Chương 25: The Butterfly Effect

While Nolotl couldn't say that he fully trusted Enantyum, he still heeded his advice of attending the gathering of empyreans that took place before the total celestial alignment. Not because the chronomancer said that both Nina and Mio would be hounding him for the following days, but because the diviner was still adamant in his stance about treating the time loop as non-existent.

The only disadvantage was losing a single month if it wasn't the case, but if the time loop really didn't exist then he wouldn't lament anything. Well, beyond selling artifacts of historical importance of his religion, but those could be recovered as he had the skills to track them down with his divinations. Like the first time he had lived this scene, Nolotl was the first of the empyreans to arrive. He didn't need to wait long either for Nina to appear, exactly like before.

"Am I not the first? How indecorous from my part," the taximancer's words were the same ones as the zeroth loop.

"I am afraid not, Nina. It would be indecorous if the Empyrean of Information was the one not to be first," Nolotl answered with the script that Perfect Recollection gave him, even if there was little to no use for it now that he had deviated so much from the script. Considering back in his first attempt he had been the one continuing to talk, instead of mentioning the total celestial alignment, Nolotl decided to question about his ambushers.

"Nina, did you have any luck finding the man of the portrait I gave you?"

"I must admit that hasn't been the case," the Empyrean of Arcane responded collectedly as she organized the documents she had brought.

"But it would also be a lie from my part to say I have put much effort into the task. I can at least assure you that person does not currently inhabit the Arcane Tower, but I would be unable to say if they were members of the academy at some point."

"That's more than enough information," the Empyrean of Information nodded.

"It's a shame that I haven't found him, but that narrows things down a bit." Mostly on the fact that is another ambusher I cannot tackle. I wouldn't be as sour if I would have been able to take more than one step into the Void Tower.

"Either way, I'm sorry that I haven't been able to help you with your…" Her words were cut off as someone materialized near the table they were sitting around. Nolotl recognized the whole sequence of events taking place. Perhaps Nina's words had been different from the first time, but they cut in the same way and seemed to follow the script as the events replayed in the same manner.

"Mio!" Nina rushed out of her chair, leaving all decorum behind, as she pounced on the fellow Empyrean.

"Oh, how much I missed you! I haven't seen you ages!"

"We saw each other like three days ago!" The girl protested, fighting the taximancer's embrace.

"An eternity, my dear! An eternity!" The salmon-haired woman rubbed her cheeks against her prisoner's ones. From there, Nolotl tuned out as there wasn't much for him to do but following the script and end with this gathering as soon as possible. Or so he had thought. For Paizon, the Empyrean of Chaos had yet to arrive. This makes no sense, everyone has arrived in the same order and time as the zeroth loop, with the sole exception of Paizon. This deviation of the script stressed Nolotl a bit.

Is this what Enantyum mentioned about ataxiamancers being hard to predict?

"I'm going to kill that mongrel," Nina cursed as she looked at Paizon's empty seat as only two Empyreans remained.

"Oh, don't be like that, Nina!" Mio tried to calm her down, talking cheerfully.

"Pai-pai isn't the only one that still hasn't come. Enanty is not here and there's still some time left." Nolotl would've said the same, if it weren't because the Empyrean of Time sat in his seat with a smug on his face.

"Fun fact," Enantyum calmly said as several of the present empyreans gasped from the scare of having someone materialize at their side without the same ripple of mana that accompanied Mio's teleportation, "there's no time left… now." Just like the first gathering, the brazen-blond chronomancer with the tarnished skin announced the start of the gathering of empyreans with utmost precision, clearly the work of the Perfect Timing Boon.

I don't like that I only know six of his Boons, and Celestials know how many of them he has… The diviner was reminded of the stress that interacting with the chronomancer infused in his mind. Regardless of the status of the loop, real or not, Enantyum was still a mage of a powerful degree, enough to teleport himself around and freeze time, if not outright stop it.

"How have you done that, Enanty?" Whilst other empyreans still recoiled and were processing Enantyum's sudden appearance, Mio was only interested in his tricks as her eyes glinted in magenta with curiosity and the might of Space.

"Trade secrets," the Regressor said with an amused smirked, apparently not willing to state this time around that he could stop time.

"Oww…" The Empyrean of Space deflated at that response.

"Will you really not tell…"

"Sup y'all, it's ya' boi!" Paizon, the Empyrean of Chaos, blitzed into the room, cutting over Mio's sentence. In that instant, Nolotl had a very strong yet wrong sense of déjà vu. Yes, Paizon had spoken the same words with the same mannerism, but the timing was all wrong. His mental script didn't just take into account actions, but also timing. How could something occur in the same way but at a different time without any input?

The diviner looked at the Regressor for answers, but Enantyum just smiled at him knowingly. Nolotl didn't know what to make out of it, but something told him this wasn't a new experience for him. Nolotl really didn't know what to make out of that. Is the time loop truly real and Enantyum has that much power over all of us? A part of him wanted to believe in anything but that, a single man couldn't have a hold over the entirety of time. Or rather, he shouldn't.

