Epilogue

Rothütle wakes up in a small cabin, the morning sun streaming through the window.
The dragon-archer is outside, tending to a fire.

"You're awake!"

Rothütle sits up slowly. Evelyn is there too, bringing him a warm drink. "What happened?" he asks.

"I can't tell you," Evie says, handing him the drink. "But there is someone who can."

Then Gord enters the cabin, looking tired and slightly older, but lively and not wounded.

"How did you survive?" Rothütle asks, surprised.

"I didn't," Gord replies with a smile, as she sits beside him.
"A guardian died last night, protecting our future."

Rothütle looks at her, confused. "But you look fine."

"Do you know what Okterakt can do?" Gord asks.
Rothütle shakes his head.

"It's a device to branch time and merge branches back together," Gord explains.
"Three years ago, I feared for our future, so I used Okterakt to branch off the time, trying different paths."
"In the alternate timelines, Angra escaped just after a few months."

Rothütle listens intently.

"When we saw YAML in the forest, I realized the time has come for our final stand," Gord continues.
"So I used Okterakt to switch places with my alternate self, who was fighting Angra for three years."

Rothütle is silent for a moment, processing the information.
"That's why you send me away with YAML," he says. "That's why you gave me a goodbye punch."

"That's why the other Gord had a white cloak to protect herself from CVEs," Gord adds.
"She gave it to you, and that's why you survived Angra's attack, and she didn't."

Rothütle looks at the cloak beside him, then back at Gord.

"And I stepped into a hostile timeline, hoping that I will be trapped there, but saving this timeline," Gord concludes.
"The white-cloaked Gord died so soon, but it took me 2 years to come back here, although for you it was only a night."

Rothütle is puzzled, but makes sense of it all. "What happened to the other timeline?" he asks.

"I have destroyed it upon my return," Gord replies. "I merged it back into this timeline, only keeping myself, and a few small things that I brought back as souvenirs."

Rothütle nods slowly. "I'm happy you're here," he says.

He looks around the cabin and notices Evelyn again. "And Evie is your ally?"

Gord smiles. "Yes, she is. She helped me a lot."

Rothütle takes a deep breath, feeling a sense of relief and hope.
"But, why did you hire me then?" he asks. "You two can converse and you don't need a translator."

Gord is troubled. "I... I didn't hire you for your language skills," she admits.
"You're a natural ally to Angra. You're a tinkerer, and you're ambitious."

"I hired you so that you can understand the stakes," Gord continues.
Then she puts a rifle on the table, pointing at a carving on the stock: "Ostermann Model 1866".
"This is what you did in the other timeline. You were fueling a war machine for Angra."

Rothütle is shocked. He looks at the rifle, then back at Gord. "I... I didn't know," he stammers.

"So, I hope you forgive me for not being completely honest with you." Gord says.

"I understand," Rothütle replies. "Let's focus on this timeline now. Angra is out there, Jack is probably manufacturing my rifle right now, and we have lost the castle Sonnenwacht."

"But Angra is weaker now, he doesn't know I'm back," Gord says. "And if my memory from two years ago serves me right, Jack is meeting Evie today at Hinterdorf."

"Then let's get to work!"

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