CHAPTER 800: STRANDED

"Done." The post office owner who went by the name Obelos remarked as he turned to face Arwen, having sent the telegram across to Thyrillai to be delivered to a Miss Phoebe and Miss Persephone of the now ruined Pheripolis, which were Ana and Elena’s respective undercover names.

"How long would it take to get to Thyrillai?" Arwen asked with Obelos inquiring.

"Are you asking how long it would take to get to the recipient?"

"Basically. Is there any difference?"

Obelos replied. "Of course!... If it’s to the post office in Thyrillai, then they should have it by this evening. However, we have to take into account factors like whether the recipient is in an accessible location or not. If yes, they should have the message by tomorrow evening. If not, then it could take a few days."

"I see," Arwen muttered, slightly worried that Ana and Elena might not get the message on time.

She had no way of knowing if they were in an accessible location considering Ana was meant to be training Elena on how to use her newly acquired sight.

Letting out a sigh, all she could do now was hope for the best, after all, worrying wouldn’t change anything.

"Everything alright?" Obelos asked, snapping Arwen out of her thoughts.

Feigning a smile, she replied. "Yes, thank you."

"Considering the content of your letter, I’m guessing you are in big trouble," Obelos remarked.

"Not exactly."

"Hmm." Obelos pondered before ultimately shrugging. "Well, if you say so."

"I’ll be leaving now."

"Of course." Obelos nodded. "Do be careful, I heard the task force is arresting anyone they find loitering in the upper districts."

"I’m aware," Arwen replied but then paused as a thought came to mind. "You knew this and still risked leaving your home to keep the post office open?"

"Oh, don’t think too much about it. Actually, I live on the second floor of the building." Obelos remarked while pointing upward.

"Ah... I see."

Having had her curiosity sated, Arwen made to leave, first checking to ensure that there were no officers in sight before slipping out of the post office.

Using the same route she used to sneak into the upper districts, Arwen snuck back to the middle districts, hopeful that help was on the way.

With the message sent, she could focus on the second phase which was holding down the fort until said help arrived.

She also considered trying to figure out a way to wake Alex up, but then again, she had carried out some checks on his pneuma the night before and discovered extensive damage to it, which meant even if he did wake up, the chances of him being able to do anything were slim.

Which meant once again, that it was up to her to hold things down until help arrived.

And so, she departed with her skeletal horse, swiftly heading towards Douglas’ location.

Alas, she had no way of knowing what awaited her over there.

***

It was hard not to think that it could all have been avoided if she’d just abandoned Douglas.

It made it easier to apportion blame, but Arwen knew that it was pointless.

There was no reason to dwell on the past and the mistakes made.

As long as one was still alive, there would always be a way forward.

That was something she’d learned from Alex.

As it was, all she could do was hope that Douglas was safe while focusing on the best way to escape her current location.

But then, that was where things got tricky because try as she might, she couldn’t figure out where she was.

She’d tried to talk to the people going about their day all around her but none of them were responding.

However, it didn’t seem to be that they were intentionally ignoring.

It was more along the lines of they couldn’t hear her... or rather, they had no idea she was even there.

To test this theory, she’d tried to interact with inanimate objects only to go right through them like a phantom.

Was she dead?... Not at all.

Her pneuma, along with her Soma and Avatar were still intact and in one piece.

So what was going on?

Her current situation reminded her of what Elena had told her about the people of Thebes and how they were stranded in the space between dimensions, able to see the world, but unable to interact with it.

Did that mean she had also been stranded in the space between dimensions?

But the woman who had attacked hadn’t displayed dimensional abilities like Elena’s.

Her Power seemed more similar to Ana’s and her control over Time.

That was when it began to come together, like a puzzle being solved.

To prove her suspicion, Arwen ran, moving from one street to another in search of a library.

It took everything within her to keep herself from panicking as she soon found a library after several hours of running.

She was exhausted, rightfully so, but she rushed in with purpose.

Most people didn’t see the need to keep track of the years so apart from libraries and other public institutions, very few people had a record of dates.

She arrived at the front desk and waited patiently for the librarian to open it and the moment she did, Arwen closed her eyes, her suspicion confirmed.

The year was c.9847 AD, more than a hundred years in the past.

It was difficult to maintain a sense of calm and so, she left, making her way to an alley next to the library where she sat and buried her face within her legs.

She was stranded in time and alas, had no means to return home.

So all she could do was wait and hope that this wasn’t the end.

And if it turned out to be the end, then...

"I’m sorry, Alex. I did my best." She said, sniffling through the tears sliding down her cheeks. "I hope it was enough."