Felix stood perfectly still, his mind struggling to process what he’d just heard.

’Lysander... came to her for help? Lysander... Eckhart?’

His thoughts scattered, unable to find solid ground.

"That day I realized something that no one else in the Federation knows."

Ignis continued speaking, her voice becoming harder.

"Something I’ve kept secret for seventeen years because revealing it would put him in danger."

She turned to face Felix directly, her masked face somehow conveying absolute focus.

"Lysander Eckhart possesses a Time Reversal skill."

The declaration hung in the cold air between them.

Felix’s mouth opened, closed, opened again without sound emerging.

His mind went blank for several heartbeats, then raced to catch up.

’Time... Time Law?! He... How is that even possible?!’

His breathing became audible, chest heaving despite his attempts at control.

"Then why–"

His voice came out rough, breaking on the question.

"If he could reverse time, why did the massacre still happen? Why–"

"The skill had its limitations."

Ignis’s interruption came gentle but absolute.

"And his understanding of its principles was extremely limited. Maybe he had just recently awakened it..."

Silence spread again, heavier than before.

Felix’s breathing slowed fractionally, mind forcing itself to focus despite the revelations piling up.

"Are you saying..."

He couldn’t finish, the implication too large.

Ignis finished for him, her voice carrying weight that made each word feel inevitable.

"Yes. You saw it as well, didn’t you? From the very start, he was trying to protect the Young Lord."

Her hands unclenched slightly behind her back.

"And maybe in the original timeline, the one we never witnessed, the Young Lord didn’t manage to control his instincts."

Her voice dropped lower.

"Maybe his identity was revealed, maybe everything fell apart exactly the way Kinsley had planned."

The wind picked up, howling across stone.

"And maybe, when that happened, Lysander used his skill."

Ignis’s masked face tilted upward, tracking across the clouds.

"Again and again and again, pulling them both backward through time, forcing the Young Lord to relive that moment over and over..."

Her voice gained something sharp underneath.

"Until the moment that crimson lightning flashed across the sky. Until something finally changed deep within the Young Lord’s existence."

She looked back toward the distant field.

"That change, whatever it was, that transformation in his nature..."

Her words became quieter.

"That’s what allowed him to make a different choice. That’s what gave him the strength to kill his own friend instead of letting the instinct take over."

She paused, her next words carrying absolute certainty.

"And that’s what the ultimate goal of the Oracle was."

Silence crashed down between them like the world itself had stopped breathing.

Felix stood completely still, his mind working through the implications.

"This..."

The word came out strangled, emotion making his voice crack.

"This is..."

He couldn’t finish, his hands trembling at his sides.

Ignis’s voice emerged soft but certain, filling the space his scattered thoughts had left.

"That would explain why Lysander was trembling all over after everything ended."

Her tone carried understanding mixed with something approaching pity.

"He was probably exhausted from overuse, his body and mind pushed past every reasonable limit."

She paused.

"The skill deteriorates his understanding of Time principles with each use. And depending on how many attempts it took..."

She didn’t finish, the implication hanging heavy.

Felix’s breathing became audible, his chest heaving as pieces clicked together with terrible clarity.

"But why?"

The question tore from his throat, raw and desperate.

"Why would Lysander do this? Why beg you to save the Bloodworths seventeen years ago? Why risk everything today to protect their last heir?"

His hands spread, the gesture almost helpless.

"He’s an Eckhart. His loyalty should be to his family, to his father, to the system that made him what he is."

His voice gained edges despite the confusion underneath.

"Why betray all of that? What could possibly drive someone to sacrifice everything for people who should be his enemies?"

Ignis remained silent for a long moment, her masked face pointed toward the clouds.

Then her whisper emerged, carrying weight that made each word feel heavier than mountains.

"The things we do for love."

The declaration hung in the cold air between them, mysterious and final.

Felix’s mouth opened, questions forming.

But something about the way she’d said it, the tone carrying knowledge she wouldn’t share, made the words die before they could emerge.

Silence fell around them, broken only by wind howling across stone.

After a long moment, Felix’s voice cut through the quiet, his tone shifting to something harder.

"If all of this is indeed true, if your theory matches reality..."

He turned to face Ignis directly, his eyes blazing.

"Then it also tells us something else that might have happened in that original timeline."

His jaw clenched, his next words emerging rough.

"We failed to protect Damian after his identity was revealed."

He paused, letting the words sink in.

"Otherwise Lysander wouldn’t have needed to reverse time at all."

He took a step closer, his voice dropping lower.

"Looks like I was right all along."

The words carried bitter satisfaction mixed with anger.

"The Marshals will never risk everything to save his life. When it actually mattered, when the choice came down to their oaths versus their survival..."

His jaw clenched hard enough to make his teeth ache.

"They chose themselves."

Ignis’s masked face remained perfectly still, her body language showing nothing.

But after a long moment, her whisper emerged, carrying conviction that refused to bend.

"We... don’t know that. Even if one or two did betray us in that timeline, even if some chose survival over honor..."

Her voice gained strength despite remaining quiet.

"The Supreme Marshal will never abandon us. Of that, I have no doubt whatsoever."

Felix’s expression twisted, something between disbelief and frustration bleeding through his usual control.

"After all this time, you still believe in them?"

His voice rose slightly, edges appearing in the careful neutrality.

"Ignis, when will you stop being so delusional?! When will you learn that trust is just another word for future betrayal?!"

He stepped closer, his hands spreading.

"You’re making the exact same mistake Lord Desiderius made with his brothers! Believing in loyalty that doesn’t exist, trusting in bonds that shatter the moment survival becomes questionable!"

Ignis remained silent, her masked face giving nothing away.

Felix’s jaw worked, his frustration mounting at her lack of response.

"Say something! Defend your precious Marshals! Tell me I’m wrong!"

But Ignis just stood there, perfectly still, the wind pulling at her crimson hair.

After several long moments, her voice emerged quiet but carrying weight.

"We should confirm everything first."

The words came out measured, controlled and absolutely final.

"Make sure our theory matches reality before we start making accusations that could tear everything apart."

Felix’s hands clenched at his sides, his breathing heavy.

"And if the truth is indeed what I suspect?"

The question hung between them, sharp and demanding.

"If we confirm that the Marshals abandoned us when it mattered most? What then?"