Chapter 76: Time Walker
Somewhere, very far away from the fake Primus and the dream realm as a whole, in a place where the concept of space does not exist.
Space, distance, time, death, and all otherworldly concepts created by the gods do not exist in this place, if it can even be called that.
However, that did not stop one man.
"Hmmmmm~~~"
Humming an upbeat tone, Professor Paradox calmly sipped his tea, checking on his pocket watch as if anticipating a certain moment, despite the fact that time did not exist in this place.
But that did not matter. After all, here, he was the concept of time
The spirit of time, to be specific.
But even he had his limits. A mere spirit could not traverse the void, and thus, Paradox could not find the person he was looking for here.
At least, not without the right memory...
"Oh my, look at the time!"
With calm movements, he got up from his seat and looked around, noticing the myriad of bizarre creatures floating in the eternal void.
One would expect the creatures of the void to be... monstrous and horrifying resembling the abominations known as nightmare creatures in the outside world... and in a sense, they were.
But Paradox didn't truly see them that way.
He simply saw them as beings born of a different nature and thus, could not be judged by the standards of those who carry the flame.
Some were true to the void, letting their nature be decided by it, ever changing and constantly transforming. while others followed the flame, letting themselve hold a singular form and will.
However, the infinite void was not just made up of the flame and the void.
The void, just like it had given birth to the flame, gave birth to many different sources of cosmic existence that paradox's sacred mind could not even begin to fathom.
It was truly bizarre, the myriad of different creatures that existed here.
Some had entire worlds within them, existing as not only a universe but a multiverse.
Others were a void within themselves, sucking in whatever they came across, taking them somewhere unknown.
That is the nature of the void. Bizarre, strange, horrifying, unknown, and unfathomable, even to beings of higher ranks.
"Alright then, I'll have to apologize, my fellow otherworldly creatures. it seems it's time for me to depart from this place for a while, But don't worry, I will be back in a flash to continue my search."
Offering a gentle smile to the inhabitants of the void, he set his clock to a certain timespan, and then suddenly, a blue light engulfed the void, drawing the attention of its dwellers.
However, before any of them could use that opportunity to escape, Paradox stepped into the portal, and as soon as he did, it disappeared, leaving nothing behind.
————
Paradox felt himself being pulled away from the void, and at the same time, he felt himself being drawn back toward it, as if it were refusing to let him go.
The time stream... It was an existence similar to the great tapestry of fate, existing as a marvelous stream of energy that reflected every single moment of this world, including the past, the present and the future, as divergent as they were.
Paradox happened to be a person attuned to this great river of time, and that was the only reason he managed all of his extraordinary deeds and achievements.
However, he was not the only being that drifted on the currents of time. For there were an infinite numbers of beings traversing time, constantly trying to change it and alter it direction only to be consumed by it.
Humans, noble creatures, wraiths, shadows, divine and unholy beings... And the lists goes on.
One such being just happened to be a nasty unholy devil dwelling in the time stream far longer than even paradox.
Looking at it, Paradox sighed.
"Maltruant, my old friend, must you be annoy me every time I jump through the time stream? You're seriously making me regret ever meeting you. "
The unholy devil, Maltruant, was a Chronosapien—and an exceptional one at that—having risen to the divine rank in his life But unfortunately, just like everything else in the dream realm, the influence of the void eventually reached him, tainting his divine existence.
"Time walker..." the unholy god spoke in a raspy tone, his voice carrying the weight of millions of other Maltruants who existed in different moments of time. "So you have returned... What scheme are you planning this time ?"
Paradox chuckled lightly as he continued traversing the time stream, barely warding off Maltruant from reaching him by using transforming his sacred will into a powerful barrier, shielding him from the unholy one wrath.
"Ah, I sadly can't answer that. You know the drill when it comes to us time travelers—we must never reveal our true intentions, no matter what!"
The unholy devil gazed at Paradox, still attempting to pierce the barrier of time between them and consume him but eventually, it spoke once again looking at paradox with an complicated expression.
"I had a dream recently."
Paradox raised an eyebrow.
It was not every day an unholy god spoke of dreams. In truth, it was rare for such beings to dream at all.
"I dreamt of a kinder time… when the world was still pure."
His voice carried a deep, aching melancholy.
"I dreamt of battling Ben Tennyson, trapped in an endless loop… I dreamt of the Goddess of Black Skies, her smile filling my mechanical heart with unparalleled warmth."
His gaze dimmed.
"Tell me, Time Walker… where did it all go wrong? Was it when Eon activated the Chronosapien Bomb? Or when Vilgax discovered that thing? Or…"
he paused, voice dropping and becoming... Empty.
