Phantasmagoric Time

Myths, spirits, and all manner of thing from the mystical world seem to have no place in reality. The time of headless horsemen and mindless monsters has passed. The world has taken steps in the way of progress and newness, and has left all of the childhood stories behind.

Well, almost all of them. For there is one patient wraith, o Reader mine, that yet stalks and subdues every mortal man. His name is Time, and he is unstoppable.

This ghost among ghosts is omnipresent in every soul. Time’s main purpose is death, and he is very content with waiting to achieve it. He could kill anyone instantly, and sometimes he does, but it seems Time would rather whittle away at his foes over the course of their lives, steadily stealing their souls from them, until the death, Time must acquire, they freely give.

I have seen Time in my mind’s eye.. I have witnessed his power and his majesty. Time is a king, with a crown of invisibility and a throne of patience. I have imagined what he looks like. I see him as a regal and terrifying construct of watch pieces. His hands made of many hands, his eyes are exotic jewels, his skeleton of gold and silver, his meticulously crafted ticking heart, and his ever oscillating brain… and, of course, the system of gears that connects them.

Time is commonly confused with death, but this is simply not the case. Time is not always the harbinger of destruction, possessing the shadows, waiting to strike. No, Time can be very generous. He can bring about healing and restoration. He can allow people to achieve their greatest desires in life. Time is not always a Scrooge, hoarding souls into his safe of death, but occasionally will grant many an abundance of himself, his universal currency, to spend as they wish. But, I do believe Time bestows this fortune with a condition, and he will whisper to the recipients of his treasure…

...Do not squander it…