“So Estella has no idea about her previous life but you’ve given her the tools of finding out about it if she wants to?” Rylla asked. It was clear she was having a hard time wrapping her head around the whole deal.

“That sums it up, yeah,” Cassie said.

“I sometimes question whether that was even the right thing to do,” Lavini said. While making her finishing touches on the sixth tube.

“Hmm, why not?” Rylla asked.

“I fear that we may have placed an unnecessary burden on her shoulders,” Lavini answered.

“Weeeell… maybe… BUT the alternative would have been way worse, right? What would she have thought of you if she found out you lied to her about where she came from?” Rylla pointed out.

“That is a good point,” Cassie agreed.

“Hmmm… I suppose you are right about that,” Lavini nodded.

“I guess we’re also just kind of worried that, if she learns about who she was, that she would never be the same again…” Cassie said.

“Just because she learns about who she reincarnated from, doesn’t necessarily mean she will instantly change. Heck, if I find out one day I was a frog in a previous life, I’m not gonna start saying ‘ribbit’ all of a sudden! Then again… that would be pretty funny…” Rylla said as she imagined what that would look like. “A-anyway, I’m still Rylla regardless! And Estella is Estella,” she finished.

Lavini grinned. The mermaid was surprisingly thoughtful and wise if she wanted to be.

    “Thanks, Rylla,” Cassie smiled while taking out the seventh tube.

Hestia and Ysera almost couldn’t believe it. It had been a long road to get here but after years of hard work it was finally there. The people of Hakewood, Beaver’s Dam, and several others had come together to raise enough funds to build a proper church for Alinavious. Now, construction had been completed and so it was time for the grand opening.

The building was circular. There were twelve side spires and one main tower standing in the middle. Of course, there was also an entrance hall with a belfry at the top and dozens upon dozens of clocks everywhere. Clocks that were all powered by magic from the goddess herself.

They stood side by side in front of the large gathering of people. Hestia grabbed Ysera’s hand. It was clear that she was getting incredibly nervous. She had never spoken to this many people before at once. However, this time, it was Ysera’s turn to imbue her with courage.

“Ladies, gentlemen, and everybody else, welcome to the opening to the first proper church of time!” Hestia finally shouted.

“Most of you know us by now but let us introduce ourselves regardless!” Ysera continued.

“My name is Hestia and I am the Priestess of Stars!”

“And I am Ysera, Priestess of Rivers!”

“Today marks a special day for all of us. Something we’ve been working on for a very long time!” Hestia added.

“And none of this would have been possible without your continued support. Thank you all so, so much!” Ysera added. All of this yelling they had to do to make sure everybody heard them was something they would have to get used to.

There was a loud cheering from the crowd. Funnily enough, Ysera’s fathers were definitely the loudest of them all. It was a little embarrassing but Ysera was very happy that they were here. That they still supported her, even after her years apart from them.

“And now… let us enter!” Hestia said excitedly as she and Ysera went to open up the massive double doors. Luckily, there were several clockwork mechanisms in place to help them open up automatically.

As the entrance hall came into view, the visitors all started cheering again. Eagerly, they followed the two priestesses inside where they were greeted by several statues dedicated to the goddess herself and, of course, more clocks.

Ysera held Hestia’s hand tightly. She was really nervous now but so long as they did this next part together, it would be alright. They opened the grand door on the opposite side of the hall to enter the main tower. Today would mark their first day as true, bonafide priestesses.

The Priestess of Rivers? That sure sounded familiar. Yes. That was her title for it encapsulated her views of time so well.

The opening of the church that they had worked so hard on. It was such a wonderful end to such a fantastic journey. And of course the start of a new one. Another key memory that connected the pools of her memory further. It was starting to become a proper river now.

Lavini was sure of it now. She could feel that they were making a real difference here. Each tube they restored was causing a stir in the flow of time. It must have been the part that Ysera represented. It actually felt quite similar to Rylla’s awakening back in Listanta which was to be expected of course.

But would it be enough, she wondered? Would they still need the help of the as of yet unknown Keeper of Flames? Or could they potentially wake all but one of the old priestesses up?

