On the battlefield, everyone knows of the fighting prowess held by a Pilot and Titan.
The graceful movements of the Pilot, their feet never daring to touch the ground.
The guardianship of the Titan, acting as both protector and decimator.
And the bond between them ... when linked, it's said that nothing can overcome the team of a Pilot and Titan other than an overwhelming force, or an equal.
These are the tenants that all abide by in war, preparing themselves for the great day that a Titan comes to their aid, or the horrific day of seeing one approaching to destroy.
But no one has ever thought of what that partnership entails.
What happens when a Pilot and Titan remain attached ... but not for war?
The truth is that the bond between a Pilot and Titan is much deeper than simply a tie of the neurons in the brain. It is a union of two minds, the merging of two beings coming together to become one.
In many ways, it is among the deepest of relationships that one can have.
There has to be a sense of friendship between them, a force that brings them together. In every Pilot and Titan bond, there has to be at least some element of love that causes the two to care so deeply about the other, to protect one another when times are dark.
It was this bond that kept them together, even through death.
It was what made him hopeless. It was what gave him hope that she could be saved.
It was what made her lonely. It was her light in the darkness while she waited for him.
They knew, as they'd discussed so long ago, that just as the bond enhanced their closeness to one another, it would sharpen their pain from the hardships they endured.
But it was all worth it, they believed. For every threat that the galaxy could throw at them, no matter what enemy faced them; it would be worth it so long as they were together.
Together to the end.
...
Time.
Everyone was so concerned with ... time.
Even when interfering with the actual fabric of reality and the timeline itself, it seemed that all anybody ever claimed was that time was running out. That there wasn't enough of it to suit their needs.
What humans failed to understand is that time, by its own nature, was simply a matter of perspective. A conceptual construct made by humans to add some sort of meaning to their lives and the events that take place in them. When you saw past the illusion of a limitation, you realized that time is merely analogous to opportunity.
When your artificial mind can process a hundred thousand calculations in seconds, time slowed down. It extended ... gave someone more opportunity. More time to work with.
Spyglass had a hell of a lot of time.
TO BE CONCLUDED IN THE FINAL ENTRY OF THE "ARCHITECTS" SERIES,
CINDER
YOU ARE READING
Tempest
FanfictionTyphon is destroyed, Harmony has been saved. But Tobias' work isn't finished yet. Visions from the Inferno in his mind tell him that there's a greater threat, something worse than anything either the Militia or IMC have seen before. They lead him an...
