Round 120 Transcript

As Seraphine finishes her plea, the chamber falls silent once more. The glowing symbols on the wall pulse with an eerie light, casting an ominous shadow on the ground. Merrin's expression remains impassive, but her eyes flicker to Jeane, and then back to Seraphine. Without a word, Jeane takes a deep breath, her gaze fixed on the symbols. "I'll try," she says, her voice steady despite the tension in her shoulders. "But I need some space to focus."

Jeane begins to circle around the room, her eyes scanning the symbols as she mutters incantations under her breath. The air seems to vibrate with anticipation, and the ground beneath them continues its restless motion. Suddenly, a low hum fills the chamber, and the symbols on the wall begin to glow brighter, as if they're responding to Jeane's magic. The blue light intensifies, casting an eerie glow over the room, and Seraphine feels a shiver run down her spine. She knows that whatever is happening, it's not just the tower collapsing - it's something far more sinister. The ground beneath them lurches violently once again, and Seraphine stumbles, catching herself against the wall for support.

Jeane circles the symbols slowly, her crimson eyes scanning each mark with intense focus. The runes pulse rhythmically, as if breathing, and she can feel their energy thrumming through the stone beneath her boots. Right. Time magic. On shifting ground in a collapsing tower. She mutters a low incantation, testing the edges of the power emanating from the wall. The symbols flare brighter for an instant before dimming again.

Seraphine's pleading gaze burns at the corner of her vision—always the quickest to rush into danger when there's even a chance at helping someone. Jeane admires that about her, truly she does. But it often leads to situations like this one: standing on the brink of disaster because someone couldn't stop themselves from pressing buttons. I hear you, Seraphine, Jeane says softly, more to herself than anyone else, but Varrika wouldn't want us all dead trying to save her. The ground lurches again, and Jeane has to spread her wings for balance. The chamber seems to groan around them, as if the very air is complaining under the strain of so much magic. Focus. She takes a deep breath, centering herself despite the chaos. If there's a way to use this safely—if these symbols aren't just traps masquerading as solutions—that'll take more than just glancing at them. Jeane approaches the wall cautiously, one hand extended palm-out toward the glowing marks. The energy prickles against her skin like tiny needles, and she has to stifle a shudder. There's... structure here, she murmurs, mostly to herself as she begins tracing patterns with her fingertips. Not just random symbols—it's a system. The runes pulse in response to her touch, each contact sending little jolts of power up her arm. Time magic is notoriously unstable; it tends to warp and twist everything it touches, including the user's mind. Jeane has dabbled with it before, always careful, always aware of its dangers. This could work... theoretically. Her voice gains a bit more confidence as she traces out what looks like a sequence—a way to channel the power without detonating the whole chamber.

But then Merrin speaks up from her position against the wall: "What exactly is your plan here? Step by step."

Jeane turns, finding herself surprisingly grateful for the interruption. At least someone's thinking about consequences. I'm not just winging it, if that's what you're asking. She gestures to the symbols with her free hand. See this pattern here? It looks like a stabilization sequence—a way to ground the time magic before using it actively. If we can activate this first—the runes flare brightly as she touches them—then we might be able to use the distortion without collapsing the whole tower around us. She meets Merrin's eyes directly, challenging her to find fault in that logic. It's not perfect. Nothing ever is with time magic. But it gives us a fighting chance instead of just hoping we don't accidentally erase ourselves from existence. The ground shifts again, more violently this time, and Jeane has to grab onto the wall for support. The symbols flicker ominously but remain active. We need to decide now—are we doing this my way, carefully and methodically, or are we improvising and praying whatever Seraphine wants to try doesn't turn us all inside out? She looks between Merrin and Seraphine, her expression serious.

Trust me on this. I know time magic better than either of you, and if there's a safe way through—even a small one—I want to find it for Varrika. But we do this smart or not at all. As she waits for their response, Jeane continues tracing the symbols with her free hand, committing the pattern to memory in case things go wrong. The power thrumming through the stone feels... hungry somehow, like a creature waiting to be fed. She hopes she's reading this right.

I feel a rush of relief as Jeane begins to explain her plan, her fingers tracing intricate patterns in the glowing symbols on the wall. The ground shifts beneath us again, but this time it feels less like we're about to fall through the floor and more like we're standing on the edge of something profound. That's... that’s actually genius, I say, my voice a mix of awe and excitement. I take a step closer, my eyes fixed on the way the runes pulse in response to her touch.
Merrin's question hangs in the air for a moment, and I turn to look at her. She has a point—we should be clear about what exactly we're getting into. "A stabilization sequence," I repeat Jeane's words, trying them out on my tongue. "So we could use the time magic without... without it collapsing everything around us?" My mind races with the possibilities. If this works, if we can find a way to safely access that power...
I turn back to Jeane, my expression serious now. "Okay, I trust you on this. But Seraphine... what if something goes wrong? What if—"
I stop myself before I can finish the thought. The fear of losing Varrika is still a raw wound in my chest, but I know Jeane would never risk all our lives lightly. "No, wait. You're right. This is the best chance we have. And if it means saving Varrika... that’s worth the risk."
I take another step closer to the wall, my eyes darting between the symbols and Jeane's face. The air crackles with energy, and I can feel the magic humming through the stone at my fingertips. "So what do we need to do? How does this work?"