The moment that the hands of the clock reach midnight, the darkness of night across Gavaria is illuminated as the light of the near-full moon and stars all suddenly take on a brilliant pink hue, and as clocktower bells begin to chime in Rosen, something is very clearly not right. The first two tolls seem regular enough, but there is a noticeable pause until the third, and when it does ring out, the sound is distorted, as if being heard through a sheet of water. When the fourth toll rings, the sound is drawn out and strange, as if being heard backwards at a fraction of its normal speed, and when the fifth toll rings, all those awake at the coming of the new year suddenly find the world completely stopped around them. Snowflakes hang in midair, rivers are stopped dead, every living thing suddenly a statue, and all that can be heard in the still, frozen world is the sound of the bell reverberating around Gavaria for what seems like minutes as if echoing inside an endless cave. As silence eventually falls, it is broken by a voice that seems to emanate from the air itself:
“Time is a strange thing for you. That that was, is, that that is, is, and that that will be, is. Time is a constant for you, your history set in stone. But by my hand, nothing is constant, and anything is possible.”
The world suddenly lurches back to regular movement as the bell’s sixth toll rings out, and as it does so, six blazing pink lights burst into the sky alongside the moon and stars. Whether or not they are truly new stars to form a new constellation, nobody can really say, but nonetheless, the sky now contains six new lights, looming overhead like the watchful eyes of a gigantic overseer.
The seventh toll rings, and as it does so, the people of Cinem see a blast of pink light erupt from Bajin Island, enveloping the ancient lighthouse there in a tangled sphere of bands of pink energy. The rings of light are in constant motion, seething and rotating like a huge gyroscope to fully obscure the tower within.
The eighth toll rings, and as it does so, the people along the coast of Atish see a sudden pink light begin to shine from a similar sphere of energy surrounding a small island far out to sea.
The ninth toll rings, and as it does so, sailors in icy waters off the northwest coast of Cinem see a radiant pink light appear beneath the waves, deep within the ocean’s depths.
The tenth toll rings, and as it does so, a sudden horn of alarm is sounded from the halls of Diregrasp Keep. No pink energy can be seen anywhere by the public in the surrounding city, but they do see the black-veined soldiers of the Duchess scurrying through the streets towards the depths of the Keep, arms at the ready.
The eleventh toll rings, and as it does so, an unknown number of small pinpricks of pink light begin to form in the air at seemingly random places across the nation. As time stretches on over the next hours and days, these pinpricks slowly begin to expand, soon resembling smaller versions of the roiling energy spheres as they grow.
The twelfth and final toll rings, and as it does so, the night returns to its usual darkness as the colored glow fades from the moon and stars, though the new pink lights in the sky and the glow of the strange energy spheres still shine pink upon the countryside. As morning comes and the stars fade from view, the new pink lights still remain clearly visible, shining like six miniature suns.
“Time is a strange thing for you. That that was, is, that that is, is, and that that will be, is. Time is a constant for you, your history set in stone. But by my hand, nothing is constant, and anything is possible.”
The world suddenly lurches back to regular movement as the bell’s sixth toll rings out, and as it does so, six blazing pink lights burst into the sky alongside the moon and stars. Whether or not they are truly new stars to form a new constellation, nobody can really say, but nonetheless, the sky now contains six new lights, looming overhead like the watchful eyes of a gigantic overseer.
The seventh toll rings, and as it does so, the people of Cinem see a blast of pink light erupt from Bajin Island, enveloping the ancient lighthouse there in a tangled sphere of bands of pink energy. The rings of light are in constant motion, seething and rotating like a huge gyroscope to fully obscure the tower within.
The eighth toll rings, and as it does so, the people along the coast of Atish see a sudden pink light begin to shine from a similar sphere of energy surrounding a small island far out to sea.
The ninth toll rings, and as it does so, sailors in icy waters off the northwest coast of Cinem see a radiant pink light appear beneath the waves, deep within the ocean’s depths.
The tenth toll rings, and as it does so, a sudden horn of alarm is sounded from the halls of Diregrasp Keep. No pink energy can be seen anywhere by the public in the surrounding city, but they do see the black-veined soldiers of the Duchess scurrying through the streets towards the depths of the Keep, arms at the ready.
The eleventh toll rings, and as it does so, an unknown number of small pinpricks of pink light begin to form in the air at seemingly random places across the nation. As time stretches on over the next hours and days, these pinpricks slowly begin to expand, soon resembling smaller versions of the roiling energy spheres as they grow.
The twelfth and final toll rings, and as it does so, the night returns to its usual darkness as the colored glow fades from the moon and stars, though the new pink lights in the sky and the glow of the strange energy spheres still shine pink upon the countryside. As morning comes and the stars fade from view, the new pink lights still remain clearly visible, shining like six miniature suns.
