Time?

Time was irrelevant. A nuisance. Malleable in form, uncontrollable at the best of times... And here, in this malleable, dangerous and unmanageable concept I lay. Centuries passed every second as minutes turned to Millenia, the march of time constant as hundreds of millions of words were spoken to me... Many were similar or exactly the same after a while, simply rehearsed to me infinitum. Gonging radiated in the distance with a harmonious resonance of energy, the very nature of this space seemingly to concentrate energy to extreme degrees. So I sat in this dimension of concealed time and space, meditating in a lotus position as my fingers naturally switched into multiple positions based upon what I was hearing from the gonging and speeches. Pain from my soul was omnipresent, the piece that was broken spreading pain universally through the different parts that made my soul whole.

My cultivation roared with the rage of a Volcano as the crackling flame of consumption pilfered the enormous well of Qi in this place. A seemingly infinite source of Qi sat here, all for me to claim. The Qi itself was also divided into different types, much like elemental magics. Qi in this space, as far as my senses could tell me, consisted of Elemental Qi; Fire, Water, Air, Lightning, Wood and Earth... Some form of Conceptual Qi, some types sharp, others blunt and bludgeoning, with another being of a puncturing or piercing nature. I named this Qi 'Martial' as it seemed much closer to the ideas of weaponry. The most esoteric Qi that lived within this space was actually the most prominent feature of this place, Time. This type of Qi wandered around chaotically, vanishing from one time period to another before or even after you could consider grasping onto it. Confusing thought it may have been, I was hell bent on capturing this wild Qi, as while it seemed utterly orderless, the feeling of deep meaning and power could not escape my mind.

Thus, I used one of the countless 'centuries' that i had within this space. Time Qi was unique in the way it interacted with other forms of Qi and seemed to be closely related to the essences of which I had learnt from Raistlin. This 'essence' was tied specifically to the package of Qi, much like Blue Essence was tied to all magic in some way. All of it's interactions with other Qi types was domineering and overpowering, the other Qi types bending around the sheer energy that was carried within this form of time. The size didn't matter, the Time Qi merely bending inside of it and through or making it contort to fit outside of its' path. Observing these forms of Qi was much like seeing again; the majority of these inklings being totally of thought and manifestation of consciousness however. 

By the end of that 'century' I was finally able to grasp onto one of these Time Essences with my flame. At first nothing happened, simply a mild popping noise that sounded like a small balloon being popped. Disappointment filled me at this as the Qi just disappeared. Failure was inevitable for all endeavours at the first go, why should this be any different? Was what I thought before an outrageous blaring of bells, gongs and drums resounded within my head. It was like having a million bands playing all at once inside my head, horrible sounding and downright debilitating. Then, as if it were all a memory of some distant forlorn scene the noises dispersed into aether as a massive sucking noise replaced it. The flame that was sitting upon my cultivation expanded into the size of the sun, the entire space's Qi being slurped through what seemed like a flame-wreathed straw of spiritual energy. And like any drink, the liquid eventually ran out and my thirst was quenched...

...

"HAAAAAH!" Gasping loudly, I sat up from my sleeping posture. Light suffused my inn room in sun-stricken shades, the darkness all but gone from the chamber as every window was opened. Curtains were pulled back and in the distance I could... see... I could see... 

"This must be a dream...!"

Laughter croaked out from next to my bed as the silver fae glow wreathed a gorgeous figure of immense power... Immense beauty and more importantly, very familiar features.

"Hahahaha. I assure you, me, this is not a dream."

Panic suffused my mind as visions of a throne with swirling black and white patterns swam in my vision. An overlay that I could not stop from appearing over this figure as their body matched perfectly the shape and size of that being. Yet, that figure just called me, her... 'What is going on?'

"All will be revealed in time, me... We do not have a long time together... Listen closely." I stayed silent as confusion and misunderstanding struck me in multiple different directions.

"Become powerful. Grow more power. Even if the power seems ridiculous, seems overbearing, feels disgustingly immense, grow more... There is no time to explain... Just know this: There will come a time where I cannot, from the future, aid the past. In this moment of time, time being a flow that constantly springs back on itself, something or someone could take advantage of us. POWER. Remember, we need power... Even if it means the consumption of entire worlds..."

