Intentionally walking into a building containing a bomb while being fully aware of this could be described as foolish, stupid... suicidal. Unfortunately, Alex understood that there was no other way to see the current loop to the end. Safe to say, it was for the plot. So, even as his common sense tried to make him turn away, he continued on his way into Thera’s home, his footsteps echoing in tandem with his heartbeat. No preparation could save him from the Quillion-charged explosion, and so, all he could hope for was that it would be quick. He found Thera where he always found her, in the courtyard of the manor, dressed in the same clothes though her countenance was different. It was a bit more hostile, displaying a great deal of killing intent which he did not recall her having in previous loops. Something gnawed at him, causing him to make a wild guess. "I was naive." Thera began, taking a step forward as she did so. "My desire to split myself was born out of a desire to preserve something from my past, but that was unwise." "Hmm." Alex frowned as Thera’s words did not quite fit with the previous loops. There was definitely a problem. "The only thing that should matter to me is ensuring the entry of my patron into this world, even if it costs me my life." "Thera, whatever it is you have planned, I will have you know, it’s not in the script." Alex calmly pointed out, hopeful that Thera would get back on track. Alas, his hope was dashed a moment later as Thera replied. "Don’t worry, this will be the last loop. I will make sure of it." Alex cursed as he immediately snapped with Thera pulling out several mystical cards. The aether raged a moment later. Arwen was waiting patiently along with Theoren, Melita, and Alex. According to what Alex had told her, he would be passing out soon so she had to work with Melita and Theoren to ensure his safety until he regained consciousness. He’d said to wait for the explosion but when it came, but when it finally arrived, nothing else happened. Alex remained standing and save for the sour expression he held, there didn’t seem to be anything else to worry about. "Are you alright?" She asked just to be sure. "You were right," Alex muttered in slight annoyance. "Hmm?" Arwen raised a brow. "What are you talking about?" "I should have been more cautious of Thera. Just because she’s not the cause of the loop doesn’t mean she isn’t problematic." "Change of plans, we move in now and..." Alex froze as the distinct sounds of cannon fire echoed in the distance. "Was that..." Melita trailed off with Theoren breathing out with a look of terror etched on his visage. "Cannons. Who are they firing at?" Alex glanced towards the sky only to find several flaming balls rushing towards the lower districts. "Us." Immediately, he snapped, hoping to stop the cannonballs from striking true but alas, he underestimated the capability of Henosian firepower. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel(ꜰ)ire.net Cannon balls made out of Quillion slammed into the lower districts, causing several explosions and leading to the area going up in flames. Barely managing to stop himself from cursing, Alex immediately snapped once he heard the second round of cannon fire. This time, a layer of black ice began to form over the lower districts while Arwen worked to try and gain control of the flames in a bid to quench them, though given the distance, it was quite a lofty task. Theoren and Melita were silent, none able to comprehend what they were seeing. "What now?" Arwen asked with Alex replying. "Protect the people. As long as they don’t die, the summoning can’t happen." "Understood," Arwen replied then asked. "What about you?" "Don’t worry, just focus on saving as many people as possible." Arwen nodded and then watched as Alex snapped only to disappear in a flash of black and white, a moment later, after which she summoned a skeletal horse and, after ensuring Melita and Theoren got on the horse, rode towards the lower districts, which were now encased in black ice. Save for Black and White Hole, Alex almost seemed to have no other counter for the Domains of Time and Space. Which was hardly ideal, considering that if his opponent had a high enough Authority, they could forcefully correct the curvature exerted on those concepts by his Abilities. Which meant he needed more ways to contend with them and though this was not an urgent matter before, facing off against Thera made it one, leaving him no choice but to dig into his understanding of his Abilities in a bid to figure out another that could be useful should the first two fail to serve as enough to end a fight. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for him to discover one, and it was rather amusing to think that he had not discovered its potential earlier, considering he’d already used it quite a number of times. In any case, with its potential discovered, Alex did not hesitate to put it to use especially after watching Thera basically regenerate from a White Hole Explosion. It was clear she had found a way to escape the effects of White Hole, which meant she must have done the same for Black Hole. Considering she had experienced the attacks too many times to count, this was to be expected. First, create multiple black holes to curve time and space, slowing down Thera and reducing the scope of what Abilities she could utilize. Then, engulf the surrounding area in Eternal Night, giving himself an area advantage after which he would then set up areas ready to explode with Embers of Twilight the moment Thera got too close. Lastly, send out Forever Knights and another clone to draw aggro while hiding in the chaos. After this, all that remained was waiting for the right moment. All Mystics had a cap for the number of Abilities they could use at a time. Usually, the number was the Lock they were in multiplied by two. So, for Alex, who had broken his fifth Lock, he could utilize ten Abilities simultaneously. Since Thera was also a Fifth Lock Mystic, he had to assume she was in a similar state.