[ the silver key remains in the same state it was before... prettily encased in its transparent cube. ]

...It applies to parallel universes and alternate times, so I.. [ it seemed like the right assumption. though, if that's the case, it also means... they close their eyes for a moment. if they think about that now, it'll only hurt more later. ...they emit a sigh, they glance up to him with a hesitant smile. ]

You could be right. It being a different plane might make things different.