THE MOMENT
"Thanks for the lead," Rhapsody smiled at her sister, Dara. The two teen girls were walking along a dusty path on a cool, sunny day. A calm breeze floated across the countryside swaying the grass and carrying the scent of cooking meat from the nearby market. Dara attended a magical academy and she'd invited her sister to visit one of the villagers.
"It was just luck that I found out what he could do," Dara replied with a shrug. The oracle in question was locally famous and she'd heard about him the first time she visited the town. "If you ask him about any lost or missing thing, he'll instantly know exactly where it is, and sometimes how it got there," she said. "Seems like it'd be easy to fake; but, I gave him a few tests. He doesn't even know about the multiverse, but he's been able to find things hidden on a different Earth. It'd be nice if he could help you find the sword before anyone else."
"Oh wait...," Rhapsody slowed her pace as they reached the outskirts of town. the ruckus of a lively bazaar was heard in the distance. "...do we really want to ask him? I mean,... wherever it is..., if he also learns how it got there, it might uh.. break his brain a little bit," she giggled at the wording more than the risk of driving him mad.
"It'll be fine," Dara nodded. "Did plenty of trials... he only sees how it got there sometimes. Besides, maybe if someone hid it intentionally, that'll be good. He was able to identify Phantae hiding something during the tests."
"Well, if you're sure...," Rhapsody nodded.
"I'm sure this is the only plan you've got right now since you don't want to ask Mom," Dara replied. "Which, why? You never explained that part; you didn't lose it, did you?"
"No," Rhapsody giggled with her sister. "I want to find it because she hasn't asked me to," she replied.
"For the tournament in May, right?" Dara asked. They'd reached the town proper, but Dara was leading Rhapsody away from the village fair instead of toward it. "Initiative's great and all, but don't you think she has it covered already? That's assuming she wants the Sharp Riders to win; that might not be what she's planning," Dara shrugged.
"She might...," Rhapsody agreed that it was a possibility. That was the real reason she didn't want to ask her mother about it. A part of her expected her mother to have already taken care of it. She knew enough to suspect the sword was being hidden for a reason; and, she'd decided to take that as a challenge. "...But, she's also really busy. Before the school year started, La Espada was recovered and accounted for in Sharp Development's inventory. Now, it's not there. It's unlikely, but not impossible that she missed that detail." They reached a lone house with a small crowd gathered in front, and a lanky man standing on a tree stump towering over the half-dozen villagers.
"It's buried by the tree...," the tall man spoke with a booming voice and his eyes closed. "... courtesy of ... Rex!" he said and everyone gave a laugh. "Bad dog," he opened his eyes and turned to scold the village mascot. Rex, the golden retriever mutt noticed everyone's attention on him and barked for more laughter.
"Oh, this is great, it's rare that he sees how a thing got there twice in a row," Dara raised her arm to wave at him.
"Dara!" he bellowed and made a gesture with his arms to part the crowd before stepping down from the stump. Even on the same ground, he was still at least a head taller than everyone else, and about three heads taller than Dara and Rhapsody. "What can I help you find today?" he asked with a grin.
"Hey Wilbur," Dara nodded and gestured at Rhapsody. "This is my sister, Rhapsody. She's looking for something," she said.
"It's a pleasure," he nodded. "Ask away." He closed his eyes and put his fingertips to his temples.
"I'm looking for a Unique sword, it's the only one like it anywhere; it's called, 'La Espada'," she said. She tried to picture the white katana in her mind as she explained it.
"Yes, I see it," he nodded. "It is... I'm sorry... I don't know where? It's in a white room, hanging on the wall. There's a pitch black vault door sealed from the outside...lots of racks with ... glass cards?" he shook his head, but kept his eyes closed. He was trying to get the images to make sense. Usually, his power was simple. He could see the location in his mind's eye, and it came with the knowledge a person would have in that location as to how they arrived there.
This time, he could see the room as clearly as ever; but, there was no extra knowledge of how to get there. It was almost like the world did not exist outside that room.
"Told ya so," Dara giggled at Rhapsody, and she laughed too. The interruption hinted to Wilbur that their question was answered, and he opened his eyes.
"Did that help?" he asked.
"A ton," Rhapsody nodded. "Thank you!" she said.
"Are you okay? You didn't see how it got there, did you?" Dara asked. Both she and Rhapsody now knew exactly where it was, and very likely how it got there. But, she didn't know what it would do to him if he knew.
"No," he shook his head. He was still mildly confused from the initial experience. It was so distracting, he hadn't realized just how much he did know. "It's always been there," he said as if continuing the thought. Except, it was a different thought entirely, and he didn't know what to make of it.
"Great. We're gonna head out, thanks!" Dara and Rhapsody waved as they walked back along the road toward the school. Wilbur watched them leave. He almost wanted to ask them something; but, he didn't know what that question was. Words were hard to come by now as the same thought kept repeating in his mind.
"It's always been there...," he mumbled and gave his head another shake to try and rid himself of the thought. "It didn't get put there..., it's always been there...," he said. In the distance, the girls turned a corner and disappeared from sight; but, he kept staring out at nothing. His mind refused to consider any new thoughts until this one was solved.
"Since the beginning of the universe...," he mumbled. "...it's always been there. Since before time...," he had a few villagers shake him and try engage in conversation; but, they started leaving when he didn't reply. Within minutes he was alone in his front yard, staring at nothing in the distance, completely and utterly confused. It was impossible. The room and sword existed before the big bang. "...it's always been there."