Moving spheres

[Ebiris]

Alicia nods, having a look around the decorations and seeing if there's anything more here in the way of secret passages or hidden compartments or the like.

[19:36] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+73 perception
[19:36] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 81 > [d20=8]

[Anastasia]

On the side wall are nine circles, interlinked and glowing with faint purple light. You notice there is a keyhole in the center circle.

[Ebiris]

"Hmm, a keyhole... is this a door or is it connected to a mechanism for something else?" Alicia asks Chrona as she stops in front of that circle.

[Anastasia]

"A treasure lies behind it. Look at the lock," Chrona 42 invites, "You'll understand."

[Ebiris]

She crouches down and peers into the lock more carefully.

[Anastasia]

Ah. The lock is frozen in the present but workable in the past. It can only be opened in the past, and yet the present is here, preventing it from being opened.

[Ebiris]

"So, now to actually try entering the past?" Alicia stands up. "One minute should be enough, right?" she asks Chrona, feeling nervous at even this much.

[Anastasia]

"Yes," Chrona 42 agrees, "It's best if the three of you go at the same time, under the same power."

Syala steps forward, "Good," she says, "I'm ready. Marie?"

[Ebiris]

"Does this mean we'll meet ourselves in the past?" Marie asks, skipping forward to take Syala and Alicia's hands in hers. "There's so much I can tell myself!"

[Anastasia]

"If you wish. It matters nothing since all of you are immune to temporal paradox. Besides, a minute's time is only a minute," Chrona 42 gestures, "Now go, your divine will shall suffice for such a task."

[Ebiris]

Taking a deep breath, Alicia casts the three of them back in time by exactly sixty seconds, when she was previously searching around for secrets before finding that keyhole.

[Anastasia]

In an instant you are there, chronomancy spreading before you. It feels right, part of you awakened again that was asleep and lost.

Nearby an identical trio is looking, pausing to look up. "Ah," Chrono 42 says, "We are in the past and these are our presently oriented doubles working on the lock riddle," he announces. "You will find you did not realize you were in the past until evidence of it presented itself, and now you would hold it as obvious."

Syala looks to Syala, the two sharing a long, amused look.

[Ebiris]

Past-Alicia promptly uses her sense temporal position ability to confirm that she is indeed in the past.

Meanwhile back in Sylica past-real-Alicia is experiencing having two avatars? Or maybe she's not, either way it would be instructive.

"We're only from a minute ahead, let me just get this lock..." present-Alicia says, her divine will opening it up with a knock spell equivalent.

"Hi, me!" present-Marie meanwhile flounces over to past-Marie who immediately frowns.

"Do I really sound like that?" past-Marie asks, looking over at past-Syala and past-Alicia. "Did I sound like that when I was a coure or is this a recent development?"

"Your voice did get notably more enthralling after your promotion..." past-Alicia says dubiously, which makes both Maries perk up.

"Enthralling?!" present-Marie says, grinning and swaggering over to present-Alicia. "Did you hear what you said about my voice, Alicia?"

"I was actually going to say I sound nothing like that, but a compliment is a compliment," past-Marie says with a lithe shrug and a smug smile.

[Anastasia]

Real Alicia feels having multiple avatars together and apart, her senses naturally understanding the momentary temporal difference between herself and past Alicia. It's like being more and yet the same, thoughts rippling together.

Together you are united, for you are one singular force. You can even make time kneel to you.

Meanwhile, past Syala smiles, "Your voice is lovely, Marie. Both of yours. If only Antenora was here, she'd think she died and went to the Heavens. Again."

Amid all of this, Alicia unlocks the door successfully.

[Ebiris]

"I know, it's such a shame she had to miss this, you know she'd have a ball," past-Marie agrees with her own timeline's Syala.

"We're done," Alicia announces, straightening from the lock and turning, where she meets eyes with her past self.

Both of them tense their grips on their swords slightly before past-Alicia makes a rueful chuckle. "I'm not sure we'd really learn anything..."

"I suppose it's no different than sparring with an avatar... no, it's exactly the same as if we had two avatars. There's no mystery, every move is known ahead of time," present-Alicia agrees, her stance relaxing again. "Say goodbye to your past self Marie, we're going back to the present, now."

"I feel like back to the future is more fair," past-Marie says. "Oh well, see ya! I'm definitely gonna be ya!" she waves at present-Marie.

"Not if I see you- wait, that doesn't work," present-Marie pouts a moment before she becomes only-Marie, the three returned to the present.