"Ever heard of immortality?"

John looked down at his hands in the time realm. Something mysterious was happening. They were becoming transparent.

The moment he used his device in the simulation and left it. That was essentially the moment he entered the time realm. Since he had changed the rules of time and removed all other timelines. There was a single sacred timeline.

He then performed what he called a 'time leap'. This was sending his consciousness back in time. By manipulating the time realm and adjusting the rules. He created a loop.

The loop itself was his death.

He witnessed himself die repeatedly. Hundreds of thousands of times. Until, he eventually survived.

By preventing his death. He had prevented his training with Destinatus. By preventing his training... he never became the 'aspect of time'.

This is why he was fading from the time realm.

But you must remember a key point here. He had already acquired a 'complete' destiny. He would always be the aspect of time.

The multiverse was trying to correct the paradox he had created.

----------------------------------------

John had collapsed after destroying half of his brain. He was put into a restorative vat to recover. A few weeks later he woke up.

"Hmm... I can't feel any of my powers."

"I see... I leaped through time and prevented myself from becoming an aspect."

Although he was wiped from existence in the time realm. The changes he made were permanent.

He was naked. The vat opened and he fell out of it.

He was soon surrounded by scientist who asked him why he tried to kill himself.

John smiled.

"Death is the perfect motivator to unraveling the impossible."

"On the verge of death. I figured out something impossible!"

They reported his statement to the higher-ups and asked what he meant by 'impossible'.

"I have the ability to travel back in time."

"..."

While John had lost his powers for now. He still was half origin race in this body. This meant his body was producing spiritual energy.

He could use this spiritual energy to cover his brain. Much like the technique he used to enter Destinatus's paradise.

Except. He could cover his brain and 'leap' back in time with his consciousness.

They did various test on him to confirm whether or not this was real. He passed with 100% accuracy.

He crushed every single test and confirmed that he was speaking the truth.

John had a plan. While the multiverse got rid of him because of a paradox. It wasn't able to get rid of his knowledge.

His brain itself was like a time machine.

But think about the nature of his abilities.

Blind Transmission, Return to Source, Timeless Existence, Time Manipulation, Eyes of Time.

Basically through Eyes of Time. He could observe and latch onto a consciousness. This then allowed him to use abilities like 'Blind Transmission'.

Right now. He couldn't use these abilities.

But that was because he was being observed.

He had 'memorized' the 'universe'. The map of time was engraved in his memory.

Think about how an observer changes what is being observed.

Think quantum mechanics. In this case. He was existing in multiple states. But by being observed. He was forced to be stuck in one.

'Return to Source'.

All he needed to do was establish a point in the timestream where he became the 'aspect' of time.

He just needed to remove all observers.

He spent months working with the government designing a 'time machine' for them. He told them the key to time travel was gravity and speed.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

He was very cautious and made it a requirement that he was to work on it. He never let them see the schematics of it. But he wasn't the only person working on it.

Then came the day to activate it.

"Are you sure it will work?"

"I am 100% sure."

They turned on the machine and looked at the data. But something unfortunate happened.

A small blackhole formed.

Those who had worked on it... they were sucked in.

John himself was also sucked in. A few minutes later. The blackhole vanished. The machine had been destroyed.

John's body had been stretched and then crushed. But there was no longer any observers.

He used 'Return to Source'.

His consciousness alone appeared in the time realm! His body was reconstructed. A timeless body.

John had become the 'aspect of time' again!

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John Destinatus's POV:

"Ever heard of immortality?"

John Destinatus felt as if he were a mere observer. Something deep inside of him was reacting to this situation. It was the etching of the inheritance he had stolen from the overseer. This was quite some time ago.

The trigger was pulled as the brain was destroyed and scattered on the ground.

While John's consciousness had no vulnerabilities. It was not immune to time manipulation without connection to his origin.

But thanks to him stealing the 'key' power of the overseer which he hadn't used until this moment. Due to the nature of the overseer. Alternate timelines were simulated in their mind. It wasn't actual manipulation of time. But there was a small hint of other timelines factoring into this ability.

But the aspect of time had pruned all other timelines... making history follow a single timeline. John wasn't prepared for this. The inheritance of the seers allowed him to retain his memories even when the timeline started over.

"Ever heard of immortality?"

Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.

John observed this situation over and over again.

"It would seem that I've been trapped in a time loop... Is this your doing? My 'identity'?"