Her, or my own, words faded into the far distance as my vision narrowed into a pinhole worth of radiant light. Blue was this light, so blue in fact, that it made me question if the sky or ocean were truly what was meant by the colour blue. Golden-green threads wove around me in billions of different cords as they snapped at one another and eventually merged into a specific pattern. I plunged. From darkest void, to the brightest of Exandrian days... Light returned to my life once again as the missing part of my soul was immaculate. Beyond immaculate, it was perfectly clear and so precise that I could see into the molecular level of everything around me. All the coloured essences billowed around me effortlessly as the Magic of Exandria floated in ever shifting waves of cerulean and purple subatomic particles. Colours were amplified to an almost ever-green state, the brightness almost making me feel as if I were in a Disney Story; one of the good ones, not the 2020's shit.

Drooping my vision down to my hand I could see through it. Bone, musculature and veins were all visible to me. Beyond even those features I could see the various micro-organisms that used me as a habitat. These bugs were superpowered in comparison to other people's as these feasted upon my body's micro-biome of magical energy and concepts. Then, as if that were not enough, my eyes punctured through another veil of spatial awareness... Down to the atomic scale where I could see in real time the consumption of oxygen molecules within my bloodstream. Further, I could see the alignment of Neutrons, Protons and Electrons that arranged the perfect structure for these molecules to exist. This was when it snapped in my mind... My tail was affecting my abilities and allowed me to see all of this along with understand the processes down to the finite degree. 

'Can I see time?'

Just as the thought coalesced in my mind a tapestry of immense proportions opened within my mind. Colours of infinite shape, tide and size shifted impermeably through everything. The liquid that it did not allow through was the chaos of the unknowable. The entropy of everything and therefor the eradication of everything. Moving my hand out amongst this tapestry there soon appeared a stark black-gloved hand of immense size with Raven feathers cresting along its' exterior. A porcelain Mask poked out from the golden-multicoloured tapestry as the soothing voice of one of my wives crooned in the ear sultrily.

"Now, now, don't touch my work love... If you wanted to play, all you need do is ask..."

 "Could you take off your mask?"

Her form shuddered as she didn't even hesitate. The mask flew off and her form shrunk down to Human levels, her stunningly soft face with her cute baby-like cheeks and sexy lips drawing me in at the first glance since the vision loss. Raven black hair swept down to her mid neck, her yellow eyes piercing into my own before she smiled softly.

"Why did you ask me-"

"You look beautiful... As beautiful as all those millennia ago..."

She gasped and widened her eyes as I walked forwards and wrapped my arms around her waist, staring her directly in her stunningly beautiful yellow eyes. Tears slipped from those golden-amber globes of untold enchanting allure before they were swept aside by my index finger as I leaned forwards and kissed her deeply. A small humming moan slipped from between our mouths as I ensured she knew how deeply I cared for her. She smelled of roses and the most wonderful of lilies as her tongue felt like the softest pillow that I would ever want to lie my tongue on. She was even with my other wives but unique in her own way, having a lethality to the way she stood and reciprocated my emotion. It was as if I was inviting death upon myself just to court her, a raveningly addictive feeling that made me wish for more and more. Breaking off the kiss she was left breathless, if a Goddess could be.

"I have had enough of Existence sapping away at me or my loved ones... Will you marry me, along with Milim and Shuna?"

No verbal response was given as she just leapt at me and kissed me deeply, my legs quivering somewhat as her Godly strength started to kick in unbeknownst to her. Her excitement was palpable it seemed... A long awaited moment...

'Don't worry me, I will be fine and I shall grow stronger than even you!!!'

...

MEANWHILE, ELSEWHERE ON EXANDRIA... 

"What a cool ass sword! Hey Testarossa, Ultima, Carrera! Come check this out!!!"

Yuna held a very large great sword that wafted ancient magic and a power that could not be explained by her or her companions...

"What'd ya get!?"

"Mmm, what is it?"

"Not interested."

"I GOT A SWORD...!!!"

"""..."""

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