Well, it was a little too late to consider these things. They had already made so much progress here after all.

It had been some time now since the church had opened. The priestesses had taken on several devout nuns that were eager to help out. Visitors came from very far away to learn more about this goddess that created time. A goddess that few truly knew much about.

Both Hestia and Ysera couldn’t be happier by all of this extra attention. They had dedicated their lives to making this church the best it could be. Each of them had their own, individual view of what time is and how it worked but of course, they agreed on key points. Like the fact that time was a gift and that people were free to use it as they pleased. At least, so long as one did not harm the gift of time of others.

And the bond between the two priestesses had only strengthened further as time went on. They truly loved each other and they promised that their rivers of time would always be intertwined.

However, there were days where Ysera truly missed her parents and her river, the mighty Alina, flowing through the Aeon forest. She’d then take a week off to visit her fathers and just be at home. That is, until one day when Hestia made a suggestion: Making a dedicated shrine on the Alina river.

And so, today, that shrine was going to be opened. The gathering of people today was definitely not as big as it had been when the main church opened but that was okay. After all, this was only going to be a shrine. A place where travellers could stop for a moment to pay their respects.

“Thank you all for coming today!” Ysera said eagerly.

    “We proudly announce that the first ever shrine to Alinavious is now… open!” Hestia said excitedly. The two women then stepped aside to let the group of people inside.

    The visitors were all eagerly looking around the new building when Ysera and Hestia entered as well. They were followed by Ysera’s fathers and Hestia’s parents.

    “From this day forward, I’ll be tending to this shrine to the best of my abilities half of the month,” Ysera announced.

    “The other half she’ll be with me at the main church!” Hestia added.

    “Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for helping me set this all up,” Ysera said while curtsying.

“Time be with you all!” Hestia called out.

And so the river shrine was opened. Her shrine. Finally, Ysera had remembered the context for how she had come to this point. She knew now how she became the priestess of a shrine by the river. A priestess of time. 

    Her river up to her current point was almost complete but there were still holes. Places where the river didn’t connect just yet. However, she trusted that whoever was helping her wouldn’t just stop now. She’d remember it soon enough. But what would happen afterwards? That she couldn’t say just yet.

“Whoah…” Cassie gasped as she stumbled over forwards. Lavini was just barely able to catch her to prevent a nasty fall.

“Are you alright, Cassie dear?” Lavini asked, a little concerned.

“I… yeah… I just got overwhelmed all of a sudden after that last tube was put in,” Cassie admitted.

“You’re starting to feel it too now, huh?” Rylla said.

Lavini looked resolute. The fact that these effects were now noticeable to the nun as well could only be a good thing. “We truly have confirmation then that we are waking her up at this rate.”

“Yeah, but doing so is seriously disrupting the currents of time,” Rylla said.

Lavini nodded. “I sincerely hope that it will calm again once she has woken up… After all, it did after you woke up, Rylla,” she said.

Cassie gulped. “We’re… going to be alright if we keep doing this… right?” she asked.

“Well, only one way to find out!” Rylla said cheerfully.

Cassie let out a sigh. “I was afraid you’d say that…” she muttered under her breath.

There were only two more tubes left to go. They were almost done. Carefully, they started working on tube number nine.

It had been another busy day at her shrine. Busy and quite exhausting. Ysera was really looking forward to the day after tomorrow, for she would get to go back to be with Hestia again.

The hour was late. The sun had already set and the forest around her shrine darkened. It was unlikely that there would be another visitor. She could have been at home several hours earlier already were it not for the fact that a large caravan of tradesmen came past and really wanted to see what this shrine was all about. Ysera didn’t mind it that much so long as it didn’t happen too often. She did still want to have some free time left after all!

As Ysera was about to leave for today and head home, she was surprised by the sudden appearance of a hooded figure standing in the doorway of the shrine. It was hard to tell any defining features due to their cloak but their height was rather striking. This had to be the tallest person Ysera had ever seen!

Regardless, they were a little too late. “I am sorry. I was just about to close up for the night,” Ysera said apologetically.