"were we always destined to fall, like the Realm of the Sun before us?"
Paradox's pleasant smile faded, replaced by something far more solemn.
"I do not know," he said quietly. "Even I cannot fully perceive the fractures within the ever changing time stream… That is the nature of time, which is the shadow of fate."
Maltruant studied him for a long moment, then exhaled slowly.
"You are a cruel thing, little spirit… deceitful, manipulative… always moving others like pieces on a board, wether they are of the flame or the void..."
His voice hardened, taking on a much more terrifying tone.
"You know so much… and yet, you do nothing."
His gaze drifted into the endless flow of time, witnessing countless moments at once, moments that he could not return to anymore...
"Still… you are not the one who forced that dream upon me." He looked back at Paradox. "And yet… I cannot forgive you."
"I will consume you, I must consume you to find my divinity once again. "
He stepped forward, his presence distorting the time stream itself.
"Come, Time Walker…"
His voice deepened, becoming something vast and ancient.
"Let me show you how the sun became cruel, how the skies were swallowed by endless darkness, how the blood of beast turned into sanctuaries of corruption,
how the forests of the heart burned to ash,
how even the incorruptible shadows fell…
and how the last children of war… destroyed one another."
"Ah," paradox raised his hands, or at least he pretended to do so considering he wasn't in physical form right now "I'd rather not".
Maltraunt took one final look at him, than uttered:
"Then die."
The command rippled through the time stream, sending a violent will toward the sacred spirit, attacking not only his current self but his past and future selves as well, leaving no chance of escape.
At this, Paradox simply orchestrated a simple trick, created after thinking of billions of possible outcomes, all at the same time via his vast mind.
He cut the flow of time. his timeline from birth to the current moment from the time stream itself, which existed in the shadow of the tapestry of fate.
Then, he placed that timeline within himself, holding it inside through his sacred will, making it so he never existed within the flower time but at the same time, having existed in reality through his will.
At the same time, other versions of him—from seconds into the future and seconds from the past—appeared all around him, manifested by his awakened ability, and fusing their wills to ward off Maltruant from reaching them.
'Ah, I miss the days when I was a mere Transcendent, back in a much more civilized era.'
Of course, Paradox had lived in many eras, but he originally came from the realm of beast, years before the nightmare spell descended and Ben Tennyson found the Omnitrix. However, when he was Transcendent, he lived during the age of the gods, having been transported there by the time stream.
His connection to the time stream was caused due to an experiment going wrong causing him to fall and be embraced by time, however the reason he was taken across time into the golden age of the gods was still unknown to him.
After all, just like the great tapestry of fate, the time stream seemed to possess a will of its own, allowing others to use it while at the same time using them for its insidious goals.
However, that did not matter right now, for Paradox needed the time stream's help to execute a very audacious plan.
That plan was to break into a certain tapestry of fate... created by fate yes, but remade into a recreation of a past event by the nightmare spell.
In other words, Paradox was using the time stream to enter a nightmare.
Naturally, such a thing would be impossible, considering Paradox was only capable of entering sixth nightmares—nothing less and nothing more... well, except for the seventh nightmare, which held the forgotten god, but that was not his nightmare to conquer.
Even though it was usually impossible, Paradox was capable of doing this because the nightmare spell possessed the capacity to replicate sacred and divine beings... and cursed and unholy ones, of course.
Which meant that there would be an imprint of him within the nightmare he wanted to enter, and thus, he would be able to briefly possess that version of himself through his aspect and the time stream, allowing him to achieve his goals.
"Well, Maltruant, I'm sorry to say that I cannot free you from your corruption right now," a myriad of Paradoxes said, each bearing sorrow and sympathy within their voices. "However, I promise you this. I will save you from this suffering. One day."
He paused for a moment, letting his voices fuse into a singular one.
"I will save everyone."
And with that, Paradox completely disappeared from the time stream, leaving the unholy devil to drift in the vast river.
————
Falling into an alleyway, straight into a garbage bin, Paradox grumbled as he quickly got up and used his will to clean himself.
Then he concealed his existence, making sure no one could sense him.
'Hmm, it seems I succeeded in reaching the nightmare... Ah, Bellwood, how much I've missed you! Truly, it's far more pleasant than the void.'
Cleaning his staff, Paradox walked out of the alleyway and unleashed his vast consciousness into the outside world.
Doing so, he felt the spirits of many beings, all occupying the same space.
There was Max Tennyson and Verdona Tennyson, the two Supremes of humanity, each ruling over a vast domain...
