Alex remained unfazed despite the intense looks sent his way, instead maintaining a level head while patiently waiting for his target to reveal himself.
And soon enough, he did.
"Why are you here?" Azazel inquired, not bothering to waste time on pleasantries.
"Brother!" The other assassins, stunned by Azazel’s direct approach, also revealed themselves.
Alex managed a smile. "Nice to see you too."
"What are you doing here?" Azazel asked again, his tone radiating hostility though Alex knew it was but a farce.
"You recognize me, don’t you?"
"Even if you don’t know me directly, my face should elicit some sort of reaction within, right?"
"Brother, what is this man talking about?" One of the Assassins asked though Azazel remained silent, his gaze fixated on Alex.
"No other person might be able to understand, but you can," Alex remarked.
"How can you be so sure?" Azazel finally spoke up, taking care not to reveal his thoughts.
"The artifact you carry. I’m willing to bet everything that it must have revealed something to you... revealed that something isn’t right about all of this."
Azazel went silent, taking a brief moment to ponder before he ultimately replied.
"There’s a constant sense of déjà Vu. It’s weird and I can’t explain it. It’s almost like everything that’s happening..."
"Has happened before." Alex completed the statement with Azazel nodding in agreement.
"We are in a time loop." Alex casually remarked, earning an odd look from everyone present.
He didn’t seem to care as he continued. "That’s the reason it seems like everything has happened before, because they have happened before."
Stunned by Alex’s words, Azazel inquired. "How can you be so sure?"
"I have my ways." Alex simply said, unwilling to explain further.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I feel I’m not looking at the whole picture," Alex admitted.
At this juncture, the other assassins, lost as they were, could only listen while trying to figure out what exactly Alex and Azazel were talking about.
"In all past loops, I have faced Thera and won. But after thinking about it, I realize it doesn’t make sense."
"Compatibility, Authority, Knowledge... these are three important areas that determine the direction a confrontation between Mystics goes. In all areas, Thera has me beat."
"She holds Authority over Time."
"She can see me before I make my moves, she could just as easily predict my actions and act accordingly. Which means, my winning isn’t because I’m stronger but because..."
"She let you win," Azazel muttered, his gaze turning thoughtful.
"Exactly, she let me win. But why?... Why would she let me win and most importantly, why would she allow the loop to continue?... In previous loops, she won, the Timeless Serpent descended and Sklaviunt was destroyed."
"Which means someone or something else is the source of the loops."
"Exactly but what?... What exactly could be the source of the loops?"
"You think I have an idea?" Azazel seemed to realize the reason for Alex’s visit.
Alex nodded. "I don’t know if Thera would be willing to talk. I’d rather speak with you first, then take the risk with her."
"So tell me, what do you know?"
Azazel stroked his jaw as he fell into deep thought, pondering everything that Alex had said so far.
Arwen arrived at Leokhares’ home in the twenty-eight district roughly two hours after she’d left the residence she shared with Alex.
Gulping hard, she took out her diary and read its contents to be sure she was at the right place.
Once this was certain, she pocketed the diary and knocked on the door only to be met with no response.
Frowning, she knocked again, and still, no response.
At this point, her instincts told her something was afoot, and so with hesitation, she conjured a pale flame tongue on her finger and slowly pushed the door into Leokhares’ door open.
Everything was in disarray but what stood out the most was the absence of the house owner.
"Sir Leokhares!" She called out cautiously, not daring to step in for fear that there might be something dangerous waiting within.
She called out to the miner again and just like with the knocking on the door, there was no response.
So, she summoned two skeletal figures wreathed in pale flames and sent them in to check out the area.
By the time they’d returned, almost ten minutes had passed, and most importantly, they were empty-handed.
Realizing the severity of the situation, Arwen immediately closed her eyes to send a mental message to Alex only to sense something prompting her to open her eyes swiftly and scope out the area.
In that brief moment when her eyes were closed, she’d sensed a sinister gaze in her direction, hence the reason for her apprehension.
Immediately, she decided to leave and so, took off.
"I remember... singing," Azazel remarked. "I recognize the song as odd but never really registered it as a threat. Thinking back now, that might have been something to take seriously."
"Why didn’t you?" Alex asked.
Azazel shook his head. "I can be quite single-minded when I want to. If it doesn’t add to my mission, then I’d rather ignore it."
"Fine then, can you track it down?... The singing, I mean?"
"Because it might have something to do with the loop."
"The more time we spend here, the less chance we have to survive. As it is, our bodies are already being battered by corruption. So instead of wasting your time on a mission that clearly dishonors your patron, how about you try to protect your brothers from the disaster that would surely come should this continue."
Azazel hesitated but upon glancing at the faces of his brethren, he intoned. "Alright then."
"Thank you." Alex breathed out a sigh of relief.
Azazel nodded. "And you?... What will you do?"
"I’ll talk with Thera." Alex remarked. "Hopefully, she doesn’t blow me up again."