Chapter 114 - Will This Ever End?

"Has there been any news of him?" Languor inquired as he examined the chronometer he had given Sonder a few weeks ago.

"None," Sonder responded. "Vell told me that the king and his men are conducting a search. I don't know exactly what Inure meant to the king, but as far as I know, he was a highly skilled warrior, so losing him would be a great loss."

"Undeniably so. Inure is quite accomplished in his field. Ah…yes…" Languor digressed, studying his machine. "This is rather unsettling."

"What's the issue?" questioned Sonder.

"If my readings are correct, you seem to have experienced a time lapse of about a week."

"What?" Sonder responded, in a shocked tone, "How? When?"

"Very recently. It appears to have occurred between last week and the day before yesterday when Inure vanished."

The old mage shook his head.

"This is deeply concerning. What have you been doing recently besides training with Inure?" He asked.

Sonder thought about it, and she couldn't give an answer except that she trained, day in and day out.

Once the day's training was over, she would practice a bit more on her own and then rest. Strangely, this routine felt more draining than her earlier training with the Simerians.

"Nothing else," she replied. "My time was entirely consumed by training."

Languor rubbed his temples, engrossed in deep thought. "I speculate that such a monotonous routine might be causing a distortion in your perception of time. It seems like only when a new element was introduced into your life did your sense of time return to normal. This implies that you might oscillate between phases of distorted time perception if you're not consciously engaged in your daily activities. Mental autopilot is something you cannot afford."

Sonder listened attentively, trying to comprehend Languor's explanation. "So, you're saying that if I'm not fully immersed in my life, I could lose track of time? But how's that possible?"

Languor began pacing the room; his brow creased in deep thought. "This is a phenomenon I've researched but never personally encountered. It appears your mind might have fallen into a sort of... skip. Your intense training with Inure might have consumed your focus to the point where you entered a state in which time seemed irrelevant. This is perilous, particularly if you're unconscious of it."

He paused his pacing to look at her. "Indeed, indeed. Fortunately, you appear to have some control over it. Many aren't as fortunate."