And then there was the third Supreme... who was dormant and weakened as of now, stripped of his domain and spirit.
There were multiple Supreme noble creatures as well, but because they were not human, they did not possess a domain, and thus they were inferior to the Supreme humans making their existence not as vast.
Paradox also felt many Transcendents, the number nearly reaching one thousand, each of them a powerful champion of humanity and noble creatures.
However, his face turned into a grimace as he felt it...
The unholy Titan... and its terrifying domain, the Forever Knights.
Paradox did not dare to gaze upon it for too long, for it could easily gaze back at him and shatter his sacred mind if he was not careful.
Such a thing was basic knowledge when dealing with higher ranked entities.
Although paradox still shivered slightly, cursing Weaver for making his spell so competent.
'Really, who makes something capable of recreating unholy beings in a mere second nightmare?! That Weaver, always so nebulous and treacherous, what a rascal!.'
Cursing the daemon of fate, Paradox refocused his attention on his target—the carrier of the Omnitrix.
There were two of them... but not for long.
'Oh, Benjamin... So you have done it...'
Paradox sighed, recognizing what Ben did. In truth he could not blame the youth for doing what he did, but that did not mean he approved of it.
'i should've been there..., ah, no I shouldn't think like this, in the end, all of them will be saved, I'm sure if it'
Turning his attention back to the omnitrix wielder, and as he did, he noticed that Ben's essence was now nearly identical to Hugo's, appearing as if they were twins from birth. The only saving grace was that they still did not share the same body—but that would not be the case for long, considering the nightmare was slowly coming to its conclusion.
Tapping his forehead, Paradox located the second Ben Tennyson—the weaker and less stable one which meant that it was Hugo.
And in a single nanosecond, Paradox vanished from where he was standing, appearing right inside a Plumber hospital, directly inside of Ben's room.
There, a young man in the form of Ben Tennyson was sitting on the bed, devouring an unholy amount of food while watching Sumo Slammers seventh live action adaptation.
'meh, the original trilogy was better' paradox thought, before turning to the startled boy.
He jumped up in shock as he detected Paradox, but then his shocked face slowlymorphed into a wide smile as he recognized the uninvited guest.
"Paradox! It's you!"
"Ben" got out of the bed, struggling to stand due to his injury and looked at the sacred spirit.
Paradox offered him a wary smile. "Oh my... the situation is just as I expected... bad..."
Ben raised an eyebrow, not understanding what the time walker was talking about.
"What situation? Is this about the Forever Knights? I knew Grandpa wasn't telling me the full story."
"No, no... well, yes it is somehow related to the forever knights but that's not your main concern right now."
"It isn't?"
Paradox nodded, raising his Chrono Gauntlet and placing it on Ben's shoulder.
"Boy, you have to listen to me. What I'm about to say is important, as it holds the fate of the entire world."
"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that before. So what's the problem this time? Some galaxy-destroying superweapon being unleashed? Or is it just Vilgax again?"
Paradox shook his head, giving "Ben" a serious look.
"This is not a joke, lad. The fate of the entire world rests on the outcome of this nightmare..."
Paradox's eyes glowed blue as his sacred will pressed onto Ben, not to destroy him, but to draw something from within.
"W-what?!"
"It's time for you to wake up, Hugo."
In a single moment, a myriad of scenes flashed through ben... Hugo's head, they were... scenes of his entire life.
However, these scenes were not his alone. The influence of Ben Tennyson, which clung to him like a parasite, went into a defensive state, doing its best to destroy the memories in an attempt to protect the mantle of "Ben Tennyson ".
But in the end, it failed appearing faible and small Infront of paradox's will.
After all, Paradox's will was sacred—far beyond anything a mere mantle could withstand—and so it was erased... although not without leaving some dire consequences.
The spirit that was "Hugo" slowly revived, its memories—those that built its ego—reforming and settling into his soul reawakening his identity.
In the end, Hugo was left standing there shaking while staring at his hands in shock...
Not only had he experienced being erased, but he had also experienced the feeling of being someone else... of being Ben Tennyson.
And unfortunately, the memories of Ben Tennyson did not disappear either, Rather, they remained within Hugo's mind, as if they were a fleeting dream that he vaguely remembered.
It was a bizarre sensation, to say the least oddly similar to how night creatures precive their past selves who were not corrupted.
"Ah, it seems you are finally back," the man... no, the sacred spirit, standing in front of him said.
He then offered Hugo a slight bow, clearly showcasing his manners.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Professor Paradox, the first sacred human of the beast realm. I'm here to help..."
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Author's note:
Just wanted to say, I love you all. The engagement in our small community is warming my heart