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Riebeck almost doesn't notice it, lost amidst the sound of crumbling earth and meteor impacts. But it's a new sound, and they focus on it eagerly. They continue to play their banjo, mostly by habit and instinct, paying more attention to what they can hear in the distance. A rapidly decreasing distance, too, if the increase in noise is anything to go by.
It sounds… like an engine? It's intimately familiar, even though they haven't used their own ship since they landed on this planet. So there's another Hearthian traveling the system, and they've decided to visit this brittle world. Riebeck hopes they find them. It's been… too long since they've been able to speak to another person.
The scream of jet propulsion gets closer still, and Riebeck starts to worry that maybe they've decided to fly into the planet. There's certainly enough holes to manage it. They have no idea if this astronaut will be able to compensate for the gravitational pull of Brittle Hollow's core, though, and the thought of anyone falling into it makes Riebeck shudder. No thanks.
The engine noise dies down relatively soon, still some distance away. Riebeck waits, not even sure if this newcomer is going to come here. They keep playing, just in case. If this newcomer is headed Riebeck's way, they're probably following the sound.
A small figure rounds the corner a few minutes later and bounces over to Riebeck with an alarming degree of recklessness. They swear their heart stops every time those feet touch a little bit too close to the edge of this platform. It only takes a couple seconds for this new traveler to reach their camp, and they stop on the other side of the campfire.
"Wanna get off this rock?" they ask before Riebeck even has the chance to greet them.
"Um." Riebeck opens and closes their mouth soundlessly a couple times, then flinches when another chunk of the crust breaks off nearby. "Yes?"
"Great! Come on, let's go." They bound closer, reaching down to grab both of Riebeck's hands and pull them to their feet. This other traveler seems to be in a rush, which Riebeck can understand. They don't really want to be on this planet any longer than necessary either.
Riebeck scrambles to pack up their supplies, strapping their banjo to their back. The hatchling bounces on their toes, full of restless energy, and they grab Riebeck's hand the moment it looks like they're ready to go. Riebeck can't help but laugh at their antics, and they grin back at the sound.
Getting back to this traveler's ship is just as nerve wracking as Riebeck expected it to be. They very carefully refrain from looking down at any point, trusting their companion to lead them along a safe path.
Still, a distraction would be nice. They'd like to stop thinking about how easily these structures could fall out from under them.
"You're—the newest astronaut, right? Uh, I'm sorry, I'm sure I heard your name before but—"
"I'm Kyanite," they say, shooting them a quick smile. They take a few steps blindly, and Riebeck's heart skips multiple beats when they venture a bit too close to the edge. Thankfully, they quickly return to looking where they're going.
They did land their ship inside the planet, Riebeck learns. It's settled somewhat precariously and Riebeck watches anxiously, sure it's going to topple over into the black hole any second now. Kyanite chuckles and pulls them closer.
"It's fine, I know what I'm doing," they assure. Riebeck is sceptical, but doesn't say it.
The Nomai gravity beam is angled in such a way that it's easy to step inside and get drawn into the ship. Kyanite slides into the pilot's seat and has them in orbit in seconds. Riebeck is impressed and terrified.
They leave Brittle Hollow behind quickly, and Kyanite swings them around so they face the majority of their solar system, sun and planets on beautiful display. Riebeck drinks in the sight eagerly; they've been grounded for so long, they'd almost forgotten why they ever agreed to go to space in the first place. But this view… The wonder of it is worth all the anxiety Riebeck has to deal with.
"Oh, you're going to need this," the hatchling says, twisting around in their seat to better reach the clips holding some sort of scanner to their arm. It comes loose and they hold it out to Riebeck. "It's a translator Hal and I built. It'll let you read Nomai writing."
Riebeck takes it carefully, suddenly reverent. All their life, they've been obsessed with the Nomai, this mysterious race that settled into this system and left so many intriguing traces behind. Being on Brittle Hollow was… terrifying, don't get them wrong, but it was amazing to see how much the Nomai built, all their innovations to make such a hostile planet inhabitable.
Kyanite quickly tells them how to use the translator, their hands occupied by the ship's controls. Riebeck straps the tool onto their arm, making sure they can reach all the buttons, and is incredibly thankful for the onboard gravity crystal. Kyanite is flying in quick circles, their eyes darting over everything visible, and if Riebeck tries to watch out the windows, they risk being sick. How this hatchling can fly like this, they have no idea.
It reminds them achingly of Feldspar and their stunts, and Riebeck has to find something else to focus on.