John didn't like the fact that someone had such power over him.

"Will I need to use my origin?"

Luckily, the body eventually survived. Time began to move forward.

John was slightly confused.

He had slight memories of putting John Hell into a simulation. But it seemed none of this had happened. Had it not been the case of him stealing the inheritance of the overseer. He might not of even had these fragments.

"I see... that is my weakness. Time manipulation."

John observed his identity with interest. To see what he would create.

"A time machine? That could prove to be useful."

He saw the machine get turned on. A blackhole was created and his identity was sucked in.

"...He didn't use the technique to enter my paradise. He seriously died?"

The blackhole vanished removing all traces of John Hell.

Something interesting started to happen.

Because the body reconstructed in the time realm was half origin race this time. There was spiritual energy in John Hell's body within the time realm!

All spiritual energy had his brand on it!

"What is this realm?"

John tried to enter this realm. But it was as if it was unreachable.

John then heard a knock on his door.

He stood up and walked towards the door and opened it.

"You are...John Hell?"

"Maybe."

"I've come to help you with your weakness."

John was surprised. How would his identity help him resolve the weakness to time? How did he even know about such a weakness.

"Ho-"

"How did I know?"

John Hell tapped his head.

"It's all up here."

John Hell put his hand on John's shoulders.

"Close your eyes. I need to be the only observer for this to work."

John blinked and found that he was surrounded by a yellow space.

"Welcome to the time realm."

I look around and see a single man holding a timestream. But it is weird. This person looks like me.

As I move forward. This person glitches and I see afterimages of more versions of it. It is as if there are is an infinite amount.

"Is that me?"

John Hell laughs.

"No. It is me!"

"I was the first existence to reach this realm. It bends to my will like spiritual energy does to yours. I can see all of time from here."

I squint my eyes and speak:

"All of time? So you know my future actions?"

"There are restrictions to my powers. Interacting with me makes you an anomaly. I have decided to help you. Because in a certain time and place. A scenario that never really happened. You once helped me."

"Think of it this way. If someone knows their future. Are they able to take actions to change it. Perhaps them knowing it is what leads them down that path."

"Take a walk with me."

I begin to walk with this entity around the time realm. I am shown various scenarios of myself.

"In this future. You go to a world of energy particles. This is another universe you have made. It is a world of wizards..."

"In this future. You develop aspects of other concepts to help you later."

"In this future. You connect with your origin. You then enter an external universe and fight some ancient being."

"Zero?"

"Indeed. I am similar to him in a sense. But I am more restricted. There are things I can't see and places I can't go."

"I am not really 'John Hell'. I died the moment I was sucked into the blackhole. You can call me Paradox."

I am shown all sorts of scenarios and events that haven't happened.

Paradox speaks to me:

"As you can see... the future is constantly changing. Due to my nature. I see time all at once. This is very contradictory with what I just said. Time is more like an ouroboros... it has no end and endlessly repeats itself. Everything that will happen to me has already happened. These aren't alternate timelines. They are different cycles."

"Even with my mastery of time. There are beings that operate outside of the rules of time."

"The cosmic order?"

"Exactly. Zero has an artifact in the cosmic order. You also have an origin that exist nowhere and isn't bound by the rules."

"I'm sure you felt the collapse of timelines and fragments of memories. I was surprised myself that you retained memories despite not being connected to your origin yet."

John was quite curious.

"How did you know so much? Where does you knowledge come from?"

"You think this is the first time I've talked to you?"

Paradox sighed.

"Don't take any offense. Due the nature of how I see reality. Many things are like an open book to me. It is as if I have talked with you for many years."

Paradox waved his hands and fluctuations and ripples appeared in space.

"Look at this spot in the timestream."

I look at the spot in time he shows me.

"It is disconnected?"

"Indeed. This is the moment you connect to your origin. You leave your internal multiverse and enter an external one."

"Your multiverse becomes part of a bigger system."

"The time realm is a bit special. I have a lot more competition in the time realm of the omniverse."

"I have experienced a lot... I am quite tired."

"But I have developed a gift for you."

"It might come in handy in the future."

Paradox taps my head and I blink. The scene has changed after opening my eyes. I find myself at my desk.

"What was the gift?"

"Why does it feel like our roles have been reversed..."

I feel something in my paradise.

A white hourglass is above my head.

"How interesting..."