However, Sylas knew that in Valinor, such weapons would likely be of limited use. He stored the ti bombs away for the ti being.
After finishing his work with the low-grade ti sand, Sylas finally turned his full attention back to the Ti-Turner.
He carefully stored two of the three completed devices, then attached the remaining one to a chain around his neck. Stepping out of the chamber, he gently rotated the outer ring, setting the dial to one hour.
Even though he was confident in his craftsmanship, Sylas chose to test the Ti-Turner with extre caution. After all, this involved the most mysterious force in existence, ti itself. Even at his current level, it was not sothing to be treated lightly.
The mont he activated it, the concentric rings at the center began to rotate rapidly, and the hourglass disc spun in place.
In an instant, Sylas felt a layer of temporal power descend upon him, wrapping around his body and separating him from the present world.
The surroundings began to reverse at breathtaking speed.
For a fleeting mont, Sylas felt as though he had fallen into a vast river.
The River of Ti.
Endless. Irreversible. Flowing inexorably forward.
With the aid of the Ti-Turner, Sylas was like a tiny fragnt of foam drifting upstream, moving against the current, yet never truly escaping it.
This defiance was temporary.
At most, the Ti-Turner allowed a reversal of five hours per day. Any attempt to exceed that limit would cause the device to collapse under the overwhelming pressure of the ti stream, just as fragile foam would be torn apart in a raging river.
Chaos would follow.
Unpredictable, catastrophic chaos.
Moreover, even after returning to the past, the user remained no more than an observer. Interfering with past events would invite a violent temporal backlash, possibly erasing the user's very existence from the flow of ti.
Sylas had never intended to change the past.
His purpose was insight.
Yet when the reversal completed, disappointnt flickered across his face.
The temporal regression had lasted less than a second.
The world stabilized almost imdiately.
There was no ti, no opportunity, to comprehend anything aningful.
Still, this failure filled him not with frustration, but with hope.
Just as he had expected, during that infinitesimal instant of reversal, the surrounding ti power had surged to an astonishing density. Through his spiritual perception, Sylas had even faintly sensed the outline of the River of Ti itself.
Brief, but real.
It was enough.
With a wave of his staff, glowing runes appeared in the air, confirming the result.
He had returned exactly one hour into the past.
Sylas glanced toward the office door, now tightly shut. He knew his past self was inside, but he had no intention of disturbing the tiline.
Satisfied that the Ti-Turner functioned correctly, Sylas activated it again.
This ti, he set it to four hours.
The world reversed once more.
As the temporal flow intensified, Sylas extended his spiritual power through the Ti-Turner's protective range, attempting to sense the movent of ti beyond himself.
And then;
The River of Ti revealed itself again.
Sylas's eyes widened as he strained to perceive its structure and laws. His spiritual power, once intangible and absolute, now trembled under the invisible pressure of ti itself, on the verge of collapse.
Even spiritual force could not resist ti's erosion.
His face turned pale.
Pain surged through his mind.
Yet Sylas clenched his teeth and persisted, forcing his consciousness to endure as he tried to grasp the rules governing ti.
Just as his spiritual power reached its limit, on the brink of complete exhaustion, the reversal ended.
The world snapped back into stillness.
Sylas staggered slightly, his expression filled with lingering shock and despair.
Sweat poured down his face. His complexion was deathly pale, his mouth open as he gasped for air, his ntal energy completely drained. He looked utterly exhausted.
But Sylas had no ti to dwell on that.
He had discovered sothing crucial.
This ti, the reversal had lasted slightly longer than before, about four seconds.
That ant the process was not random.
The ti-reversal duration corresponded directly to the amount of ti rewound.
For every one hour reversed, the mont of exposure to the River of Ti extended by one second.
In other words, a single Ti-Turner, capable of rewinding up to five hours, could grant Sylas a maximum of five seconds of direct contact with the River of Ti each day.
And those seconds were everything.
This fleeting process was not a flaw, it was the very foundation of Sylas's comprehension of ti.
Ti itself was vague, intangible, and fundantally inaccessible to ordinary beings. Even powerful mages could only observe its effects, never its essence.
Yet Sylas could touch it.
Through the Ti-Turner, he could briefly sense the existence of the River of Ti itself.
That alone was an unparalleled advantage.
Given enough repetition, enough accumulation, Sylas was certain he would gain imasurable insight.
Carefully, he put away the Ti-Turner, now temporarily unusable.
This artifact was his key, the flawless key to understanding ti.
He possessed three Ti-Turners, aning he could experience up to fifteen seconds of temporal exposure per day.
At first, Sylas had considered gifting one to Gandalf or the others.
But after careful thought, he abandoned the idea.
He himself did not have enough ti, how could he afford to give such an opportunity to anyone else?
More importantly, the power of ti was too tempting.
If he could comprehend ti through a Ti-Turner, then others could as well.
If word spread that Sylas had created artifacts capable of perceiving the laws of ti, then even beings like Nienna, or perhaps even the Valar themselves, would not ignore such a thing.
The temptation was too great.
For those at the pinnacle of power, mastering ti might an ascending further, or expanding their own divine authority.
That was sothing Sylas could not allow.
Until he truly comprehended ti, the Ti-Turner's deeper function had to remain absolutely secret.
He alone would hold this power.
After rewinding a total of five hours, the sand within the hourglass had noticeably dimd. It would require twenty-four hours to restore its temporal charge before it could be used again.
Sylas placed the Ti-Turner back into his pocket, but did not take out another.
During those brief four seconds of observation, his ntal energy had been completely exhausted. He simply did not have the strength to continue.
For now, recovery took priority.
He glanced toward the office door, knowing that his past self was still inside from six hours earlier. He had no intention of disturbing the tiline.
With a casual wave of his hand, Sylas conjured a comfortable reclining chair. He lay back upon it, gazing toward Swan Harbor and the distant sea, his eyes half-closed, slowly drifting into rest.
Swan Harbor was peaceful and beautiful.
The Thalassian elves sang lively folk songs as they guided swan-shaped boats across the clear waters, fishing or gliding between the docks. So ventured toward the luminous Pearl Shoals of the eastern seabed; others sailed southeast toward Thor Island.
Sylas considered his options.
Before he truly grasped the power of ti, remaining in Swan Harbor was the safest choice.
It was far from the cities of the Valar, distant from their gaze, and he lacked the foundation to stand before them as an equal.
For now, he did not wish to et those supre beings.
Nor had he decided whose path, if any, he would walk.
That choice would shape his future.
...
Support on P@reon and read upto 25 chapters ahead @Keepsmiling 818 p@reon
Reviews
All reviews (0)