“Won’t you please make some time for a weary traveller?” the figure said. Her voice sounded a little… abnormal. It was as if there was a reverb behind her words that carried on into the night. It was especially noticeable when she said the word ‘time’.

Ysera eyed the stranger for a moment, uncertain of what to do or say. On the one hand, she really did want to go home. It had been a long and tiring day after all. However, she was beginning to get a little curious about this stranger. “Very well, then.”

The stranger bowed her head and entered the shrine with a smile on her face. It was one of the only things Ysera could actually see on her. For now, she simply looked around herself, inspecting the shrine.

Ysera gulped. The stranger’s mere presence was almost too much but she didn’t want to appear rude.

“What a complex set-up you have going here,” the stranger said.

For a moment, it didn’t really register in Ysera’s mind what her mysterious visitor said but she soon found her voice again. “The… the water flows up through the tubes. Then they all gather in the centre of the ceiling from which it drips down through the tube before scattering again. One droplet per second,” she explained.

“My, how accurate,” the woman said. That voice. It sounded so enchanting. There was definitely something more to her than meets the eye. 

Ysera chuckled nervously. “Getting the dripping to be accurate might have taken more time than the construction of the actual shrine itself!” she said.

The stranger chuckled as well herself. “Such dedication,” she mused while eyeing the dripping water. “You must be very devoted to your Goddess.”

Ysera nodded. “I sure am!”

“May I ask. What made you do all this?” the stranger asked.

Ysera looked at her for a moment longer. Where was all of this going? Was this just genuine curiosity? Regardless, she found that she kind of just… wanted to give answers. “Well, it is thanks to time that the river can flow. That change can happen. I hope to spread the importance of time. And of course, I am thankful to the Goddess Alinavious for giving it to us. Her generosity truly inspires me,” she explained.

For a moment, the stranger just stood there, smiling a mysterious smile. Her hood hid the rest of her face so it was kind of difficult to tell what she was thinking. Eventually, she turned her back to face the far wall. “Ysera, Priestess of Rivers, was it not?”

Ysera perked up at this. “You are familiar with my name,” she asked. Sure, their church had become decently popular but it was still small when compared to some of the bigger churches around these lands. Yet this woman knew of her?

“Of course I know who you are, Ysera,” the woman said. After that, she reached up with her arms and removed her hood. Instantly, the effects of her presence increased. There was an ethereal glow that surrounded her head and a halo of pure light floated around her pure white, long hair. When she turned her head, Ysera’s jaw dropped. She had to be the most beautiful person Ysera had ever seen. Her irises were incredibly striking and Ysera was certain that they had to be moving, functioning clocks. She had elongated ears and her skin was devoid of blemishes. 

“After all. You speak to me every single morning,” she said.

Ysera instantly dropped to her knees. She couldn’t believe it. Here? In her shrine?! Was this really real?! It took all of Ysera’s power to find her voice again.

“My goddess…” was all she could say. It really was happening. Alinavious, the Goddess of Time, was standing right here in her shrine. Never in a million years had she expected this to happen! How could she not have noticed earlier?! How could she have spoken so casually before her?!

The Goddess stepped around the central tube and approached the kneeling Ysera, who was respectfully averting her gaze. However, rather unexpectedly, the Goddess knelt down herself and placed a hand on Ysera’s cheek. It felt soft and warm.

“There is no need for such formalities,” she said. She then stood back up and helped Ysera rise to her feet as well.

But that didn’t really help the sense of awe that had washed over Ysera. This was the goddess. Her goddess. The one that she had pledged herself to. The one that had gifted time to everyone.

Alinavious smiled at her. A gentle smile that was almost motherly. “Do you know why I have come here?” she asked.

Ysera’s throat felt dry. Words died in her mouth. Why had the goddess come here? There could have been so many reasons that it was impossible to guess. She shook her head slowly.

“Ysera, I have come to you tonight to present you with a gift,” Alinavious said.

“A… g-gift?” Ysera stammered. She really didn’t know what else to say or do. She held so much respect for this goddess that she just didn’t know what would be the right showing of that.