"I'm going to kill you," Nina stated dryly as she looked at Paizon.

"Woah! Isn't that a bit of an overreaction?" The white-haired ataxiamancer raised his hands defensively.

"What am I, like a minute late?"

"Enough to justify a death sentence," she scowled. People didn't lie when they called the "Chained Queen" overzealous and far too disciplined, but Nolotl was more than aware that this was just her personal grudges against the man. He had no idea what the Empyrean of Chaos had done to infuriate her this much, especially considering that she loved Mio who was also a free soul like Paizon.

"Should I be worried?" The ataxiamancer whispered in Clonazepam's ear because the dryad was the closest to him as he had yet to sit down. The fact that he spoke loud enough for everyone to hear him was only a sign that he also loved to pester the Empyrean of Arcane.

"I doubt mindful Nina will kill you, at least for the time being, but you should not throw more firewood into the pyre, Lord Paizon," the Empyrean of Life said calmly, if a bit amused. Paizon was the only one of the empyreans who wasn't addressed by a surname by Clonazepam as he was the only one that lacked one. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"I will try," Paizon shrugged and the next moment he was found sitting in his chair. I really hate teleportation, I don't care if it's based in spatial distortions, manipulation of time, or fucking chance. Ugh, it's so jarring. Nolotl's strong emotions mostly came from the fact that half of the present empyreans had performed some sort on the last few minutes, which only reminded him of his limitations. I really need that Second Mind to learn Simulacrum as fast as possible.

Whilst it wasn't true teleportation, that spell was the only one he could access to with his current proficiencies that would give him any sort of mobility, if it could even be called that. For better or worse, the gathering of empyreans continued to go along with the script after that slight hiccup. I think I can understand why Enantyum wastes these handful of hours with them. Perhaps they are boring, but it has been slightly different from the first one. I wonder if that will be the case for the coming ones?

If the time loop is real, that is. However it might be, Nolotl knew he would get his answer soon. Just like the first time around, the diviner tried to catch the chronomancer's attention but equally failed to do so as Nina proclaimed the gathering as adjourned. Well, whatever happens, I will be seeing him after the total celestial alignment.

"I cannot say I'm looking forward to this," Enala protested already the moment they stepped out of the Empyrean Academy and they directed their gazes to the peak of Mount Empyrean. Between the fact that it was very early in the morn and that the academy rested on the opposite side of the sunrise, the sun had yet to grace or graze them, meaning they would be trekking in darkness for a couple of hours at the earliest.

"You're more than ready, and we are going to march earlier than I planned, which gives us more than enough time to arrive and prepare everything, so don't fret," Nolotl said as he inspected Enala. The enchantress was decked out in arctic clothing and she had not one, but two climbing canes.

"And I'm also carrying all the materials, you only need to walk forward, I will be literally doing the heavy lifting."

"Are you really going to climb Lon's tallest mountain naked?" She pointed at him with her spiked cane.

"One, I'm not naked, this is a traditional priest garb, thank you very much," he corrected her as he highlighted his body.

"Two, the physical exertion will warm me up, and as I have told you already, avian terians keep temperature very well. I need nothing more." Perhaps he didn't possess feathers in his current form, but his biology was still sufficiently different from celestials, no matter if his Animal Spirits were hidden away.

Just like the first time, Nolotl was wearing his usual Nochochencan priest garb, which basically left his legs, arms, and torso exposed, though this time his back was covered as he took with himself a backpack instead of a satchel. He was going to need it as the reagents for a repeated ritual and all the extra defenses he had readied just in case occupied far too much volume for a satchel.

On top of that, he also carried his lead tepoztopilli, his greatest weapon against the Cahtuli biomancer if he decided to show up. But even in his paranoia, Nolotl truly believed he had managed to resolve and dismantle the ambush in his first try with minimal interaction.

"Whatever you say." With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, Enala started marching forward. As much as she had protested, she did have mountaineering knowledge by virtue of being a graduate student of the Empyrean Academy. Perhaps the enchantress wasn't in top physical shape as she was slightly out of her prime and, more importantly, had her body mostly atrophied by dedicating all her efforts to her mind. All in all, Enala wasn't as incompetent or useless as Nolotl had originally anticipated.

Yes, they had to take a lot of rests when he had been able to make the journey uninterrupted, but now that he knew the best route with his anachronic knowledge and some finagling with Dijkstra's Routing, it wasn't that much of an issue. They arrived at the desired spot a bit more than an hour before the nine minutes of glory of the celestial alignment, more than enough time to prepare the Second Mind ritual.

They had decided that Nolotl would perform it first during the nine seconds of glory of the total celestial alignment, whilst Enala would follow suit during the second half of the nine minutes with the help and experience of someone who had already received the enchantment as she was a way higher level than him and could afford losing the window of massive power. Prepare the air barrier and the ritual hylomorphism, Nolotl told her over the Cognition as the winds were far too loud to speak normally.