There's a ship's log in the back of the cramped space, and Riebeck peers at it curiously. As far as they know, Kyanite only launched today. Barely a few hours ago, if the snatches of conversation they managed to overhear were correct. There can't be that much logged yet. Riebeck pokes the screen and immediately a vast spider web of information blooms into view. There are headings for every planet in the system, lines connecting each to a dozen other boxes. There are categories that Riebeck has no idea how to interpret, things like the vessel, ruptured core, and eye of the universe.
"When did you learn all this?" they ask, shocked.
Kyanite hums questioningly, glancing over their shoulder. "Oh! That's, um. Find the section about the Ash Twin Project, that should answer most of it? Feel free to just look through it, I really need to find this thing. Never took this long before," their voice lowers into a mutter as they lean forward over the controls, jerking the ship away from Giant's Deep. "Where are you hiding…" they grumble.
Riebeck very decisively looks away. They don't know much about this new astronaut but they're starting to suspect something is… strange, about them. Oddities pile up and while Riebeck was willing to let them slide, the lull from rapid fire activity right now means they have plenty of time to look back and think about everything. The way Kyanite pilots their ship like it's an extension of their own body, how they dropped in on Riebeck's camp and spoke like they'd known each other for years. How it seems like they're unused to being around other people, how they speak out loud as if to fill an oppressive, empty void, without worry about anyone overhearing. Half-articulated thoughts that don't make much sense to Riebeck, leaps of logic that send their mind spinning trying to keep up.
They're full of energy, but it seems frantic, the sort of energy that came from too little sleep. The high where the body is wide awake, full of adrenaline, but the mind is lagging, too much left unprocessed and whirling. Riebeck wonders how long it's been since Kyanite was able to get a full night's rest.
Riebeck focuses on the computer. They open the file associated with Ash Twin, and almost can't believe what they're reading. Warp towers to every other planet, one to the core of the planet, the technology within…
The Ash Twin Project. A memory transfer system created millennia ago, activated by the power of a supernova. By the death of a star. The death of their star.
Their sun is dying. It has died, many times over and none at all, it's going to die, it's going to explode in the very near future, before the end of this day, and they're all going to die, everyone on Timber Hearth and scattered throughout the system, all their friends and family—
"Hey," Kyanite says gently, laying a hand on Riebeck's back, between their shoulder blades. They suck in a deep breath, surfacing from the spiral they'd fallen into. They find themself braced in front of the ship's log, hands clenched around the edges of the keyboard shelf. The screen has gone dark again, the terrible knowledge hidden behind the logo of Outer Wilds Ventures. There is something distressingly ironic about that, but Riebeck's head is full of static and they can't articulate the joke.
"How do you manage?" Riebeck asks, voice choked by everything they don't want to feel right now. It's so much, it's too much. How can one person survive knowing all of this?
"I've gotten used to it," Kyanite says, words weighed down by what might be years of impossible age. They shake their head, shifting to squeeze Riebeck's shoulder. "Try not to worry about it. This… isn't your burden. I'm going to find a way to fix this, but before that—come here. I have something to show you."
Riebeck doesn't resist when the hatchling steers them back towards the cockpit. The screen next to the pilot's seat shows a greyscale photo of the same scene they can see with their own eyes. Dark Bramble, hovering in the distance, and a shrouded planet that Riebeck has never seen before in their life. They lean forward, hands on the back of Kyanite's chair, curiosity mercifully managing to eclipse their despair.
"What is that?"
"That," Kyanite says grandly, slowly guiding the ship in for a landing, "is the Quantum Moon."
The ship breaks through the atmosphere and their vision is obscured by clouds, grey and bright, crackling with energy that hasn't quite become lightning. Riebeck's stomach swoops, inexplicably, their senses tugged sharply to the left for just a moment. And then, before Riebeck can decide if they're going to scream like they did on their journey into Brittle Hollow, they leave the cloud layer and the feeling dissipates.
Riebeck has visited a few of the planets in this system, and they're always caught off guard by the first sight of them, how alien they can look. This planet is no different, but it feels inherently wrong, like this place isn't meant to be here and doesn't try to hide that fact. Thick, twisted roots stretch into the sky, shading an already shadowed ground. There's barely enough room to fly between them, but Kyanite manages remarkably well, weaving slowly through the maze like they've done this a hundred times before. Maybe they have. The hatchling lands in the first free space they find, quickly jumping out of their chair and pulling Riebeck with them out of the ship.
There's another spaceship here. Riebeck sees it out of the corner of their eyes and turns to look, astonished. They've only ever seen pictures and scattered remains before now, and the sight of a fully intact Nomai shuttle nearly sends them to tears.
