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You wake pressed against the cold tile of the FanExpo convention floor. Your head is pounding, and you feel like you should know why but the reason slips away from you every time you reach for it. Peeling your face off the vinyl, you claw through a haze of pain and confusion long enough to dredge up a single thought:
Sage.
You have to go back. With trembling hands you clutch the Astrolabe to your chest and beg it do something, anything, that will help you save him-
You snap back into your body just as Sage, whole and healthy, hefts the grate off the sewer entrance. He motions for you to go inside; you turn to Gramme instead. The smile he gives you seems so reassuring, so genuine, that you almost begin to doubt yourself- you're still not entirely sure what's happening. Seeing you hesitate, the old man reaches to place a comforting hand on your back. The gentleness of the touch sends a chill down your spine.
You summon the Astrolabe.
Not much changes this go-around. There are still only two of you, and he's still the Lord of Shadows. All you really manage to do is save Felix a trip into the sewers.
...
You wake up warm and safe in your bed. Sage's arms are wrapped snugly around your waist, his slow breaths softly ruffling your hair even as your heart pounds in your ears. For a moment you think about staying this way, about clinging to this tiny bit of respite for as long as you can.
…you can't. You take a second to shake Sage awake and then tear down the hall to find your friends.
Sage, to his credit, seems willing to hear you out. You know he was already suspicious of Gramme, after all. The others are more skeptical. They've trusted Gramme for years. No one's ever heard of the Astrolabe working the way you're describing. Hallucinations are a known side effect of overusing a Relic, and it's been a very distressing couple of days. Are you sure you're feeling alright?
In the end they leave you at Fathom. To rest, Gramme says. You're clearly unwell.
The party splits differently now that you aren't going with them. Anisa offers to accompany Sage and Gramme, though you're not sure if it's to keep an eye on them or just to placate you. You suppose it doesn't make much of a difference.
You and Tulsi stand together on the balcony, looking out over your friends until they disappear into the lifeless city. The morning air is uncomfortably brisk, so she gives you a quick pat on the shoulder and heads back inside as soon as the others are out of sight.
The minutes tick by in silence. How long did it take you and Sage to reach the sewers the first time? You wish you'd paid more attention, but there's no way you could have known it would matter. As the time crawls on you start to wonder if your friends were right. You want them to be right, because that means you're wrong and if it was all a product of your exhausted mind then you don't actually know what's about to happen. But you're not wrong, and when thin tendrils of mist begin to creep through the city it only confirms your worst suspicions. Your grip tightens around the railing and you start scanning the empty streets, trying to map out the route you took. The distance and the thickening fog make it difficult, but you have a rough idea of where to go by the time the first screams reach you, and you're already running by the time they're cut off.
You haven't seen the chaos from this angle before- the corrupted swarming through the streets, the few unlucky stragglers caught outside pounding on doors, begging for shelter and receiving only silence. Do you stop and help, or do you press on to look for Sage? Either way you don't make it to the sewers, but that's alright. You can always try again.
...
You've lost track of how many times you've done this. How many times you've woken up with Sage's screams echoing in your ears, swearing this time will be the last. If you just go back a little farther, make your choices a little more carefully, you can fix this. You can save him.
You wake up on the floor again. Everything was different. Nothing has changed.
...
There are some loops where you know right away that you're going to fail. Sometimes you know you've miscalculated, or made too many missteps for a run (and you hate that you've started calling them runs) to be salvageable. Other times you're just plain out of ideas.
In those doomed cycles you stop looking for answers and shift your attention to Sage. The smile lines at the corners of his mouth, the way his shoulders shake when he laughs- all the pieces you're desperate to commit to memory before you lose him one more time.
Whenever he catches you staring he gives you a grin and a light punch on the shoulder. Enjoying the view? Gods, he's such a dork it makes your heart ache.
You can't keep doing this.
...
You wake up back in Anisa's office. The others are seated around the room, bickering in a way that's comfortingly, painfully familiar. You close your eyes again and, for a moment, just listen.
...
…Anisa has to repeat her question twice before you realize it was addressed to you. You glance toward Sage, sprawled out across Anisa's couch as he and Felix trade barbs. There's no recognition in his eyes when he meets your gaze- a slight interest, maybe. Nothing more.
Anisa repeats her question one more time. Which one of the Starsworn do you want to accompany you through Astraea?
You keep your eyes locked on Sage's as you give Anisa your answer- the only answer you know won't lead to him bleeding out on the ground, alone, again.
You give her a name. It isn't his.
At least he doesn't seem disappointed.