What was the Memory of Time potion like?
In simple terms, it was a miniature river of history.
Alaric held up the beaker, admiring the potion within... a deep blue liquid shimmering with countless silver motes. Each flicker revealed a scene from the millennia of history he'd collected.
"Putting taste aside, this potion's aesthetics are top-tier," Alaric muttered with a sigh. Without hesitation, he tilted his head back and drank the Memory of Time potion.
The potion's taste was intensely bitter, nearly making him gag, but Alaric, bolstered by a will honed through drinking bizarre vegetable juices, swallowed it down. A weightless sensation followed.
His soul seemed to detach from his body, rising upward... not just spatially, but with a subtle shift in perception. The ascent stopped at a certain height.
What new trick was this?
Alaric was slightly puzzled. His previous potion ascensions had subjected him to emotional deprivation, existential deception, and a plunge into nothingness. His memories had fully returned in his last ascension, so he was curious about what this one held.
In the next moment, he felt a change. His soul plummeted back to the ground, landing in an unfamiliar landscape.
This wasn't his era, nor the familiar age of ancient civilizations, but a far earlier time... before humanity's birth.
Alaric paused, realizing what he was about to face.
As expected, in the time that followed, he witnessed Earth's transformations in a soul-like state. He saw humanity's emergence, their struggles among countless creatures, and the rise and fall of dynasties.
In this state, he could only observe, unable to interfere.
To his perception, time didn't accelerate during this process.
Such an immense span of years might mean little to Nyarlathotep, but for a human mind, it was enough to erode emotions and memories entirely.
Alaric felt parts of himself slipping away, growing colder, more like his former self. The human aspects of him weakened under the weight of eons, while Nyarlathotep's essence began to dominate.
He wasn't alarmed... by now, he had little capacity for panic. He merely watched the shifting world until a familiar era arrived, bringing familiar faces.
As that history unfolded, Alaric's mind plunged into it. No longer a bystander, he became a participant, reliving it all alongside his friends.
It might have been an illusion or a genuine miracle, but his eroded emotions and memories began to rekindle.
When Alaric awoke from this millennia-long dream, he felt something new... the marks he'd left on this era, the imprints of the revolution. The love and hatred of countless people, their impressions of him, were etched into time itself.
Alaric blinked, his human side restored.
"Whew, that was close. Nyarlathotep's sneaky as ever... can't underestimate even a fragment I've consumed," He said, patting his chest with lingering trepidation. He owed much to Yog-Sothoth's reliable potion formula and ritual.
Checking his pocket watch, Alaric saw that despite feeling like eons had passed, only minutes had elapsed in reality.
Unsurprised, he leisurely brewed a cup of black tea, took a sip to steady himself, and began reviewing the Memory of Time's abilities.
The potion primarily enhanced his spirituality and amplified his existing abilities. For instance, the requirements for "Rule Lore" were reduced, and "Dice of Delight" gained an extra reroll per day.
The core abilities of the Memory of Time were straightforward, divided into two parts. The first, "Record of Time," allowed him to record a person or object's state, like saving a file, and restore it to that state later.
The second, "Amber of Time," could seal a person or object in a specific state... a form of sealing technique. Notably, those sealed took no harm, making it a protective skill as well.
Crucially, both abilities worked on Sequence 0 beings but not on those above, and they had usage limits and target caps.
"Archiving and a form of time-stop... fitting for a Memory of Time," Alaric mused, rubbing his chin, pleased with his new powers.
Time-related abilities were never weak. The archive skill, while not true time reversal, was versatile... perfect for safeguarding allies or thwarting enemies.
"Amber of Time" was a potent sealing technique, ideal for hard control or as a lifesaving measure for allies.
"The only downside is it doesn't work on Outer Deities… for now," Alaric said, squinting at the thought of the swarm of Outer Deities beyond Earth's barrier.
He'd promised Lilith he'd deal with the Mother Goddess of Depravity and was confident he could once he ascended to Outer Deity status.
But he hadn't forgotten the Mother Goddess of Depravity's unique nature. As the third pillar, she was not only indestructible but deeply tied to reality. Killing her could bring unforeseen consequences, and Alaric wasn't sure he could handle the fallout.
Now, "Amber of Time" offered another option. Once strengthened to affect Outer Deities, he could seal the Mother Goddess of Depravity.
This opened multiple paths: let Lilith consume her and take her place, find a way to mitigate the impact of her death before killing her, or simply keep her sealed indefinitely in amber.
***
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