"Damn, now we're getting somewhere," said Alex. "I still don't know how we get from demons to curses to Santa Claus, it just all seems kind of made up."
"I told you it's a long story. We're only just over halfway through," responded Lanetli.
"Alright, let's get along with it then," said Alex.
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I awoke with the sound of bustling people and a faint ringing in my ears.
"Hey, he's awake!" said a voice, hitting like a knife to the skull. "Hey there buddy, you took quite the blow there. A lot of rituals destabilized and most people were killed, but you were one of the lucky survivors," he said. I cracked my eyes just a little and found myself in a dimly lit room, that appeared to possibly be part of a cave system.
"What the hell. . ." I started before remembering what I was about to do, and why. "What the hell was I thinking?" I said. This man saw me, likely recognized me from the stories, and still took me in. I thought now about what that queen did, likely only sharing the vilest thoughts of humanity. I looked at the man, and indeed he did save my life knowing full well who I was, and I also knew he wasn't a mage, and had no business being anywhere near me when I was casting the ritual.
The man smiled and stated "Your eyes are freaky as hell mate. I'm Darious, and this is the, recently formed, anti-demon strike force. Or ADSF if acronyms are the way you like to go." he said.
"Why not the demon obliteration group of soldiers?" I asked, seeing the potential for a better name even as I tried to rise from the bed.
"That is so much better. I'm pitching that later today. I hope you end up feeling well enough to join us, we meet in the next hour." he said. I stood from the bed, stretching and feeling my flesh, which looked like an angry farmer had lit their rake on fire and dragged it all across my skin until I passed out. As I stretched many wounds that had stopped bleeding started flowing with blood again. "Careful, buddy, you were out for three days, you'll take longer to heal than that."
"I have eternity," I said, turning my face to one wall that had a mirror set on it. My eyes had taken to shifting with green energy, roiling like a chaotic ocean. "That won't do," I said and focused. The magic in the ritual had backlashed into me, and I managed to absorb enough to stay alive, but it had its way with my body, transforming the magic in my body into more Time-aligned magic. I brought the magic inside me into a rhythm and guided the magic into clock-like patterns. After that, I became my own clock, using the perfectly timed fluctuations in my magical matrix as ways to count seconds, minutes, and hours. Even the ambient magic took on this tone as the rhythm echoed from my soul into the area around me.
"Alright, that was foreboding," he said. "I'll see you at the meeting if you can make it, it's just out that door third door to your left."
"I will be there," I said distractedly, trying to find new ways to use the aligned magic within my body to produce different effects. I tried expending the Time-aligned magic so I could go back to normal, but it only refilled.
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"Young mage, you have created a circumstance unforeseen," said Time as he brought me into his room in the pyramid. "You have become part of TIME in a way that few ever achieve. You have not done so even by the arduous journey that only the most powerful walk. You have forged your own path, and upon deliberation, such an achievement deserves an award, and as such, and given your situation, I give you instant regeneration. As a part of TIME your body will be capable of things you thought myths, such as shifting density to fly, converting areas into TIME magic, and earning yourself a spot in the pyramid alongside me." he said, waving his arm as a door made of glowing green constellations appeared with a red symbol on the door. I instinctively knew that it was my name but I had no concept of what language it was.
"I don't understand. I have a room in the pyramid? Does that make me a god?" I asked.
"Ha! No my friend, simply a prospect for ascension. Every once in a while, a mage will incarnate and take the mantle of their icon, as I have, and I may rest amongst the dead, and find a joy that, supposedly only the dead can truly find. Even gods don't have all of the answers, but legend has it that only those who serve their TIME as icons can save other souls. You will learn more when you take my place, but many suffer in death, reliving their last moment for eternity." explained Time.
"Oh. I need to get to work then." I said. The minotaur chuckled and I moved towards the door that was my room. It was. . . fuzzy. The room didn't seem to have a set form and shifted to whatever felt most pleasing at the moment, and it was nice. It had whatever dimensions I felt like, and whatever furniture felt necessary at the Time. One constant was that it was made out of smoke and outlined in green constellations. "Well, this is nice," I said before drawing a circle in the air and stepping out, and activating my regeneration power as I did so, feeling better instantly. I picked up some robes that I formed out of my room and put them on as long as the hat. They didn't fade when I left the room, so I assumed that they would be around until I didn't want them to be. Neat!
I walked out of the room, heading for the third door on the left, and walking in. Nothing had happened yet, but people were filtering in to prepare for the meeting, though it seemed not too many people were aware of the D.O.G.S.'s noble purpose.
"Hey, you made it! You are you feeling? Do you think you can fight to help with the demon threat?" asked the man that had originally told me about the meeting.
"I am at full fighting strength, thank you very much," I said simply.
". . . Really? You seemed like you were in pretty bad shape." he pointed out.
"I'm fine," I said. I pulled up my robes to show my unmarred torso. He nodded with an impressed look on his face and walked off to converse with other members.
After a few moments, someone started the meeting by asking everyone to take a seat. When everyone did the man I had talked to stood up and started speaking. "I propose we change our name to demon obliteration group of soldiers," he said.
"Agreed. Vote?" said one person around the table. Everyone at the table rose their hands, then one person took stalk of the hands, then the same person that proposed the vote said "Motion carries."
Another man stands up saying "Why aren't we out there fighting? They don't have any leadership, so all we need to do is not lose people, and kill more demons that come through the damn portal." This statement was met with loud shouts of agreement.
"We don't know how this portal opened, and we don't know how to close it. No matter how much fighting we did, we don't know what to do in the long term." said a woman at the other end of the table.
"I may have something to do with that," I said sheepishly, standing and leaning on the table. Silence reigned.