The Timekeeper

“-stop. Time shall revert to normal!”

Lubic glanced at Azalyn and Jaleesa, but found that they weren’t there. In fact, he seemed to be somewhere else entirely, in a room that was completely shrouded in shadows. Yet he could see his hands just fine. It was like being in a shadow mist: he could not see anything a few feet in front of him.

“And I almost believed that crazy broad when she told me this wasn’t a dream,” Lubic muttered to himself. “Hello? Is anybody there?”

There was a vague humming noise, like the whisper of insect wings beating the air. Suddenly, a female voice whispered from the darkness, “Yes, Spacelord. I am here.”

“How many times do I have to say it, I’m not a Spacelord!”

There was a vague murmuring from all around him, agitated. “It is you who is in the wrong, Spacelord. Only a Spacelord can stop time, as you did.” A clear male voice rang out. The murmuring sounded like it agreed with the speaker.

“Hush,” the female voice whispered. The murmuring halted, although the humming still sounded. “It matters not what you think, young Lubic. What matters here is what you are. And, more importantly, what you did.”

“What did I do?”

“You stopped time!” the male rang out once again. Again the murmuring broke out.

“Why don’t you show yourselves?”

“Hush, my children,” the female whispered once again. “Spacelord, you are not yet ready to meet me. One day, perhaps. But for now, trust me, it is better this way.”

Lubic glanced around uneasily. “Alright. Well then, why am I here?”

“I am the Timekeeper. It is my job to keep time travelling smoothly. And, as we already said, you stopped time.”

“Wait a minute! How exactly do you keep time travelling smoothly?”

A sigh sounded from directly in front of him. “It is my job to fix whenever a Spacelord alters time. Once time is halted, it is a complicated matter to restart it. And when a Spacelord alters time, it is a complicated matter to untangle everything. That is why I am here: a neutral third party to sort out the messes and untangle everything. And by the same token, I am also here to help sort out disputes between Spacelords and Starlords, so they do not end in bloodshed.”

“So if you do all that, why am I here?”

“Well, I needed to stop you from making all of those decrees! You were getting out of hand! The universe can only take so much.”

“Oh. Well, I’m sorry I guess.”

“I do not expect you to be sorry. You do not even understand what is happening.” She paused as the murmuring sounded again, then just as quickly quieted. “It is done. I will send you back to your world. Just try not to mess with time again.”

“O-”