“You and Hestia have been working tirelessly, all for a Goddess that had no followers of her own. You have achieved and created so much as a result of your dedication to time itself,” the Goddess spoke.

Ysera couldn’t help but just listen. The sound of the water dripping, the ambient sounds of the forest, or even the sound of the flowing river outside were all drowned out by the sound of her own beating heart.

“I wish to reward this but on two conditions,” Alinavious continued.

Ysera, again, could not find her voice. She was just listening, waiting to see where this was all going.

“First and foremost, I desire not this show of reverence from you. Please, I wish for you and Hestia to see me as your equal,” the Goddess said.

At this point, Ysera actually couldn’t help but choke for a moment. Equals?! To a Goddess?!

Alinavious chuckled. “And second, I will only give you my gift if you choose to accept it,” she said.

Ysera, managing to calm down now from her coughing fit, looked up again. She had to choose to accept it or not? Then that meant that whatever this gift would be, it was going to be quite serious. “What… uhm… what is it that… that I would be accepting?” she stammered.

“Are you familiar with elementals like those water or fire?” Alinavious mused.

“Y-yes… of course,” Ysera said. She had actually seen several on her travels. Water elementals thrived in the Alina delta. She had seen several earth elementals in the mountainous regions of the land. She had even met a fire elemental that had offered her services to a sauna!

“I believe that the time has arrived for a new kind and I think that you and Hestia possess the qualities to undergo this transformation. Ysera, I offer you and Hestia this choice to become the first time elementals,” Alinavious continued.

Ysera didn’t think her eyes could grow wider than they had already been yet here she was. A time elemental? What would that even look like? What would that even be like? And… she was really given the choice to actually become one?

“Think carefully on this. Becoming a time elemental will entail more than a simple change of appearance. Currently, time flows only through me. However, by taking on this mantle, it will flow through you as well. You will be just as responsible as I am to, as you put it, keep the river flowing. And this… will be permanent, until the end of time,” Alinavious explained.

What an incredible choice. A huge, impactful one too. Ysera would essentially be almost like an angel of time if she accepted this. Did she want that? Was she ready for such a responsibility? Was she up to this task? Was she even worthy of it? Well, since Alinavious herself came to offer her this choice, then that last thing must be true at least.

    And then there was the fact that Hestia was given this choice too. What did she think of this? Would she accept it? What if she did and Ysera declined it here. What then? Or what if the reverse is true?

    Ysera opened her mouth. She wanted to voice her concerns but Alinavious spoke up already before she could.

    “I ask that you look into your heart before you make this decision. What you want. Not what others will want of you. You have done so once before. Now do it again,” she said.

    Ysera blinked. Of course. She had left Beaver’s Dam, despite knowing that her decision caused grief for others, because that is what she wanted to do. Now, she would have to do the same. Regardless of what Hestia chose to do, she had to make her own choice. She had to search her own soul and ask if she truly wanted this or not.

    And the answer came to her rather quickly. There was only one right answer she could give.

    “I accept,” Ysera said firmly. This was truly it. From this day onwards, she would no longer be human. She would forever be Ysera, an elemental of time. It exhilarated her. It invigorated her. She couldn’t believe this was truly happening and yet it was.

    Alinavious smiled. “Thank you,” she said softly. And with that, she reached down and placed her hand over Ysera’s chest, right over her heart. Instantly, there was an almost glowing heat that radiated through her body as the Goddess’ divine magic was poured into her. Ysera let out a scream as it happened. It actually wasn’t painful but it was certainly shocking.

    Even when the goddess let go, Ysera’s chest still had this radiant glow and she could feel it changing her, all the way down to her very core. When the glowing finally subsided, there was a swirling disk now visible on her chest. It was swirling… with water?

    The disk was still changing as it slowly formed into what had to be a clock. Ysera almost couldn’t believe that such a mechanical device was now a part of her body. She could feel it right there on her chest and it was reaching inside quickly. Swirling deeper and deeper until she could feel it taking hold of her beating heart. Ysera buckled over forwards as it tried to penetrate inside. Luckily, the Goddess was there to catch her fall.

