Tears ran down my cheeks as I swallowed the lump in my throat.
He blinked a few more times, his eyes locking on to Star, who rolled over onto her back and began purring while staring back at him.
His eyes blinked back in to focus, and he looked away, but I could tell he'd seen something.
"What did you see, Uzziah?" My voice was barely a whisper but held authority.
Dimitri reached for my hand and I looked at him before he whispered, "Uzziah. Please?"
Uzziah still looked hesitant but he finally finished with, "Star would once again wait for you to be reincarnated again. Years would become decades...decades would become centuries...until she realizes none of us will come back. It's sad to admit...but this is our last shot at this. The common words of 'third time's a charm’ definitely apply in this case. If we decline and allow the future to become the present and then the past...Star will be stuck in the dark void...until the world fades away. All I can see is darkness...which also means she'd never ascend for judgment. She'd be stuck in the realm of being a burning soul but having no place to be born into, and not ascending to heaven seeing as she never had the chance to commit sin. Basically...she'd forever be a part of the darkness, long after all the worlds and universes become dead stars. She'd be stuck in a void, one that cycles and never reaches an end."
That news made me choke up, and Star was back up and looking at me with those beautiful wide eyes of hers.
"Mewr?"
I scooped her up and tried to smile before hugging her against my cheek.
"I'll never let you experience such an ending, Star. Never," I vowed.
Dimitri reached out to stroke Star's head while she continued to purr and press her furry head against my cheek.
Yuriel let out a heavy sigh while Ryuu muttered a curse.
"Damn. Who would have thought we'd live such horrendous lives after everything we’ve done?"
Wolfgang looked at Uzziah and muttered, "Uzziah? What would have happened to you?"
We looked his way and his sad smile broke my heart. I knew he wouldn't tell us the details of his end, but he lowered his head.
"Well...I'd find out and try to reverse time to this very moment."
I suddenly frowned, before I was up and in front of him.
"Uzziah?" My voice was stern as everything he'd explained in utmost detail clicked in. "Don't tell me you-"
"Time travel is such a scary gift to have," he muttered as he lifted his eyes to meet my wide ones. He smiled as tears rolled down his cheeks. "As Isiah, I had to protect you countless times from assassins that fought to destroy your existences before you could even reach Dimitri. Then there was my path as a prince, killed by my people after I fought countless times to go back and fix our ends. Every time I've been reincarnated, I've been given the gift of time manipulation. Each time I've returned, it's been stronger than the last. This third time I knew that if we took the wrong route, we'd be screwed, so I made a time stamp."
He uncrossed his arms and lifted his right hand. With a snap of his fingers, a tarot card emerged - the chalice card from my deck.
"My tarot card?" I questioned, and looked at his dazzling eyes as they softened with admiration.
“If you remembered me, Queen of Hearts, you'd understand why you never reach the stage you're destined to walk upon," he repeated the very words he'd given me after bringing me back to our dorm house after the watch incident. "Those words weren't solely meant for that time and place. It's always been something I've said again and again."
The card began to spin, glowing brightly. When it came to a dramatic stop, we could see the back of the card and the ticking display of a clock.
"You are far from failure, Queen of Hearts. You only fail if you allow yourself to stop. Don't let them prevent you from fulfilling your destiny," he repeated the next statement from the past and looked into my eyes. "That statement still applies even now. What has always helped us live another day? Not giving up. That's exactly what the Dark Kingdom wants from us. In each life we've lived, something has hit us, whether it be the death of a loved one...or even each other. It makes us stall in our progress until we're set up in the perfect web and perish at the hands of our predator, the Dark Kingdom. We've reached this very moment in time because no matter the obstacles, we went through with it. The five of you knew from day one that you wanted to become spies. Even with the random challenges, the encounters with good and bad individuals, the sacrifices and moments of loss you've experienced, you pushed forward."
He looked around the others as the card lowered into the palm of his hand, the clock symbol upright and still vibrant with magic.
"The previous time all of this happened, you hadn't created yourself with your gifted magic of art. Nor did you make a deal with Death. It looks like this time around, with the others not giving up and completing part two of the task with your arrival, you’ve changed the wheels of time, but the Dark Kingdom knows if given the option that another four years of dedication to spy school would be something not worth doing."
"So they knew we'd choose the route to decline?" I was trying to figure this out.
"Indeed, and the result is what I gave you...or I should say what I unraveled."
He lifted the card to stare at it with a sad smile.
"That's exactly why I put a time stamp on this card. So that if a time came when we made a decision that led to our deaths, I could return to the best place. However, we all have limits, and I've reached mine in the time department."
Worry washed over me as I looked at him in fear.
The others all rose up, fear etched into their expressions just like it was in mine.
"Hey. Don't tell me you're going to disappear or some shit," Dimitri complained, but his voice shook.
"Alright, we still technically hate you, but I kinda don't want to lose you yet," Yuriel noted.
"Uzziah. You deserve to live too. Don't tell me the time travel is going to kill you," Wolfgang noted.
"What do we have to do to save your selfless ass?" Ryuu questioned.
He looked around them with a pout before he furrowed his eyebrows.
"Why should my looming death matter?" he inquired. "It never did before."
We all stared at him in shock before I finally answered.
"Uzziah. Every individual's life matters. You shouldn't be so easily willing to sacrifice yourself!"
"Yet you all do the exact same thing every single time." His words were out of praise, leaving me speechless as he sighed. "Relax. I'm not going to die from what I've done. However, I'll warn you guys now. I can't use my time magic for a good while. I'm talking months if not a year or two. Doing this time stamp thing was risky enough...and I guess it should have killed me once you figured out the secret."
"T-Then why didn't it?" I inquired.
"Mewr, mewr, mewr, mewr," Star suddenly began to meow. All of us looked down to see she was now at Uzziah's feet and playfully patting his feet.
Uzziah gave her the biggest smile before leaning down and scooping Star right up. "Thanks to this smart girl," he praised. "You recall upon Silver's arrival and the official end of our exam that Star sprinkled glitter down on all of us?"