Chapter 1057: A Civilization before Time

Erik watched over Vitoria for a while longer, making sure her condition was stable before moving towards his friend. Eldrian’s body was clearly weak, and there was nothing Erik could do to help. Even moving him risked causing injuries. After a few minutes of observing Eldrian’s slow but steady breathing, Erik sighed.

He turned his attention finally to his right arm. Withered, a black husk hanging at his side. Strangely, he felt no pain. Everything was strangely calm. Of course, back when he had reached out for Eldrian, the pain hadn’t come from his arm either but rather his soul. Still, it was intriguing that an arm in a necrotic state could feel so numb.

’I guess I lost all my nerves.’ Erik mused. He had been constantly trying to call on his mana to heal himself since Vitoria’s condition had stabilized, with no success. The feeling was strikingly similar to what trying to move his arm felt like. He knew he was trying, as he always would, but felt no response.

Yet he continued to try. Minutes turned into hours, and at last his focus ran out. Exhausted, he took a walk. But everywhere looked the same. Fragmented space like a cracked mirror, showing him random images. Videos of too many things to count.

Some of these mosaic fragments showed memories he could recall. His past. Others showed events on Earth that he could place; others, probably historical events far in the past that he didn’t know.

Time continued to flow. And as he waited for Eldrian or Vitoria to wake, the fragments gathered around them. Forming a much more stable mosaic. Still fractured. Events still varied. But converging.

It started with cityscapes of a civilization different from Earth. It appeared like modern building styles but with fantasy elements, allowing designs that simply weren’t realistic.

Floating islands with entire cities sprawling atop them. Highways of different sci-fi looking paths wrapping around the entire island. Buildings inside and below the island.

One of many such territories. Other fragments showed vast cityscapes, stretching from horizon to horizon. Or even more massive structures, the purpose of which he couldn’t even guess.

Slowly, he got to see an entire world. Similar to Earth, but in oh so many ways a different world. Finally, the fragments merged, focusing on one sole image.

An aged man, smiling with melancholy as he looked straight at Erik. Or, at least, into a camera. Space around the man seemed like a fractured web. A void barely held at bay.

The man spoke, but the fragments held no sound. If each had carried sound, then the entire place would have been quite noisy at all times. That changed now.

"Testing... Testing... Ah, there we are. Greetings, visitor." The man said. "Since you’ve made it to this realm, I’ll assume you know the situation. Our contingency has been activated and now all of existence is near extinction. Again."

"Our artificial clock is likely failing at this point. And we are no longer present to resolve the problem. I place my trust into you, oh child of fate. Do not follow our foolishness."

The fragments started showing different frames again. Some followed the old man throughout his life. Showing him at different ages, struggling to grasp his powers. To understand the teachings of those before him. Of mastering the ability to change reality itself.

And he was not alone. He had several friends. All with unique powers, all reality-shattering in scale. Some lost control, causing earth-shattering destruction, but were quickly stopped via what appeared to be teachers. The damage reversed with ease, which made it all look like a game. It reminded Erik of ANW. And of Eldrian’s powers.

Time moved on in these fragments; wars were waged. The young figure of the old man grew older. He fought, he lost, he survived. He went on adventures, visited colonies, and generally had an incredibly rich experience in life.

He did not join in the wars for long. Some stayed on that path, fighting for more power. Others explored other avenues. And as he watched everyone fighting for something so out of reach, the man stepped back. He watched everyone continue onward, becoming a teacher like those who had come before him. He stood as the one who stopped things if they escalated too far. Who repaired the damage.

Time passed. Season after season. The man’s appearance stayed youthful, but decades turned over and centuries came to pass. Those the man had grown up with had almost all died. None of old age. Everyone seemed to be biologically immortal in this world. Aging stopped when they neared their late twenties.

Centuries passed, the man spending decades teaching the new generation. Watching them fail, struggle, and succeed. Only to join one power or another and kill each other. Or striving for some spectacular discovery that only ended with it consuming their lives. All trying to claim a title that was beyond any living being. All aiming for that lofty seat. To be a god. Trying to gain the power to alter reality and shape the world to their will.