    “Do not fear it, Ysera. Let it wash over you. You have already accepted it,” Alinavious said softly.

    Ysera clenched her jaws together while her eyes closed. It was true of course. She had already accepted it. This was what she wanted. This was what she had chosen. She grabbed onto the robes of the goddess tightly while her resistance quickly relented against the tidal wave of the transformation. She opened her eyes again as her heart was quickly transformed. Converted into… something? It was a little unclear but it would soon become apparent.

    From the clock that was now her heart, lines of pure white light spread out across her body. No, they weren’t just lines. They were tubes, much like the ones in her shrine, that actually spread within her body. One of them went up her neck towards her head. One of them went up to her right shoulder, and one of them went down towards her left hip.

    Not only that but Ysera could physically see that her skin was changing. Not only did its colour turn teal but the way it felt did as well. It became… metallic. Carefully, Ysera touched it and, yes, it was real. It still bent as it did before but now, it was smooth and shiny.

    More and more of her skin got converted in this way while up in her right shoulder, something else happened. The tube actually opened up into her arm where a glowing white light started a different kind of conversion. Instead of it becoming the same uniformal teal metal, one side actually became made of glass. Ysera couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She could see into her own arm. And it… was empty? At least, it was for now.

    There wasn’t really much time to dwell on it though as the same thing quickly started happening to her left leg. Again, half of it became made of glass while the rest was again the same teal metal that the rest of her body was quickly turning into. Interestingly enough, her left arm and her right leg did not undergo the same change.

    And while all of that was happening, the third tube that had gone up through Ysera’s neck was now starting to transform her face as well. As with the rest of her body, her soft human skin swiftly changed into smooth metal. Her otherwise brown eyes and hair turned a deep blue. Any blemishes quickly disappeared under the encroaching metal.

    Only once this had happened did the radiant heat that Ysera had felt throughout the transformation finally relent. She panted when the sensations finally subsided enough that she could fully inspect her new, transformed body. She still had the same human figure. Anyone could still tell that she was herself. This was, at least, a relief.

    However, she knew that the transformation into a time elemental wasn’t quite finished yet. There was something missing. Something essential: Time itself. She had yet to feel the true flow of time coursing through her as the Goddess had promised her. Curiously, she looked up but all that Alinavious did in return was wink at her.

    For a moment, Ysera was a little confused but that quickly passed as right at that moment, it hit her like a waterfall. She couldn’t help but white out as the immense power of time itself coursed through her. It was almost too much to handle. She was, after all, only human.

    No… that was no longer true. She wasn’t human anymore, nor would she ever be again. Now, she was a time elemental. Now she made up a part of time itself. She was time, just as the Goddess Alinavious was.

    Just as Hestia was.

    Yes… she could feel it now. She could feel Hestia’s presence among the flow of time. It seems that both of them had accepted the offer. Knowing that made Ysera even happier about all of this. 

    And just like that, Ysera was able to come back to her senses. She was disoriented for a moment and rubbed her eyes. When she did so, she noticed a sloshing sound? Only now did she see that her right arm had been filled up with water and it was slowly dripping, through her heart, down into her left leg. It was the flow of time, made physical. 

    A sense of joy filled her from all of the sensations. The gentle flow of time. The knowledge that Hestia had transformed as well. The fact that it was given to her by the goddess herself. She couldn’t help but start crying from this joy.

    The Goddess stroked Ysera’s hair as her form started to get enveloped in the same radiant light that had transformed Ysera earlier. She looked proud, yet also a little tired. Likely, sharing time with Ysera took a lot out of her, not to mention the fact that she did this with Hestia as well on the same night. “Rise up, Ysera, Priestess of Time, as the new Keeper of Rivers,” she said as her form faded from view, leaving the new time elemental all alone again.

Ysera remembered it now. So clearly too. She had been offered the chance to transform into a time elemental and she accepted it. She had chosen to uphold the legacy of Alinavious and she was doing so right now.

It was so magical to finally be able to remember all of it. The transformation, the first time she felt time flow through her, the soft embrace of the Goddess herself. They were powerful, happy memories.