What will you be doing? Enala raised a brow in annoyance upon being handled most of the work. I will be preparing defenses, the diviner said whilst taking all of the reagents out of his backpack. Defenses? For what? The enchantress inquired, though she still accepted the reagents he was giving her. In case we get attacked by monsters empowered by the celestial alignment, he informed her. Of course, this was a lie.

Not only this did not happen during his first attempt, but it simply didn't have the possibility to occur as many mages had secured this part of the mountain from any aggressive fauna, flora, or fungi in preparation for the occasion. Enala didn't seem to be aware of this as she hadn't intended to be out here for the total celestial alignment, so she took his words at face value.

The enchantress made quick work of the preparations, actually being faster than Nolotl even though this was his second try and he had planned ahead of time what he wanted to do. Due to her untimely death, the terian prince tended to assume that the western enchantress was useless, but now he was able to see her capabilities at full display. Even if she didn't look like it most of the time, Enala Pril was a certified gnosiamancer and professional enchantress.

Whilst they had finishing everything up well ahead of time, the gnosiamancer duo rehearsed and checked everything several times, readying themselves for the ritual, everything went wrong the moment the nine minutes of glory started. A wisp of cognition entered Nolotl's range, and without even needing to look, he finally understood the true weight of Enantyum's claim on the butterfly effect. For a legion marched with the sole intention of killing him.

"I don't suppose we can't talk this out," Nolotl said knowing that all of the defenses he had prepared for the original group of six assaulters were completely useless now. Enala couldn't comprehend what was happening, and she simply hid behind the terian prince as he covered her with an arm.

"No," the warrior from his first life scornfully denied.

"The stars have spoken, and if you survive this day, our country will come to an end."

"I understand that," he announced calmly.

"But my companion here doesn't have to do anything with this. Will you let her go?" The diviner pointed at the enchantress with his head whilst maintaining his spear upright and grounded.

"That is agreeable," the Cahtuli warrior informed.

"It's only you who we seek."

"N-Nolotl…" Enala looked at him with a very confused and terrified expression. Not only did she have no idea what was happening, but she also wasn't prepared for a situation like this. She was a scholar, not a battlemage. By the looks of her trembling, she hadn't seen a confrontation in her life, let alone spilled blood.

"Can you give your word?" The gnosiamancer asked once again.

"Aye," the biomancer planted the head of his macuahuitl on the ground.

"We shall harm no women, it's only your blood that we seek."

"But Yaxkin…" A warrior voiced out next to the ambush leader.

"Silence!" The Cahtuli biomancer, apparently called Yaxkin, shouted.

"The prophecy only mentioned the twiceborn's life, so that's the only one we shall take by divine decree. Anything else is vice and murder. Especially of a frail woman." This was one of the few occasions in life were faith and misogyny had saved the life of a women. Though it pretty much made their lives miserable in every other scenario.

"Enala, go," the diviner softly whispered to her, a smile on his visage.

"Nolotl…" the enchantress grabbed the lower part of his attire, her hesitation palpable.

"W-what is happening?"

"Worry not," he continued smiling.

"I'm sorry to say this, but we won't be able to perform the Second Mind ritual today. Just go."

"B-but…" He didn't blame the woman from trembling. She might almost double his age, but for all intents and purposes, she was a civilian. He had been trained for battle and death since little.

"Go!" The terian prince commanded, his voice echoing throughout the Cognition, forcing some of the gathered enemy soldiers to backpedal. They are open to the Cognition. Great, a bigger coterie than before. He didn't detect neither of the three known gnosiamancers of his previous life, and considering every ambusher present looked like a warrior, they were bound to be neuromancers. Though I guess they will be calling themselves oneiromancers.

With both lament and fear written in her visage, Enala dashed out of the air barrier, even forgetting to pick up her walking canes. Yaxkin kept his word and none of his men attacked her and let her pass through. Quickly, the enchantress disappeared from his sight, leaving him alone with a legion of Cahtuli warriors bent on killing him.

"Your honor and bravery won't be met with any compassion," Yaxkin announced, his voice overcoming the howling winds.

"That was never my purpose…" The Empyrean of Information sighed and released the seals of his silvery tattoos, fully unleashing his terian might as his hair turned more golden, a crown of feathers sprouted from his head, and his arms became wings dyed with a myriad colors.

"I hope this looping business is the real deal," he added weakly underneath his breath.

"Any last words?" The towering warrior raised his macuahuitl as the rest of his entourage readied for combat, treating this as a floral war instead of the execution that it would be.

"Don't expect me to go without a fight," Nolotl Xocoyotzin smiled, raising his spear and steeling his defense. The demise of the terian prince wasn't a quick one, but even when confronted with the impossible odds of thirty-seven enemy mages simultaneously from both the Physicality and the Cognition, the lone gnosiamancer managed to kill eleven of them before his body and mind finally gave out, his willpower and Animal Spirits fighting till the bitter end with ever corner of his body covered in blood.

Both his and that of his enemies. With the vision of perfect order illuminating the skies, Nolotl's life finally extinguished for a second time, his body completely emulsified as he was clubbed to absolute death.