Kyanite chuckles beside them, twining their fingers together and tugging them away. "Amazing, I know, but you'll like this a whole lot more, I promise."
Riebeck reluctantly complies with their urging and follows the hatchling marching purposely forward. Going north, eyes scanning the area around them intensely. The roots are even more massive up close, as wide around as a building, and looming, seeming to curl over them, intent to trap and ensnare. Riebeck shivers and turns their gaze back to the ground.
No one has ever seen the unbroken form of the planet the Dark Bramble destroyed. They know it was covered in a layer of ice, thick and pure, but the earth beneath it has long since been shattered and lost. The ground beneath their feet now is made of that same ice, only thinner. Some spots are perfectly clear, and the ground revealed is grey and sickly, as if all the life has been leached away. Perhaps it has. Everyone knows the Bramble roots are an invasive parasite.
Kyanite hums, deep in contemplation, and the sound draws Riebeck's attention back to them. "Can you close your eyes?" the hatchling asks. "I've only ever done this on my own and I think having another observer is making it harder than usual."
Riebeck has no idea what they're talking about. They still close their eyes, trusting this familiar stranger to keep them out of danger. "Thanks," Kyanite says, distracted but warm. A few moments pass in silence as they continue searching, always walking. Riebeck thinks they're still heading north, and wonders if that's important.
"Aha! There you are, you little— Riebeck? You can open your eyes now."
They do so, and stare in surprise at the massive building before them. It looks like the architecture on Brittle Hollow, the solid stone painted and carved in bright patterns. The two of them step around the structure until they find a door, and the Nomai lock lights up when Kyanite gets close enough. They lift their arm and the orb follows, sliding to the other end of the track. The door opens.
"Come on, we're getting close," they say, walking in and taking Riebeck with them. They close the door again once they're inside, and then move another orb that illuminates the room. "Why don't you try out the translator while we're here?" Kyanite suggests. "Just point it at the text and hold the trigger, it'll only take a couple seconds to decode it."
Riebeck does so, and can't help the awe that wells up inside them at the words they can suddenly read with ease. Even if the words are impersonal, vague instructions that Riebeck doesn't understand. Quantum entanglement and something about a sixth location.
"Close your eyes?" Kyanite requests again, and Riebeck sighs.
"This surprise better be worth the buildup," they mutter and the hatchling laughs.
"Don't worry, it will be. Now, let's try to get this to Timber Hearth…"
Riebeck hears the hum of Nomai technology and the light on the other side of their eyes dims. A click, and it disappears entirely. They hear a grinding noise in the darkness, then the light clicks back on. There's a series of rapid clicks after that, a quick double followed by the groaning scrape of mechanisms churning into new positions. Click-click, scraaape; click-click, scraape.
Eventually it stops and Kyanite taps Riebeck's shoulder. They open their eyes to see them opening the main door again and stepping fearlessly out into a place that looks unfamiliarly similar to their home planet. Riebeck follows, and the moment they're close enough, Kyanite takes their hand again.
It's odd, how purposefully the hatchling maintains contact between them. It feels important, though Riebeck doesn't know why.
They look over their shoulder curiously, hoping to catch another glimpse of the Nomai architecture—and freezes. The building is gone. Frantic searching fails to locate it again, nothing around them except for wrong-looking rivers and spindly trees.
"Where did it go?" Riebeck asks, trying to keep the panic out of their voice. The hatchling hums questioningly, looking back at them. They make a little “ah” of comprehension.
"Everything on the Quantum Moon is, by nature, quantum. Everything on the moon is everywhere at once, but you can only see one version at a time. When you look away, or blink, or whatever else, the version you see changes. The tower still exists. It's just somewhere else right now." They keep walking, ever northward. That explains the hand holding—without it, they might become separated the moment they lose sight of each other. Riebeck is suddenly terrified of getting lost in this place, and tightens their grip. Kyanite squeezes back and continues, "What we need to do is get it to spawn on the north pole. Then we can use it to go to the sixth location, the Eye's moon."
"I… saw that in your log," Riebeck says slowly. They can't make sense of everything Kyanite said, but the talking helps distract them from just how weird this experience is. "I think you've mentioned it a few times too, but it wasn't really… aimed at me."
Kyanite chuckles, their free hand coming up to rub the side of their helmet. "Yeah, sorry about that. I tend to speak out loud now, since I spend most of my time alone in space. Makes it less lonely, you know?"
And, as heartbreaking as it is to hear from someone so young, Riebeck does understand. They've been stuck on Brittle Hollow for so long, with only themself and the distant frequencies of their friend's music to keep them company. It's amazing how grounding your own voice can be, when it's the only voice you can hear.