She remembered the reactions from those around her. Most people stood there dumbfounded when they entered her shrine the following morning and found a time elemental standing there instead of the human priestess that they were expecting. Her fathers freaked out at first but they were relieved to know that she was still their daughter.

And of course, there was Hestia. Her lover, who had been transformed into a time elemental as well. She looked vastly different from Ysera, having been given a more appropriate transformation for the Keeper of Stars. And from that day on, their bond and their love for each-other had only grown more and more.

Over the years since then, more joined her and Hestia. Feline… Rylla… Christine… Lorelei… she could still feel their presence but she longed to be able to talk to them all again. To give them a hug. Or even just to exchange a glance.

But alas, she’s also had to say goodbye to a lot of people. After all, all of this happened 1475 years, 11 months, 28 days, 19 hours, 43 minutes, and 7 seconds ago. So much time that had passed thanks to her own efforts.

With this key moment in her history, she had regained almost all of her lost memories. There was only one piece of the puzzle still missing: How come she was now here, deep in slumber?

Cassie clutched the final tube in her hand. “Are we sure about doing this, Lavini? There might not be a way back,” she said.

“I think it should be fine! I mean, you managed to wake me up, right?” Rylla said.

“Yes, and time still remained in balance after that,” Lavini said.

“Yeah, so it’ll be fine!” Rylla said. There was a fiery passion behind her words. She wanted to see this through just as much as everybody present. This wasn’t a surprise, of course. After all, she would finally be reunited with someone she knew. Someone she shared a history with.

“We have come this far. We should see it through until the end,” Lavini said.

Cassie gulped and let out a sigh. “Alright…” she muttered. With that, they began working on the final tube.

Unrest had dominated recent times. War ravaged the lands since the armies of an unseen enemy had invaded the mortal realm. Refugees had come to seek shelter in Ysera’s shrine but she knew that it offered little protection for them. If only she could travel to see her companions again but the roads were too dangerous and reports even stated that the Aeon forest was completely surrounded. It had been months now… 

How did all of this happen? Who was behind the enemy? And what was their goal? There wasn’t much to go on. Soldiers that managed to come back from a battle spoke of the terror they felt on the battlefield. Of the spatial magic and cosmic horrors unleashed by the enemy.

Today seemed no different from usual. Several new refugees passed through the area and sought shelter but there was only so much room in Ysera’s shrine. All she could do was offer them words of comfort.

“Stay strong. Time is everlasting. Things may look bad now but it will pass. We will see better days again. Believe in the goddess, for she has no intention of letting time stop today,” Ysera spoke.

Some of the visitors looked hopeful. Some looked full of despair. There were even some that were filled with anger at the enemy. Ysera understood them all. It was as if someone was purposefully pouring filth into the river of time. It angered Ysera too, to the point where she had prayed to Alinavious several times, asking if she could help out in any way to stop this war. 

But every time, the Goddess told her to stay put in her shrine. That she mustn’t interfere in any way whatsoever. It had always been a little cryptic. Why couldn’t Ysera help? She had done so many times in the past so why was this different? Why was she being left out now? And what of the others? Were they being told the same thing?

“Priestess… the enemy draws closer to the Aeon forest every day… they’ve even started sending in spies. What do we do if they get here?” one of the refugees asked.

“We will find shelter elsewhere. The forest is vast and thick, and there are still lots of safe havens around,” Ysera answered. Truth be told, she did not have a proper answer to that question. All she could do was try and ease worries but if the armies truly were beginning to penetrate deeper into the forest, then she had no idea where anyone could still go. The outside world was as uncertain as it had been the day she decided to leave Beaver’s Dam all those years ago. At least she knew that the others were still safe for she could still feel them within the streams of time.

“She’s right, we can’t lose hope now!” another refugee said.

“Yeah! We can live through thi-” another refugee started. However, her words died mid sentence. For a moment, Ysera was confused about what happened when she noticed that the visitor wasn’t moving at all. The other refugees were behaving equally strangely. Some were still moving, but incredibly slowly. Others actually moved a lot faster, and some even seemed to be moving in reverse.

