I furtively placed the piece of paper Cicero had handed me into my pocket and sat next to my teacher. He seemed troubled. He didn't speak. His gaze was fixated on an invisible point in the wall. We sat in silence for about an hour. 

I listened to the people pa.s.sing by. Cicero had explained that we could hear everybody outside the castle, but they could never hear us. Some spoke about the accident my father had. Others were excited about Viraldo's nomination for master. That old man had become Yanoku's hero, while my dad was the one who did all the work. 

"Do you hear what they say about your father?" Omega asked, breaking the silence.

I nodded. "I've always believed them. I thought he made a stupid mistake and got all his team in danger." 

Omega chuckled. "Such is the nature of your kind. They twist stories, embellish what they want, then discard what they don't need. They leave the rest for time. It would take care of it, don't you think?" 

"Time has just taken a different meaning ever since I landed here," I replied, thoughtful. 

"I think it's time I've shown you something," Omega said then stood so abruptly the chair on which he sat flipped and crashed against the floor. "Cicero's surely trying to hide the maid. Let's go. We'll deal with her later." 

He strode toward the door then opened it. The dark, infinite labyrinth displayed itself to us. The sinking feeling that something terrible was about to happen engulfed me. Omega turned and invited me to get in. I gulped, got myself ready for the worst, then followed my master's instructions. 

"This here is Minsec's Domain," Omega explained as he closed the door behind us. "Your presence here might irritate him, but he's rarely lucid. We might not even see him here. And even if we did, he might not even notice our presence." 

I looked around me. The marbles and giant ball of fire were nowhere to be seen. "We're not in the same place I landed in," I commented. 

"Minsec's Domain is infinite," Omega replied. "Don't try to wrap your head around that, you'll just get more confused." 

"What are we doing here?" I asked. 

Omega turned to me. He still looked troubled. "I've lived for more than ten millennia," he said. "During these long years, I've never had a student die under my watch... Never!" He inhaled sharply. His fiery eyes were glued on me. He looked troubled still "Then again, I've never had a student like you. Even your grandfather wouldn't have been capable of what you did."

Oh boy! I was in for a scolding, wasn't I? 

"I thought long and hard about this," he went on in a much calmer tone. "I thought you've done what you did because you just don't understand how the world works." 

"What's there to understand?" I asked. "People kill each other. The victor claims the spoils until they die and somebody else takes their place. It's a never ending vicious cycle." 

Omega's lips curved into a wry smile. "What I'm about to show you will shake you to the core. Perhaps this will teach you not to speak out of turn. My hope is that you'll earn some humility too. You're a difficult one to tame, Myles Stalwart. Maybe that's why I'm keeping you alive after all…"

He looked up at the darkness and contemplated the distant stars. "How far are those stars in your opinion?" 

I shrugged. "I've been taught that it was the G.o.ds' watchful eyes." 

"What do you think?" Omega turned to me. His fiery eyes were s.h.i.+ning. I knew that look. He was definitely expecting a stupid answer...

"I never thought about it," I admitted. "They're so far away in the sky. Why should I bother about something that cannot affect me?" 

Omega roared in laughter. "Typical! You're utterly clueless!" 

I nodded. "I can't deny it…"

"Let me enlighten you about the cosmos..." Omega said in a cheerful tone. In fact, I'd never seen him this excited ever since we met. Omega started walking, and I followed on his heels. 

"Out there in the deep dark s.p.a.ce, eight incredibly powerful beings battle to keep balance in this chaotic universe." He walked with his hands behind his back. He'd stop from time to time, inspect an invisible wall, then resume his walk. 

"You know these beings already. We call them the Primordials." 

"Are they G.o.ds or something?" I asked. 

"They're more than G.o.ds," Omega replied. "They're the ones who define our very existence." 

I frowned. "I don't follow," I simply stated. 

"Life and Death, Darkness and Light, Good and Evil... They're all dualities we learn to accept since the day we are born. Then there is fate... Was it fate that brought you here to me today? Or was it something else?" He inspected the wall once more, let out a "humph!" then moved on.

