After Professor Garcia left, Shade continued to slump in his chair with his eyes closed. Only several minutes later did he cautiously squint and survey the silent living room, confirming that the other man had truly gone before sitting up straight.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead. Under the gas lamp's light, his face wore the expression of someone just waking from a great dream. That performance had naturally been an act. It seemed that deliberate acting had been the right choice. In the eyes of Saint Byron's professors, even merely seeing a god's dwelling should not have been easy.
When he lowered his head to look toward the basin again, not a single drop of water remained beneath the glow of the brass gas lamp on the living room wall. Only the dry elective course parchment scroll lay quietly inside, with no writing on its back.
"What happened just now?"
He asked the voice in his head as he took the key from his pocket. Sure enough, it was still that Time Key, except its surface was now covered in cracks.
"Why could the key be used repeatedly? Why did I encounter Father of Infinite Tree's mission the very first time I traveled through Spacetime? Why was that god called an Ancient God? What did the Old God mean by the original Thirteen—"
Outlander, I am you. What you do not know, I do not know either.
The woman chuckled softly.
Everything I have displayed that differs from normal circumstances comes from your uniqueness. That knowledge of the Delarion Language came from my drawing upon the fragmented memories of the previous soul in this body. The ability to sense Relics at close range is a peculiarity of the Outlander's soul. I am you; this is your peculiarity. You