“W-wha-” Ysera stammered when all of a sudden, a searing pain jolted through her body like lightning. She howled out from the agony that would not relent. It was a pain that harmed her down to her very core. The water that always flowed from her arm down to her leg through her heart was now burning. No longer was it dripping as steadily as usual.

Something was wrong. Very wrong! But it was simply impossible to try and focus on what could have happened. All she knew was that whatever had happened, the flow of time was in jeopardy!

But she was a time elemental. She could fix this! She was one of the pillars that kept the stream going! She had known this from the day she first transformed. She had accepted that, should a day like this come, she was ready to do her duty.

Mustering all her strength, Ysera crawled over to the centre of her shrine. She had to do this, for the benefit of all. After all, time, like the river, flows on forevermore…

At long last, Ysera could remember. That fateful day when it had all gone wrong. Only now did she understand the true extent of what had happened. No longer could she feel the presence of the Goddess as she remembered it. There was only one explanation she could come to: that day, the Goddess of time, Alinavious, had perished.

The searing pain she had felt was time itself, threatening to crash out of balance and she had to give it her all to prevent it from being completely destroyed. She and the other Keepers of Time.

But if that was the case, then there was still one burning question. What was happening now? She could feel more and more of herself returning. She could feel herself being Ysera again. Something she hadn’t been able to in the last one thousand years.

New sensations started pouring in. Or were they old sensations that she had forgotten about? She could feel the water around her. She could hear its flow. She could even taste it. Her senses were definitely returning to her!

Suddenly, something stirred around her. She could feel a disturbance in the water and she could hear that something big was being moved all around her. There was a sensation that she was being lifted up somehow. What was happening?

When the lifting stopped, the water that had surrounded her was being lowered. The casing that she had been in was opening itself up somehow until at long last, there was stillness again. Some lingering water still dripped from her. Within her, the stream of time was flowing as it always had. There was a soft breeze that she could both feel and hear.

And for the first time in a thousand years, Ysera was able to do something again that she could only long to do once more: she opened her eyes. At first, all she could see was white as her eyes adjusted to the light. Eventually though, she could see some vague colours and shapes until finally, she could see what looked to be the walls of her shrine with clarity. 

Eyes… she had eyes! Carefully, Ysera looked down at the pair of hands that were moving as she willed them. They were hers too! For a moment, all Ysera could really do was inspect her body. Something she had forgotten about almost completely. But everything was still there. Her metal, teal skin. Her aqua-coloured long hair. The clock that was her heart.

But then, there was something that she hadn’t expected. There was the sound of coughing behind her. Ysera couldn’t help but jolt up for a moment. However, she hadn’t quite regained control of her body just yet and so her movements were a little sluggish. She turned around to see who had made that sound and she came face to face with two figures. One of them had pure white skin while the other was made of glass. There was something about the latter. Something almost familiar… 

“Are you… Ysera?” the glass woman asked.

Ysera blinked a few times. This stranger knew her? How? It had been so long… Slowly, she nodded her head.

The glass woman smiled and extended her hand. “Welcome back,” she said.

For a moment, Ysera simply eyed the stranger’s hand, unsure of what to do. She didn’t know yet whether she could trust this stranger after all. There were many questions she had. She opened her mouth and mustered up the strength to finally use her voice again. “Who… are… you…?” Her voice felt weak and soft but Ysera hoped it was loud enough at least.

The glass woman lowered her hand again for now. “I am Lavini. Priestess of Time and Keeper of the Sands, and this is Cassiopeiah,” she said.

Priestess of Time? Keeper of the Sands? What? How… where… who… huh?! How was that possible? The Goddess had died and yet there was a new time elemental? Sure enough, this Lavini was speaking the truth. Ysera was able to feel the flow of time coming from the stranger. She wasn’t lying, that’s for sure.

“How…” was all she was able to really say. There were so many questions that she didn’t really know where or even how to start asking them.

“YSERAAAAA!” came a new, rather high-pitched voice from nearby. 

    Confused, Ysera looked around herself. There was something familiar about that voice. That familiarity was quickly confirmed when she looked down to a nearby hole in the floor. Through it, a mermaid was poking her head, teary-eyed. A mermaid that Ysera knew.

