Timorath stood atop a snowy mountain, his gaze fixed on a spiraling colossus of stairs, a full light-year away. It rose endlessly into the stars and plunged just as deeply into the abyss below.
Its sheer scale humbled the senses, as though it bound heaven and earth in a single, breathless span.
Despite its unadorned design, it radiated an undeniable power, an aura so powerful that it seemed to bend time itself around it.
At the heart of the spiraling stairs floated the Monolith of Time, a towering obelisk with a stark, simple shape that tapered like a needle into the heavens.
Fashioned from crystalline stone, the Monolith of Time gleamed with quiet authority as it was suspended effortlessly in the air.
Pale pulses of light rippled down its smooth surface where runes of time flickered in and out of existence, each one a fleeting echo of forgotten seconds and possible futures.
The glass-like material of the staircase spiraling around the monolith was transparent yet radiant, catching the light like a prism.
During the day, it refracted sunlight into dazzling beams that scattered rainbows across the landscape.
At night, it absorbed the starlight, emitting a tranquil luminescence that rippled like moonlight across still water.
Even from his location, Timorath could feel the monolith's pull. The flow of time around it twisted and stuttered. Trees at its base withered to husks and bloomed anew in the blink of an eye.
The ground surrounding it, shifted constantly, becoming barren and lush in a silent rhythm.
This was a realm where time lost its grip—a place where the past, present, and future clashed and danced in chaotic harmony.
He could also sense the subtle challenge inherent in its structure. The surrounding space shimmered with unstable temporal currents, chaotic anomalies that changed with every second, rewriting land anew.
It was a gauntlet of time itself, demanding deep comprehension and an unbreakable will. Yet the staircase was not the only trial he faced.
To his left floated a towering primordial being, his aura thrumming with raw, barely contained power. To his right, two more loomed, each radiating an equally formidable presence.
These were not chance interlopers. They had driven off all weaker contenders long ago, claiming their ground with force and finality.
Their postures were tense, their gazes sharp. Every breath was a silent standoff. Though none moved, the air between them bristled.
Each was a coiled storm, measuring the others for the slightest opening. They were all peak rank six, equal, and they knew it.
Timorath's lips curled into a calm, almost amused smile as he extended his spiritual senses to probe their defenses, not just physical but mental. In doing so, he shattered the brittle silence.
"Why don't you leave this blessed land to me?" he said, his tone as smooth as flowing time and layered with quiet certainty. "It aligns perfectly with my law, after all. Wouldn't that be...harmonious?"
The three Primordials glanced at Timorath, their expressions a mix of disinterest and faint amusement.
Timorath observed them closely, searching for any sign of weakness or hesitation. Seeing none, he pressed on.
"I will owe each of you a favor," he said in a calm, deliberate voice. "Three favors in exchange for this blessed land. It's a fair trade, considering how well it complements my Law."
There was silence for a moment, broken only by the faint hum of the cold breeze atop the mountain.
Then, one of the Primordials—a shadowy, humanoid entity wreathed in writhing tendrils of black mist, let out a short, derisive laugh. The cold, mocking sound grated against the freezing winds.
"Three favors?" it rasped, its voice laced with disdain. "Do you take us for simpletons, Timorath? We know what this land truly is. Your silver tongue won't persuade us to retreat."
Another Primordial whose humanoid form shimmered with hazy edges, as if carved from mist and golden, soft light, spoke with a faint smirk on his nearly featureless face.
"If anything, you should offer more than flattery and favors," he said in a cool, ironic voice. "Do you truly think words will sway us here?"
The third, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. His voice was calm but carried a quiet menace, the kind that echoes across battlefields long after the fighting ends.
"If you want this land," he said, "prove yourself. Or are you afraid to test your might against ours?"
Timorath's smile flickered, just for a moment, but he quickly masked his hesitation. His eyes sharpened, and he stood up straight, exuding composed defiance.
"Afraid?" he echoed, his voice smooth and unwavering. "Hardly."
As he stepped forward, snow tumbled from his three horns, vanishing into the cold. Around him, space wavered, and time coiled at his feet like silent serpents.
"If strength is your measure, then let it be tested. But know this: once I claim this land, don't come begging for the favors you so casually dismissed."
Time was his domain. In this sacred place where the past, present, and future blended into one another, Timorath stood not just confident, but absolute.
What puzzled him, though, was why they insisted on challenging him despite knowing that time was his domain.
He mulled over it for a moment and then dismissed the thought. "No secret can remain secret forever," he thought.
Without a word, they moved toward the monolith. After walking together for a brief moment, however, they dispersed and went their separate ways.
Timorath watched them disperse with a calm expression. He felt no surprise or concern. "Predictable," he thought, his steps steady as he advanced toward the spiraling stairs.
After moving quite a distance, he arrived at a region with time phenomena, and his speed began to slow instinctively.
He extended his consciousness outward and scanned his surroundings with meticulous focus.
In some areas, he saw insects crawling in slow motion, as if time itself were dragging its feet.
In others, they remained completely still, suspended in frozen moments.
Moving beyond this zone of temporal slowness, he stepped into a region where time flowed erratically.
The forest around him would wither in seconds, only to suddenly and silently bloom again—restoring itself as if nothing had changed.
He soared into another warped zone where the fabric of time frayed to the extreme. Here, time raced so wildly that a single second beyond its borders stretched into a thousand years within.
However, to Timorath, a being who existed outside the bounds of time and governed its laws, such phenomena were inconsequential.
The chaotic region bent and became chaotic with each step forward, yet he maneuvered as though strolling, his focus fixed on the towering, spiraling stairs ahead.
Behind him, the other three Primordials were far from enjoying such ease. Luscith, who embodied the enigmatic laws of dreams, stood motionless, his glowing, ethereal form flickering faintly.
He watched Timorath stride further away, narrowing his eyes as the distance between them grew.
He turned his gaze to the other two, Noctyra and Ashrel who in different regions hovering in the air. They had also paused, their forms tense with effort as they fought the subtle shifts in time and space.
For a moment, all three stood still, their attention on Timorath, who was now nothing more than a figure disappearing toward the monolith.
Luscith's lips curved into a faint, almost amused smile. He glanced at the other two Primordials, meeting their gazes.
They shared an understanding without words, and after a brief nod, they began moving together.
After flying for days through the chaotic temporal region, Timorath finally stood before the spiraling stairs.
The air here was heavy and filled with a strange power that seemed to press down on him.
Time was compressed so much in this place that a million years passed outside in the span of a single second inside.
Temporal energy hung heavily in the air, condensing into a swirling mist that drifted lazily around him.
As he approached the base of the stairs, the mist became denser and almost tangible.
Then he saw something remarkable—the time energy had crystallized into purple crystals. These purple crystals protruded from the ground, glowing faintly as if alive.
They seemed to hum softly, their sound blending into the stillness of the place.
Each crystal felt like it held a piece of the universe's history, timeless and eternal.
Timorath stopped and scanned around. "The laws of time are clearer here—far clearer than they were by the River of Time." he murmured "It's as if every second and every fragment of existence has been laid bare before me."
He could sense the flow of time weaving around him, pulling him closer to the monolith.