"Anyway! Yeah, the Eye of the Universe is the thing the Nomai were looking for when they got to our solar system. It's like, the centre of the universe, I think? They thought it was, at least, and I trust they knew more than I do about that sort of thing. It's close to our system, like, probably right on the outskirts. I'm still not sure where it is, though; the probe cannon orbiting Giant's Deep hasn't found it yet."
Riebeck thinks their companion just wants someone to hear them speak more than anything else. They don't understand half of what Kyanite is saying, but they're a solid, real presence and they think that's something this hatchling hasn't had in far too long.
The two of them walk for a little while longer, until the fog lifts just enough to make out tall rock escarpments, towering into the cloud layer. Kyanite curses.
"I can't get over that," they grumble. "Damn, I really thought this one—whatever. We'll try it on a different moon." They spin around, their back to the cliffs. Riebeck closes their eyes before the hatchling can ask, recognising the pattern. There's a quiet huff of laughter, then Kyanite leads them back towards the travelling tower.
What follows is a series of trial and error attempts. The hatchling will force the tower onto a different moon, take Riebeck on a wander, and inevitably get blocked by some impassable wall. They'll go back to the tower, and try again. Riebeck spots the wrong Timber Hearth scenery a second time and Kyanite just shrugs. "Maybe we're past the wall now?"
Miraculously, they are. They head north, and when Kyanite sees the space unobstructed, they make a delighted noise. "Finally. Okay, you know the drill. This is the last step, I promise."
Riebeck sighs, but it's good-natured. They like this hyperactive hatchling, even if this entire trip has left them more confused than they've ever been.
The next time in the tower goes differently. Kyanite stands next to the locator, belatedly explaining how each image corresponds with one of their planets, as well as the long-sought-after Eye of the Universe. "We want the sixth location," Kyanite says, lightly touching the last symbol on the track, a stylized starburst. "It's just a bit tricky to get it to land there."
They let Riebeck try, directing them to plunge the room into darkness before turning their flashlight back on. When they do, the indicator shifts to sit underneath a new symbol. It isn't one they've been to before, and Riebeck opens the door to peer out curiously at the strange, sandy landscape. They hand the reins back to Kyanite after that, since they're the person who actually knows what they're doing.
Kyanite goes through the process a few more times—and they've made it.
Riebeck notices the difference immediately. While before, the moon took on characteristics of the whichever Hearthian planet it orbited, this version is utterly alien. The ground is smooth with purple strata, hypnotic swirls that make Riebeck dizzy if they stare for too long. There are numerous pillars and chunks of rock around them, cratered and cut in odd shapes and always different every time they blink. They look like the Shard in the Quantum Grove, Riebeck realizes. This must be where it came from.
"And now—we head south," Kyanite declares, marching out and taking Riebeck with them.
They seem to be heading all the way back to the south pole, taking a straight, unobstructed path directly from the tower. Riebeck thinks it's terribly inconvenient to have to go all the way north just to go south again, but they don't make the rules. They don't really understand any of this, though it is all incredibly fascinating. They take the time to look around, watching as the landscape around them shifts, trying to see if they can spot specific repeating features.
Kyanite speaks up once they've crossed the equator and the clouds above them begin to churn. "Okay, so, the Nomai use different pronouns than we do," they say, and it's so unexpected that Riebeck turns to stare at them, eyes wide. "Solanum in particular uses she and her instead of they and them."
Riebeck's heart begins to race. No, they couldn't mean… there's no way… "Why are you telling me this?" they have to ask.
The hatchling turns back to smile at them mischievously. "You'll see."
Unhelpful little brat, Riebeck thinks, but it's fond. Any irritation comes from nerves, their heart racing in anticipation for the almost certain encounter they're heading towards. A real live Nomai… Riebeck desperately hopes they remember this, even if it will only ever feel like a dream.
Then, finally—
They crest a small hill, and the first thing Riebeck sees is the seething hole in the sky, the roiling edge of the clouds that peel away to reveal the space beyond this moon. There are no spots of light they can see, no stars, and the longer Riebeck stares, the worse they feel. So they drop their eyes away from it, and then suck in a sharp breath at the sight that greets them.
Below the angry sky stands a figure, their—her?—gaze focused on an arched pillar of stone, off to her right. Around her stand an assortment of structures, including one that looks like the walls the Nomai used to share their messages. That she must be planning to use to speak with any who come here.
