In short, after three weeks, Shade finally completed all the adventures of the first Time Key and witnessed the final story of the god. The tremendous gains also meant that Shade could try opening the second key.
On monday, he obtained a key from Fifth Epoch 3002 from Old John. After reviewing his gains, he tried using the new key to open the door.
Just as he had expected, the key could fit into a completely incompatible keyhole, but it could not turn the lock. The rule that each use of a Time Key had to be separated by a week applied to all keys.
Therefore, if Shade wanted to venture into the second stretch of the past, he would have to wait until early next thursday morning.
As for the relic Another Face that he had obtained from the Maid, Shade placed it behind the Hidden Wall in the basement. Its side effects were severe, but its containment conditions were very simple. The burlap cloth the Maid had given him, stained with the blood of several clergymen, was sufficient.
While placing the relic, Shade stared at the Old Gods Statue in the center of the circular space. Clutching the wooden box containing the "White Stone Crystal," he thought for a long time before deciding not to immediately try activating the other spatial landmark.
He was already exhausted tonight, and he was not sure whether long-distance teleportation had a cooldown like the Time Key, or whether it required no waiting at all, like the last time he had teleported from Saint Derain Square to Saint Derain Square.
But if he suddenly ended up somewhere far away and could not return immediately, the cost of taking a steam train would be the least of his concerns. Leaving the cat at home