Portal clock
| Portal clock | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General Information | |
| Type | Portal Sentient being(?) |
| Uses | Instantaneous travel |
| Purpose | Links Theia to twelve different planets |
| Source | ??? |
| Side Effects | ??? |
| Organizational Information | |
| Manufacturer | Guinevere |
| Used By | Samnsonite Ruby |
The portal clock was a mysterious space-time anomaly that appeared in the third (and deepest) of the San Iujadis Caverns, beneath the ruins of the Flavros Project and almost 15km beneath the TERAPRO facility. It was labelled as a “clock” due to the systematic nature of the changing portal destination. Isla deduced that the destinations were all at 30 degree angles from each other (with respect to Theia), and the destination shifted clockwise after exactly 24 hours. Known destinations of the portal clock included the planets San and Doria, and previously unknown systems included Ankhes, Annadonia, Kemiya and Logos Minor. The Annadonians were allegedly well accustomed to this phenomenon, it being known to them as the Twelve-realm Gateway Offering, and feared it could bring about the end of time.
Each destination (bar previously known planets) seemed to harbor a new form of substance unknown to the TERAPRO scientists that studied it. The research and development areas of TERAPRO were immediately nourished by the discoveries of Alkemiya powder and the Logos particle, which drove significant technological advancement, although uses for other substances such as Ankhes water are yet to be revealed.
The twelve-realm gateway offering
To the Annadonian people, the portal clock marked the arrival of a well-known ritual known as the twelve-realm gateway offering, which involved offering a valuable resource through the portal which would, in return, allow for a particular woman to ascend to godhood. According to the Annadonians, the gateway offering is so dangerous that they tamed the listanworms and manipulated their psionic fields to create the Otherworld, a psychic realm within the Noosphere, to prevent people from attempting to complete the ritual. Nonetheless, many people would return to the real world in time for the portal’s appearance (every twelve days) to stand guard and prevent anyone from doing so (in which they are known as the “tempted.”)
In 408 CE, Sakura accidentally encountered the portal clock and became stranded on Annadonia when she was brought into the care of Odric in the otherworld and barred from leaving. On the twelfth day of her captivity, Odric planned to incapacitate her to hide the nature of the twelve-realm gateway offering. She was unaware of the portal clock’s function, and Odric believed that any hope of returning home could lead to temptation from her. However, Samnsonite and Ruby emerged through the portal whereas Wisteria and Camellia had arrived from San via ship. During the escape from Annadonia, Camellia was nearly shot dead to prevent her passing through the portal’ to the Annadonians this would have completed the ritual.
