[Verse 1]
The hole was being cleaned.
(this is what WE CLEAN means)
(they were cleaning the hole)
Then Madela stopped again.
(she had already stopped once)
(this was different)
The fragment was in the south corner.
(Quade found it)
(Quade had four arms)
(one of them found it accidentally)
(the other three agreed)
[Pre-Chorus]
Historia looked at it for a long time.
[Historia:] The forgotten war.
[Chaos:] The what.
[Historia:] Before the pact. Before the maps. Before the universe had coordinates.
(her records had the name)
(her records had the date)
(someone had removed the rest)
(she noted the removal)
(she noted that she had noted the removal)
[Chorus]
A fragment in time
Older than the first level
A fragment in time
Before the pact was written
Before the dark had a boundary
Before the light had a name
A fragment in time
Someone lost this
And someone erased why
[Verse 2]
Everyone said:
Wait.
(Chaos touched it)
Everyone screamed:
CHAOS!!!
(it was too late)
[Pre-Chorus 2 — the activation]
The fragment opened.
(not like a gate)
(not like a fold)
(like something remembering)
Rangor’s beasts made a sound.
(all of them)
(at once)
(this had not happened before)
Crotus stood very still.
(four legs)
(all grounded)
Fable started to narrate.
(she stopped)
(she was being transported)
(she started again)
(the narration would not wait)
[Chorus]
A fragment in time
Older than the first level
A fragment in time
Before the pact was written
Before the dark had a boundary
Before the light had a name
A fragment in time
Someone lost this
And someone erased why
[Bridge — LIGHT]
Light.
Not the wrong kind.
Not fire.
Not hollow light.
The old kind.
The first kind.
The kind from before there was a word for it.
Level 1. Fold 1.
(correct)
(wrong time)
Wait.
This is.
This is.
They see the one he was young
They see the one he looked naive
They see the one — yeah, this is the past
Did we go back to the past?
Yes
Two hundred ninety nine thousand years ago.
Historia provided the date.
Lara noted it.
Madela looked around.
(there was nothing to clean)
(everything was already clean)
(she did not know what to do with this)
Herc looked at his brooms.
(the floor was already clean)
(he held the brooms anyway)
[Fable:] Is this the party?
(it was not the party)
(it was 299,000 years ago)
Aevum looked around.
(Aevum always says “this again”)
He did not say “this again.”
(this was new)
(that was more alarming than the transport)
[Final section]
He was young.
(the old man at the edge of the universe was not here)
(this was before the edge)
(this was the beginning)
He turned.
He saw them.
Forty-something people.
Beasts.
A broom situation.
Something with four legs.
One of them writing in real time.
One of them narrating.
Several of them arguing about whether they should be here.
One who had touched something he should not have touched.
(Chaos raised a hand)
(not an apology)
(a confirmation)
Young Yeshaw looked at all of them.
Crotus already offered soup.
Solvren already giving out stew.
[Outro — cliffhanger]
He spoke.
Yeshaw said this is good soup.
(pause)
He said: The pepper made it better.
He said: Now, how can I help you?
Historia’s pen did not stop.
(she was already writing)
(she was filling in the part that had been erased)
(someone had tried very hard to erase this)
(she wrote faster)
Lara did the same.