"So you actually were convicted for your crimes? Why did you mention curses then? Was that part of your punishment or something?" asked Alex as he got up to grab some cookies. The man had not lied, it was a long story and had taken hours as it was, even though time never actually passed, his metabolism was still functioning at its teenage rate.

"It wasn't part of my punishment. It's too cruel to be used by a government. I was convicted sure, but with an insanity plea it wasn't hard to get them to go for a lesser sentence." he said.

"What kind of sentence would be light? You committed genocide dude. People don't look kindly on that shit." Alex told him.

"Well, for starters, I wasn't executed. I also got the chance to rejoin the military if the mental health doctor assigned to me signed off on it. I was dealing with loss and loneliness in an unhealthy way, that's really all it was. The problem is, the more power you have, the more your mistakes hurt." Lanetli told Alex.

"Alright, but I want to hear when you get the curse. Can you like, skip forward?" asked Alex.

"No," he responded before continuing the story.

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I sat in my cell, talking with Major General Bakaw.

"I know I can't get out, but I think this could be good for us. We do seem to be acting strange. It's quite different from how we used to act, for sure." I told him.

He stared back, cocking his head.

"Well, I think we are acting differently. I used to study, can you believe that? Wasting all that time studying, and it didn't even help! How silly of me. You can't deny though, we did get in trouble because we changed." I responded.

He stretched his neck and said "Bakaw!"

"Yes well, I changed. You must have always been crazy." I said.

"Mr. Nicholas?" asked a feminine voice. I was unsurprised because I saw her approach before she did, but I slowly turned my attention to her, to be kind and show I was listening. "Mr. Nicholas?" she asked again.

This one couldn't tell who she had to fix, it seemed! "That's me! I must assume you are here to unbreak my brain?" I said. "I do have all the time in the world." it felt weird to say the word time without any ambient magic. Usually, the ambient magic would resonate with the word and make it seem more important, but these cells were a dead zone for magic. None of my powers would work in here, except for any passive changes to my physique my icon made.

"I am. I must say, I don't get patients very often. As a child, I thought that people with this great power would have more mental problems, but that simply isn't the case. Did you know that as you grow closer to your icon your body gets upgraded and eventually replaced? Your mind grows stronger with the strains on it, which is why it is so odd that you managed to break under the pressure. Would you mind telling me your story?" she asked.

I told her, knowing that to lie would be to be trapped in here forever as she had a power that could spot a lie as a cloud of smoke from your breath. "My love, Elysia, connected to her icon the first time we went on a true date. The next day she was shipped off to fight. I couldn't connect to my icon at the time, so I convinced the dean at my academy that the battlefront was where I needed to be to connect to my icon. I met back up with her on the front lines. I was even assigned to her squad, as having the lowest death rates. During the first battle, I watched as three arrows impaled her. One in the eye, another in the chest, and the last blew off her arm. I didn't have the time to save her. She didn't have the time to get out of the way. They had too much time to aim. Time had been spent, and Elysia had run out. I learned then the value of the time I had squandered and that was the final key. The way to stop them from killing my love. I couldn't get her back, I couldn't try again with my icon this time. All I could do was get my revenge with my power. I used knowledge to kill or otherwise force the entire army out of the area. Her body was taken. Her things were taken from me. All I had left was the necklace." I said, pulling out the owl necklace and rubbing the gems that take the place of the eyes. I had a far-off look and trailed off.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"I'm sorry. Manifesting an icon can be a tough time for any young mage, being in the presence of a god that so wholly encompasses a concept is difficult for many. To meet such a strange concept under such duress, why, it's a wonder you managed to function, let alone fight." she said.

"I decided that Carthigia was responsible, so I vowed to kill them all. Every single one. And I would do it alone so that no more innocent lives were lost." I said.

"A misguided, if noble, cause. You don't need to kill the entire empire, just break their leadership so that the war ends. Why didn't you do that?" she asked me.

"Because humans fight, and kill. If not over a border or some other disagreement of leadership. I have no mercy for those who can't live peacefully. Just as time has no mercy on humanity, neither shall I." I told her.

"But, by that logic, even Rajek would be complicit. To fulfill that goal you would have to. . ." she trailed off. I simply stared back at her. "Oh. Carthigia was just step one, wasn't it?" she asked. I simply nodded again. I told her the rest of my story as I remembered it.

"You are far from being allowed back in society. Hopefully, with the advanced mind of a mage, I can get you back out eventually, but I don't know if I would count on it. You fell fast, and being alone for so long wasn't helpful. It doesn't help that you have no concept of exactly how long you were gone. You say days, the rest of the world says years, during which you killed several million people. Men women and children alike. Please sit back, and take your time with this news, I know it can be a lot." she said as she was leaving from the first session of her and me talking with the bars between us.

I did, I sat back, and simply pet my chicken. How had I, a disciple of time, lost track of time? I felt weak, and all I could do was hold Major General Bakaw.

I decided to count and make sure that I was aware of every second that passed after she left. When I saw her coming with my future sight I shouted out the number I had reached. "two hundred fifty-nine thousand two hundred eighty-two seconds since last we spoke. That's roughly two days."

"Ah, you took that a little hard, huh? Well, I have to apologize. Your actions were so, you just, I was surprised is all. I really do hope you can forgive me for my mishap." she said.

"Well, as long as you don't let it affect your job, I'll forget it, this time. You have to practice somehow, otherwise, no one will ever get better." I told her.

"You are a special case, I hope you realize that. I was so shocked by how vile your actions were that I felt like I had to find something to make you regret it. I don't think that it worked though. You seem just as okay with your actions as you did before, yet you seem much more mature about it today."

"No one can change the past, as is time," I said.

"Well, honestly, I don't think there is any reason you should stay here. What you need is human communication. The mind of a mage can fix itself if you don't do damage faster than you can heal it. I can get you out of here if, and only if, you don't go right back to the front lines. You get one year out in the real world until I might sign off on sending you back to battle. What do you think?" she asked.

"What's the rush? I have eternity, and you can always be replaced. I will bow to your requests, however, and rejoin society when you give the word. No rush though." I said. I genuinely meant it, and she knew, her eyes seeing the truth as a white smoke spilling forth on my breath.

"I. . . I don't know. I think that maybe we give it another month, just to be safe." she said, backing away from the bars. "Did I ever tell you my name?" she asked, turning back before leaving.

"You didn't have to, Olakino. I've seen your past present and future, disciple of healing." I told her. She went pale and backed away from my cell, leaving without another word.

Several months passed by, and Olakino stopped by to give routine checkups, and let me out after just under a year of incarceration. I and Major General Bakaw were led out of our cell by two guards, each strong in their own right, with the Disenchantment icon. Such an icon makes them ideal for guarding such a dead place, with their powers both still in full swing, even without ambient magic.

On the way out we passed multiple people convicted of various crimes, most notably rogue magi. Some others were convicted of more serious crimes, like using human sacrifice to make a new valley. There was always one Blood mage willing to do it.

The moment we left the magical dead spot I connected to my icon and gained two new powers.

"You have learned well, young mage. You have embraced eternity, and as such I give you eternal flesh. No longer will TIME nor food or water be the downfall of your body." said the icon, the clock he used as a shield chiming as he made the verdict.

"I thank you for your kindness," I said.

"You also found the subjectivity of TIME in your cell, seeing as it passes for others at different speeds than it does yourself. For this, I give you TIMEless travel. I will see you again as you pass through my room." said the incarnation.

I returned to my body, ready to continue on with life, still never forgetting Elysia, and ready to do what it takes to uphold my vow, no matter what.