Until he finally grew tired of seeing the pattern repeat itself. Some burning themselves out, others losing control, and yet more killing one another to steal the powers others held.

And as Erik watched these scenes, he saw the man trying to reason with each generation. Pointing towards the stars. Fewer and fewer in the night sky with each image.

"Finally, we settled our differences. But it was too late." The man’s voice spoke. Showing his visage again in a world in darkness. The once vibrant night sky empty. "I warned them, but no one listened."

New frames, showing him arguing with kings, queens, philosophers, alchemists, and scientists. All too absorbed in their own paths. Everyone aiming to be called gods. Everyone who could make a difference was too focused on their own goals.

Some attacked him, others asked him to stay, to help them. Yet no one listened to him. They felt his warnings were for an age far too distant in the future. Something they could solve once they reached their goals. After all, he had been warning them for generations, and each generation never saw the future he told of.

Naturally, they all craved his power. And it was with his power that he easily survived each encounter when greed overtook them. Walking away while they stood frozen in place. Swords drawn, or hands extended, gun or spell shot and frozen. Once his offer was refused, he’d always leave.

And so time continued to flow in these fragments.

He started aging, suddenly. Having been ageless for countless ages until now. The fragments focused on just a few decades at this point. Widespread panic across the worlds.

"Altering reality does not come without a cost." He spoke. His voice carried his fatigue. "They all wanted the power to create a world of their own. They killed each other to claim more strength, some even killed themselves in reaching for what is beyond them. Their battles altered our world. Our reality."

A scene with the man standing alone in a field. Watched the night sky as the stars started disappearing one after another. At first, a few years passed between each star’s disappearance. But soon the final fragmented mosaics showed them disappearing one after the other. Just a few hours or minutes between each. Until he observed the last stars disappear from their night sky.

This scene repeated in other fragments. Showing others watching the sky. Only when their world turned darker and darker did they realize the future he had warned of was in fact near. Yet, even then, some did not want to work together. Still fighting for their own path.

But enough realized the situation and turned to him for guidance. Asked for and offered their help. Finally, they could work together, but it was too late.

Many lost faith during the early stages. The project was of such a scale that they could not believe it possible. Others continued working. Perhaps not out of good faith or belief, but as a desperate last struggle to continue on. To not let things end as they were.

Those who stayed helped until they reached their limits, then, one after another, they willingly sacrificed their powers to this construct. A condensation of power, wrapped in a time-dilation field, keeping it as stable as possible. Allowing unique powers to be added without interaction.

And through it all, the man aged. Quicker and quicker. When the last stars disappeared, he could no longer walk. He sat next to the spinning orb. Keeping it stable as he shared his tale, and their final desperate plea. Alone, he had to hold out until time itself ended.

"So we added our contingency. You. Those born with fragments of our powers. Allowing you smaller scale reality bending." The man, a ghost of himself, appeared again. The fragments focusing to reveal his forlorn smile. "As a last resort, it is weak. How could we expect those with a weaker power to repair what we failed to make?"

"We called this orb, The Source. Our world was doomed. Despite all our efforts, we would not be able to save it. But this. This one thing will continue to exist. Past the end of the time. It will birth time again. It is the new source of time itself for your world."

The man coughed. Blood trickled from the sides of his mouth. "We brought our end far too soon. Leaving our fragments to the next generations was a gamble. A terrible gamble that they might repeat our mistakes."

"I do not know what caused your entry into The Source. But I ask, please, do not be reckless."

With that, the man began to disintegrate. His body flowed into the orb next to him. "With this, time will continue to flow." His voice came out weakly.

And as that last image disappeared, the fragments split. Each freezing in place and showing a theorem, a power, a reality. The mathematics behind it, the source, the truth.

Erik witnessed this all, knowing it was not meant for him. He tried his best to memorize what he had been shown, but it was simply too much. The best he could do was take their story to heart as he watched the fragments melt away. The space around them turned strangely stable.