    “R-Rylla…” she stammered.

    Rylla tried to somehow climb up but couldn’t quite manage it. Instead, she resorted to just raising her arms to invite Ysera into a hug.

    Carefully, Ysera tried to move her body to step off the platform she was standing on. However, she was still quite clumsy and almost fell. Luckily, Lavini and Cassiopeiah were there to steady her. They helped her get to Rylla safely, who was beginning to sob.

    “Rylla…” Ysera repeated as she bent down and gave the mermaid a hug.

    “Ysera, I missed you so much!” Rylla shouted as she wrapped her arms around the time elemental.

    Ysera couldn’t believe that she was being hugged again. It felt so alien to her now but at the same time, it felt so right and nice. To be hugged by one of the only people she still knew. Tears welled up in her eyes as she hugged Rylla back. “I missed you too…” she whispered softly.

    Eventually, Rylla let go of the hug again and looked happy as can be. “Welcome back!” she said.

    “I’m back…” Ysera repeated. She truly was. That hug was real. She frowned. “Why am I back?”

    “I suppose we are to blame for that,” Lavini said as she leaned down as well to come sit on the floor.

    “We’re your wake-up call!” Rylla cheered happily.

    Ysera was starting to get quite anxious now. “But… but I can’t… I’m sorry but… I shouldn’t be awake. And Rylla, you shouldn’t be awake either. We have to keep time moving…”

    Lavini held up her hand. “Worry not, Ysera dear. You no longer have to carry that burden alone,” she said.

    Ysera looked at her as if she was talking nonsense.

    “There’s new time elementals now, Ysera! Five of them and a sixth on the way! Well, not exactly on the way, we haven’t exactly found anyone yet… but still!” Rylla said excitedly.

    “New time elementals… How is that possible? Alinavious is…” Ysera couldn’t bring herself to finish that sentence. It was still hard to believe that the Goddess was truly gone, even if it had been so long since that had happened.

    “That’s… a long story,” Cassiopeiah started. Both she and Lavini proceeded to explain to Ysera some of what she had missed. About Bridget’s finding of the mysterious gear and her transformation into the Keeper of Gears. About Akita’s later transformation into the Keeper of Atomics. About Lavini’s own transformation into the Keeper of the Sands. About the transformation of Zexa and Xeza into the Keepers of the Dials. And of course, about the awakening of Rylla.

    All the while, Ysera was listening intently. She couldn’t quite discern whether the goddess was behind these new transformations or not. After all, who else had the power to turn people into time elementals? But at the same time, the Goddess was truly gone. She could not feel her presence as she could before. Why then did Lavini and her friends transform?

    Rylla did not have any answers either. She appeared to remember nothing of the invasion and simply assumed that she was within the Spring of Aeons full time towards the end, likely to keep worried tabs on everybody. As such, she couldn’t really learn more about the others. About Lorelei, Christine, Feline, and, of course, about Hestia.

    When eventually Ysera wanted to start talking about her own past, Lavini stopped her. “I suggest you save your energy. All of us would be very interested in listening to your story back at the church,” she said.

    “Y-you have a church?” Ysera asked.

    “Why, of course we do,” Lavini said.

    “Kind of difficult to be a priestess without a church,” Cassie chuckled.

    Ysera couldn’t help but smirk as she thought back to the old barn back in Hakewood. If only she knew how wrong that statement was.

    “It will be a long trek back to New Stepolis. Are you ready to make such a journey?” Lavini asked.

    Ysera looked down at her body. After a moment of hesitation, she stood up using her own strength. She wobbled on her legs for a moment but eventually managed to regain her balance. “If you have enough patience… then yes, I think so,” she said.

    Lavini gave her a warm smile. “There is no rush. It is as you have said. Time, like the river, flows on forevermore,” she said.

    Ysera couldn’t help but smile at that statement. That was her own personal creed by which she lived. By which she would continue to live. The river of her life that she had always followed was flowing in a new direction now and it was her hope that, by following it, she could be reunited with the others once more.