"When Suria went into the void, she learned a lot of things. She saw the past, the present...even the future of this world. And that is the future she saw. When the moon reaches its next peak, everything will crumble."
Junot drew her knees up to her chest. "That's barely a week from now," she said, her eyes wide. "But...but we can do something, right? We can fix it. Like we do with the towers?"
The traveller shook her head, brushing her shoulders with her curls. "You cannot. It is not a fate that can be altered or changed. The collapse of the system was written into the path of the universe when it was created. To change its destiny would be to rewrite the entire grand system." The traveller looked at each of them in turn. "Which is what she intends to do. Destroy the clock towers and rebuild the system from scratch, prolonging its life."
Junot spluttered. "At the cost of everyone who lives on it," she said. "Is that really the best plan?"
Argent shook his head. "That's...that's beyond impossible."
"Not for her. Suria gained knowledge of all aspects of the system during her time in the void. Now she understands almost everything about it, as if she created it herself."
"I just...how could she do that?" Mori remembered the burden of the guilt he'd been holding onto for the past few days. How could she bear to have that on her soul. "She'll kill thousands of people."
The traveller sighed. "Their fate is already sealed. What does it matter who causes it, if the end result is the same?" She stiffened, and glanced at the floor. "Forgive me if I sound callous. Sometimes, her thoughts feel like my own now."
He couldn't imagine it. How Suria could bear to have all that blood on her hands. He wondered if he would be able to do that. Keep the world turning, but at what cost?
"So what are we supposed to do?" Mori said. "Just stand back and let her destroy everything?"
"No," Junot said, her voice small and fierce. "We can't." Her shoulders sagged. "But let the world end without doing anything...isn't that almost as bad?"
Argent shrugged. "Maybe it's for the best. Everything has to end at some point."
The traveller sighed. "Truthfully, I would like the system to continue. But not like this." She brushed a curl from her face. "But if there is no other way...perhaps it is for the best."
"It's not fair," Junot's hands balled into fists. "There has to be another way."
The same words echoed in Mori's mind. There had to be another way. He couldn't accept those were the only two options. He knew for sure Ren wouldn't accept it. She'd have a plan, another trick up her sleeve...
"Ren told me to go to Arkos earlier," Mori said. The others looked at him quizzically; he realised he'd spoken out of context and flushed. "I was just thinking out loud. Maybe...she knew something that could help."
Argent gave him an odd look. "Arkos is still destroyed, right? Or did I miss something?"
"Actually," the traveller said. "I know I said I destroyed Arkos. But that wasn't strictly true. Suria didn't know how to destroy it properly, but she only needed to make Ren believe the tower had collapsed. She found a way to make it look convincing enough—"
Her words hit Mori like a slap across the face. "It's still there?"
The traveller nodded. "In a manner of speaking, yes."
Mori leapt to his feet. "Then we have to go back. Right now."
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He'd always thought that when he came back, he'd be alone.
Things had moved quickly after the traveller's revelation. Within a few hours, they were back on Arkos. The four of them huddled on the platform Mori and Ren had escaped through almost a week ago, standing over the ruined city.
The air hummed, but it wasn't the stinging cold of the void. It had a warm undercurrent to it, a familiar verdant scent and the faint tinge of salt. It felt like home.
Mori prepared to jump, but the traveller grabbed his shoulder. "Wait," she said. "It's not like in the towers. The gravity is normal here."
"Right," Mori said. "I think I've got something for that." He looked over at the others. "Does anyone have a spare timepiece?"
Argent handed one over.
Mori fished a tool from his satchel and opened it up. Working quickly, he took it apart, spreading the components over the platform around him. He nodded to himself. It looked like most of the components he needed could be salvaged from the watch, and he knew he had some spare parts in his satchel he could use for the rest.
His fingers pieced it together quickly, almost of their own accord. He'd made this particular timepiece enough on Arkos that putting it together was second nature. He slipped into a familiar rhythm.
"There." He spun the crown and stood up. Stretching out a hand, Mori reached for the larger gears floating through the air around him. His mind latched onto a group and tugged them towards the platform. He guided them into a descending spiral, starting from the edge of the platform.
Mori hopped onto the nearest gear. "Let's go."
The others followed him. Mori extended the impromptu staircase piece by piece as they descended, until they reached the base of the tower.
"The gears are all here, just scattered," the traveller said. "You'll need to reassemble the tower to restore Arkos."
He hesitated. The last time you were in the Tower of Clouds, you destroyed it. What makes you think this time will be better?
He had to remind himself it wasn't true. The defect had only been minor. But he still hadn't known how to fix it. He'd never been able to navigate the system before. Why would now be any different?
Once again, he wished Ren was here.
A touch on his shoulder made him jump. "You know what you're doing." Argent looked down at him. "You're a good clockmaker. Just do your best."
Mori stared back. He supposed Argent was right; he couldn't rely on Ren forever.
He shut his eyes and took in a deep breath, drawing together everything he'd learned about the grand system. He knew where the mechanisms overlapped, and where they differed. He knew where the Tower of Clouds fit in with the grand system, the gears that controlled the world. The notes he'd studied to create the synchroniser and the condenser, back on Dysis. Ren's research flooded back into his mind, the annotated diagrams.
His hands lifted, like a conductor about to direct a performance. But before he could start, he felt the felt the traveller tense beside him.
He looked up. "What is it?" he said.
The traveller gaze was fixed on the sky, a thread of fear running behind her eyes. "It's Suria," she whispered. "She's found us."
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