Kyanite takes a step forward, and the Nomai's head turns towards them. She tilts her head one way, then the other, the movement smooth and fluid. Alien. Kyanite copies the motion and Riebeck hears the Nomai make a noise that might be laughter. She raises her staff and taps the end against the rock to her right. Symbols appear there, some that look like the ones in the tower. Kyanite steps close to point at and explain each one.
"Take any two and place them in the podiums," the hatchling instructs. "She'll use them as prompts and tell you, well… anything you want to know." And then they walk away, weaving through a nearby section of strange rock and running their hands over the smooth surface.
Riebeck swallows hard and approaches.
The Nomai is named Solanum, and she tells them about the moon they stand on and the enigmatic planet it orbits; she postulates origins and possibilities. Riebeck only has the most basic understanding of what she says, gained only in bits and pieces from what Kyanite has said or shown them. Still, it is… amazing, being here, getting a chance to interact with someone from a species they only know about because of the traces they've left behind.
Riebeck places two new stones and Solanum leaves her message. "I've never met one of your kind before. It's an honor to speak with you! I particularly admire your four eyes. There are many questions I would ask, if I could comprehend your language. You have my gratitude for understanding mine."
"Are you lonely?" Riebeck asks, the first thing they've said since they arrived in this place.
"I think… time moves differently here, once you've stayed long enough," Kyanite says. Riebeck turns to see them appear from behind a different arrangement of standing stones. "It's been two hundred thousand years since the Nomai died, but I don't… I don't think she's been aware for that entire time. I hope she hasn't…" their voice dies off to a whisper. They duck their head, then return to examining the stones here.
Riebeck knows how long it's been since the Nomai vanished from their solar system, or at least, knew an approximate number. But to hear it while in the presence of a lost member of that race… It makes it that much more real, and all the more painful.
Something in the air changes, then. Kyanite pauses, and lifts their head to stare through the one open space in the clouds. Riebeck follows their gaze and doesn't understand what they're seeing. The sky… Above the clouds, color flashes by, blue and purple and green, like an aurora at high speed. There is a sound like ringing in their ears, and a tightness in their chest.
"What…?"
"I guess… that's it for today," Kyanite says, voice quiet and sad. Sudden horrible understanding steals their breath, but before Riebeck can wrest it back and voice their despair, arms wrap around them and hold them tightly. It's awkward, between their suits and size differences and Kyanite's helmet bumping against their chest, but Riebeck still clutches back, desperately, squeezing their eyes shut.
"I don't want to go," Riebeck chokes out.
"I'm sorry," their friend breathes. They hold Riebeck for one more achingly long moment, and then pull away. Through their visor, Riebeck can see that their eyes are wet. "Goodbye."
And then, between one breath and the next, Riebeck's consciousness fades away.
Riebeck plucks the strings of their banjo, absent nonsense that might one day become a song, but that, right now, only serves to distract them. They valiantly ignore the sound of another piece of the planet's crust breaking away. They are safe here. They're fine.
They look around their little camp, silently taking note of their supplies. Nothing has fallen away yet, thankfully, though their rations are dwindling at a steady rate. They'll have to get back to their ship soon. Get back to home.
They've learned so much here. Riebeck thinks they've earned a nice break back on Timber Hearth, a chance to relax. They'll be glad to feel solid ground beneath their feet again. They'll be glad to finally leave this brittle world.
(When they close their eyes, they remember walking across unfamiliar planes; ankle deep water and ashy sand, something akin to obsidian but entirely different. They remember a dark sky, clouds and fog and empty space.
They remember a figure previously seen only in paintings, and inscrutable print that held all the knowledge she knew to impart.
And when Riebeck opens their eyes, the vision fades away like mist, as if it never existed.)
Riebeck breathes out, and looks into the campfire at the centre of this clearing. It flickers calmly, a single wisp of smoke trailing up into the darkness. To their left, Esker rocks in their chair, head tilted back and eyes closed. It's peaceful, here, in this quiet wood.
The two of them are the only ones here, until they aren't. Slowly, the rest of their companions and friends join the circle; Chert sits between Riebeck and Esker, Feldspar across from them, Gabbro to their right. There is an empty space between them and Gabbro, and Riebeck shifts to look at it, forehead wrinkling in thought. Someone…
Someone is supposed to be there. Riebeck… can't quite recall who it is.
And then they blink, and a figure stands beside them, face tipped towards the empty sky. They—she—slowly lets out a breath, and moves to meet Riebeck's gaze.
"I… recognise you," Riebeck whispers. The familiar stranger tilts her head.
"I think I met you once," she says, and they can hear the smile in her voice. "In a dream…"