can't be easy. Going against faceless, personality-less masses of grey isn't as easy as going against people.

Then again… I did watch her kill someone just a little while ago. So maybe not as difficult for her.

"Let's go." I say.

Agathe nods and steps through into the hallway. She looks back at me as I do the same, questions on the tip of her tongue that she's hesitating to ask. I wait as patiently as I can manage for her to say something, but after a minute of silence, that's all I can spare. Whatever she wants to ask can be asked later.

I summon a relocation coin and hand it to her. "Accept the spell and I'll teleport you back to our tower. Bring everything you want to take with you."

"Everything?" Agathe asks. "We aren't coming back?"

I shake my head. "Not unless we have to. Unless you have some way to teleport too?"

"I don't."

"Then yeah, assume we aren't coming back here."

She nods as magic surges from her clothes. "Done. How do I accept yours?"

I don't even blink at her declaration. "Just accept the spell."

"Just… accept it." She frowns and glares down at the coin. "Oh, there it is. Do you need it back?"

"That I do." I confirm. Agathe hands me back the coin. "Alright, just have to give you guest permissions in our tower… and we're all good. Don't fight the spell when it takes hold. I don't think it'll stop anything, but just in case."

I flare my own relocation. The same-y hallways of the city shift to the relative comfort of the library, complete with Ward nose-deep in a book he's failed to find much of anything important in. I wave to him to try and get his attention, but the poor paindne's too focused to even notice me.

"Poor guy." Pearl muses. "I hope Jumble can make it better."

Not with two hours and fifty-ish minutes she won't. I turn away from Ward and flare Agathe's relocation. She appears not a foot from me without any hassle whatsoever, looks around once, and frowns.

"I can't see."

"Not even with the cloak?"

Her cane appears with a flick of her wrist.. "Guest permissions aren't enough."

"Apparently not. Sorry."

She shrugs. "I'm used to it. What now?"

I glance over at Ward, who still hasn't looked up from his book. "Now I tell everyone that time's up. And break the bad news that we have to focus on surviving whatever happens at the three hour mark."

"Were they in the middle of things?" Agathe asks.

"Yeah." I chuckle humorlessly. "They were."

My Class Card appears with a thought. With heavy fingers, I type out the order for everyone to stop what they're doing and get ready to be called back. Maybe Clutter's already met up with Gil, and that won't be a problem. But Jumble won't be happy. Because this means we're giving up the Dani chase and just hoping that Gnash and the two rogue party-constructs show up in the chaos.

I don't want to send the message. My finger hovers over the mass message button, still as death, just waiting for the mental command to come crashing down and put an end to all further exploration. Images of Euro's corpse flash in my mind. Sensations of Jumble's righteous anger hit a little too close to home.

Before I can stop myself, I remove her from the message and hit send. Then I type up something quick just for her. Telling her that we only have three hours, but that I won't ask her to come back until she finds Gnash. Responses to the first message roll in before I can send hers out. All worried, all asking if I'm sure about the time limit.

Jumble's message leaves my card moments later.

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