The goal was simple; figure out the source of the loop before the fourth day.
Thankfully, Thera had given him a clue, which helped him to narrow the plan down to something along the lines of figuring out the source of the music and hopefully finding the source of the loop as well.
Since he had no idea how many more loops he could go through before being devoured by the Timeless Serpent, he had to assume this was his last loop, which meant no mistakes; otherwise, everything would be lost.
With that in mind, he decided to begin his research early.
First, he entered into the plane of darkness and light, occupied by a man who claimed to be his reckoning.
"You again." Adrian breathed out in clear exasperation.
Alex approached before proceeding to sit at the edge of the boundary separating night and day.
"You are affected by the loop as well?" He began, jumping right into things.
Adrian paused, his expression shifting before ultimately relaxing. "So that’s how it is."
"You aren’t close to me so how come you are affected?"
"First of all, I’m not completely affected," Adrian remarked. "My days are still the same, it’s the nights, or rather, this night."
"That’s... complicated," Alex muttered. "Wouldn’t that mess with the time stream or something?"
Alex let out a sigh. "I’m trying to resolve this, but I need your help."
"And why would I help the man I’m destined to kill?"
"Because I’m inclined to believe that no one would be okay with the Timeless Serpent remaining in Eventide."
Adrian remained silent for a time before he let out a sigh of his own. "What do you want?"
"Just an answer to my question," Alex remarked before proceeding to inquire. "Are you familiar with any entity holding Authority over Mind and Time or perhaps, Sound and Time?"
Adrian raised a brow. "There are no such entities."
"I see." Alex pursed his lips. "Both living and dead?"
"Alright then." Alex nodded before getting on his feet and turning to leave.
"Alexander!" Adrian called out, causing him to pause.
"If you cannot win this fight, I advise you to give up your pneuma. At least that way, you won’t have to face the horrifying fate of being corrupted."
"Don’t worry," Alex replied. "I don’t plan on dying or getting corrupted."
The next morning, Alex left the house with Arwen just as he’d done in previous cycles.
Perhaps the only difference between then and now was that he was more vigilant, scouring the streets like a hawk from within the carriage.
Nothing stood out, of course, as everyone went about their day.
Alex had tried to track the melody the night before with little success.
The music seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time, which made it difficult to pinpoint an origin.
Troubling, but he wasn’t about to give up hope yet.
There was still more to do.
He considered the possibility that the entity was spiritual which would explain why he couldn’t easily see it.
But then again, Adrian’s words rang repeatedly in his head.
There was no entity with the dual domains in play in Sklaviunt.
Did that mean there were two separate entities?... Or perhaps it was an error just like him.
"Are you alright?" Arwen asked, noticing that he seemed distant.
Jolted from his thoughts, Alex glanced at her and, for a moment, struggled with the urge to tell her to lie low while he dealt with the situation.
In the past loops, Thera had done something to her, and though he didn’t know what, all he knew was that he wished for her to be safe.
Unfortunately, telling her now could be problematic, and informing her of her fate tonight could also result in the same thing.
For that reason, he struggled.
But ultimately, he decided on what was best and so, with a warm smile, he remarked. "Of course. Just a little hungry."
"Want some?" Arwen offered some of her steamed buns. "We didn’t have breakfast."
"Thank you," Alex replied as he took a bun and bit into it with relish.
For now, it was best to focus on finding the source of the loop.
Meeting with Dolope reminded Alex of the fate awaiting her daughter Hermione as well and once again, he struggled with the urge.
To deal with the guilt he felt, he offered the little girl a sweet he’d purchased from a stall, but that was not enough.
Would he really abandon this young girl to whatever awaited her tonight?
It seemed so, difficult as it was.
Once they learned of Melita and Theoren’s unfortunate situation, Alex got another carriage and headed to the upper districts with Arwen, just as in the previous cycles.
Everything played out as it was supposed to... at least until Councilwoman Thera made an appearance at the task force headquarters.
Her gaze locked onto his figure and though he didn’t expect much, Alex was shocked to find that hidden in her eyes was a great deal of killing intent, which was different from previous cycles.
For some reason, he felt like the only reason she didn’t attack was because of the cycle.
But why?... What went wrong?
He didn’t get the chance to find out as he quickly fled the scene with Melita while Thera stared in the direction he’d left.
"Councilwoman?" Temenos called out to her, causing her to look away from the roof where Alex and Melita had been a moment prior.
As they made their way to Zenon’s office, Thera suddenly remarked. "There is hardly a need for this."
Almost immediately, another voice that sounded just like hers but colder, replied. "You betrayed your master and are no longer allowed to walk alone."
Temenos glanced back at her in confusion only to face forward again and continue on his way, his memories of the last few seconds erased almost instantaneously.