"I came here because of my own actions," I said. "I stumbled upon your Fragment, sure, but it was my doing that brought Minsec's attention on me." 

Omega's eyes shone even brighter. "Now you're starting to understand, albeit too little. We all serve one being, one form of perfect existence in which chaos and order merge as one. We call him the Cosmos, the All-Father." 

"Who's we?" I interrupted Omega to ask. "I've never heard of this cosmos guy before." 

Omega inhaled sharply. "Legend says that Cosmos had split his spirit in nine pieces, and scattered them among the stars. Those who can find them and merge with them shall become what we call today, a Primordial. In a sense, Primordials are like the Ultimate G.o.ds. They rule their own domains with absolute power.

"Qil'Al rules death. Lady Aella, bless her generous bosom, gives life. Then you have Minsec, Empor, Chieran, Cofsi, and Destos. They each govern their own domain and define this entire universe's very existence. What is life, if there was no death? What is darkness without light? Can you even imagine the extent of their powers?" 

I shook my head, and Omega nodded. "Of course you don't," he said in a condescending tone.

"Before you continue," I quickly interjected. "Weren't there eight Primordials? You just mentioned seven."

"Later," Omega dryly answered.

He inspected the walls once more. This time, his eyes lit up. He opened a door in the labyrinth and invited me to get in. We soon found ourselves in a wide, white room. My eye hurt as I got inside. I closed it and waited until I could adjust to the sudden change. When I could finally open my eye, I saw the familiar, endless white s.p.a.ce inside the Time Fragment. Only this time, I didn't see a snow flake floating in the air. 

I saw shapeless violet goo. It turned and swirled as it tried to take shape, to no avail. Sometimes it would turn into a sphere, but would immediately collapse. Sometimes it would turn into a prism, with tentacles protruding from each side. Then it would collapse again.

"What is that?" I asked. 

It felt extremely hostile. One more step and I feared it would lash at me. Sure enough, Omega took a step further. The shapeless goo transmitted an angry hiss as spikes shot out of it like an irritated hedgehog. It flew toward Omega but immediately collided with an invisible s.h.i.+eld. It hissed once more then charged the invisible s.h.i.+eld. Each time it would turn into goo as it splashed against it, and each time it would retreat, take shape then charge again. 

"That's the result of your little escapade in time," Omega said. "What you remembered back then, about the man carrying your father in and Sam escaping the murderer. Those weren't real memories. They've just got imbedded in your brain because of your actions that day. 

"You've travelled through time, and partic.i.p.ated in your own father's undoing for the first time. Yet time couldn't undo what you had just done. Your presence in the past had created a Paradox; a monster whose only directive is to destroy you. Now answer me this, would you have changed anything if you killed Sam?"

I shook my head. "My parents are doomed anyway. I didn't know what I was doing. I saw a way out of the labyrinth, and I took it." 

"This is the result of what you had done. Time detests those who take it lightly. Now, this is also your doing," Omega said, spreading his arms toward the Paradox. 

"The first time you killed that poor tree to travel one day in the past, not that you changed anything, you had already messed with the fabric of time. Then there was your second attempt, in front of your grandfather. Then there was your time in Yanoku. You've created a hungry, vicious Paradox. And it's my job to clean this mess." He turned to look at me. "In this case… It's my job to clean..." He jabbed a finger at my chest then finished with a cruel smile. "You!" 

My heart leapt to my throat. Omega roared in laughter then turned to look at the Paradox. "It feels your presence. I have to say, if you'd killed Sam. I don't think I would have been able to contain it." 

He turned to me then his lips parted in a genuine smile. 

"You're safe; for now," he said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Betray me, however..." he looked at the hungry paradox. It was still banging against the invisible wall. "It just wants to consume you and end its pathetic existence," he said. "Just give me an excuse, Stalwart..."

I loudly gulped. Omega instantly turned cheerful. "About that eighth Primordial..."