"Alright. What is Time Guardian..?
Paser looked at Ryan and grinned.
"Did you know all the gods in the world share something?" he asked, a glint of mischief in his eyes.
Ryan's eyebrow twitched.
"Yes. But what's that got to do with my current situation?" Ryan hesitantly answered.
"They control the same attributes, just with different names," Paser replied, leaning back as if he had just dropped a bombshell.
Ryan nodded slowly. He could feel the gears turning.
"For time, life, and fate, Egypt has Ra, Khepri, and Thoth. Greek mythology has Chronos, Zeus, Moirai. Norse? Heimdall and Frigg. Hindu? Kala, Mahakala, and Kali. Romans stick with Saturn and Janus. The Celts? Crom Cruach and Brigid. In Mesopotamia, you've got Enlil and Shamash. The Aztec worship Tonatiuh and Quetzalcoatl. And in China, there's Zhong Kui and Xiwangmu…"
Ryan interrupted, impatience creeping into his voice. "Babylonian has Zervan. Persian has Zurvan. Slavic has Veles..."
Paser chuckled. "You're quite the scholar, I see."
Ryan frowned.
"I'm just an archaeologist."
"Oho, great then. So do you remember the gods' hierarchies?"
"Yeah…surely. There are Supreme Gods such as Zervan, Kala, Chronos, and Zhong Kui. Then there are Primary Time Gods such as Ra, Tonatiuh, Saturn…wait a minute."
Ryan paused, his brow furrowing. "Two days ago, I had a vision. Ra, Anubis, Isis, and a few others circled me in their giant forms…"
"That's your awakening time," Paser said, a knowing smile spreading across his face.
Ryan's eyes widened. "Awakening of…?"
"That was when the gods gave you the power of time."
Paser's grin was infectious.
"The power of time? So, do you mean Ra who gave it to me?"
"Not precisely, but yes you got the power through Ra."
"Damn it, can you explain more in detail? Why not precisely?" Ryan grumbled, frustration bubbling up.
Paser chuckled, "You seem to be an impatient guy."
"I am if you explain like a kindergarten teacher…" Ryan muttered, arms crossed.
Paser giggled. "Hierarchy of the gods, remember? Ra is a Primary Time God as you said. But someone else, a Supreme God, gave the order."
"Huh? Okay, I get that. But why did the Supreme God order Ra to give power to me? And who's this Supreme God?"
Paser laughed heartily. "Alright, alright… I'll keep it simple."
Ryan frowned, feeling like a toy in Paser's hands. 'This guy… I just knew him and he already thinks I'm a playtoy or something…'
"Look, The Supreme God, in this case the Lord of Time, Chronos, has a group of…you say it a small army…of people chosen to be the Guardians of Time. We're often called Time Guardians at times."
"Guardians of Time has a task to guard and maintain everything in the universe with its original fate. Not only in this world, I mean this earth, we must maintain the balance of every dimension as well."
"So all Guardians of Time have the power over time… small portion of Chronos power… example like move to another time, dimension, or space, stopping time, and few others. But, we must fight other humans or creatures who have the same ability as us. Therefore we will get our training of skill sets based on our preferences, like elemental magic, swordsmanship, and so on. We will work together with other deities and gods as well."
Ryan blinked. "Time Guardians? So, I'm one of them now?"
"Yes! You're part of this special group, chosen to manage time and keep things in order."
"Wow, that's heavy. But why me?"
"You're about to learn."
Ryan shook his head, half-amused, half-exasperated. "So, I'm supposed to be a Guardian of Time? What's next? Do I get a cape?"
Paser snorted. "Not a cape, but maybe a cool watch. You'll need it."
This was way beyond his wildest imagination. What he got dragged into..?
"Ryan?"
"Ah… yes?"
"Any more questions?"
"Why choose me?" Ryan asked quickly, his voice laced with a hint of panic. He didn't want to get cut off again, sent back to the present at sudden, like last time.
"You have the marking of time since you were a baby, assuming your awakening is granted by the Primary Gods."
Ryan's eyebrow shot up. "Since I was a baby? Really?"
"Yes. The marking of time will have an effect, such as the same dreams until you get awakened. After that, you will never have those dreams anymore. The dreams will be random, nightmares, happy dreams, you name it."
Ryan's heart sank. "So my nightmares…"
"Oho… you are so unlucky if you have nightmares." Paser chuckled, clearly enjoying the chaos of Ryan's situation.
Ryan frowned, silently cursing the gods in his mind.
"Great. A dream lottery," Ryan muttered, sarcasm dripping from his words.
He felt a rush of relief. His nightmare's problem was finally solved. But deeper issues loomed ahead.
"I am a Time Guardian...? I must fight? But I don't know martial arts at all." Panic gripped him.
Suddenly, Paser rose with a calm demeanor. "I think your time here is up. You must go back to your current time."
"What? You haven't finished exp…"
"Lord Anubis will come to see you. He will hand you your guide."
With a wave, Paser added, "Goodbye. I will see you again sometime."
Ryan watched as Paser faded away.
***
Ryan's body turned into a blur, and in a blink of an eye, he found himself back in his room at Luxor's villa. He blinked a couple of times, disoriented, then sat up in bed.
He reached his smartphone and checked at the time.
'11:25 P.M. So, it was only about thirty minutes' time for 4 hours' time at Paser's time?'
His dinner was around 9 to 10 P.M., and he had drifted off around 10:45.
Sitting on the edge of his bed, he felt a mix of confusion and fatigue. He got up and drank a glass of water, the cool liquid refreshing against his dry throat. He placed the glass on his desk and sank into his chair, staring blankly at his work papers.
'Hmm…'
He took the empty papers and a pen, then began to scribble down thoughts.
'Let's see…'
- Paser
- Guardians of Time
- Supreme Gods
- Primary Gods
- Power of Time
- Dreams
Ryan massaged his temple, trying to shake off the fatigue. He stood up and made his way to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. The clock read 11:46 P.M. Silence enveloped the house; no one else was around.
He returned to his desk, coffee in hand, and resumed scribbling notes. His thoughts danced around the concept of Paser, the Time Guardian.
>Paser - Time Guardian - lived in the UK in 1804.
Lived?
He paused, questioning the very existence of Paser.
>Guardians of Time
What does that even mean?
>Supreme Gods - Paser said Chronos who chose the Time Guardian?
Chronos χρόνος : Titan god of time, ruling the universe's cycles and seasons. Often depicted as a wise, bearded man carrying a scythe or sickle.
>Primary Gods - Ra with other gods granted me the power of time…
What is the power of time? Time travelling? Time freeze?
>Dreams - Paser mentioned that if the primary gods granted me the power, that meant I must have been chosen since baby?
Ryan's heart raced. His nightmares - were they the markings of time?
He took a sip of his coffee, letting the warmth spread through him. He fiddled with, his pen while reading his note over and over again.
***
Unbeknownst to him, the shadows in his room stirred. A human figure with a jackal head emerged from the shadow.
"Ryan." it called, its voice deep and rough.
Ryan's heart raced as he scrambled backward, his eyes glued to the figure's canine face.
"A-A-Anubis?" he stuttered.
"Lord Anubis." the figure corrected.
"Oh, I-I am sorry, Lord Anubis. W-what brings you here?"
Anubis' deep voice resonated like thunder. "As you have awakened your power, we will show you to harness it, and make you stronger. Paser already told you, no?"
Ryan swallowed hard. "Y-yes…"
Anubis raised his right hand. Suddenly, another figure emerged from the shadows.
'A dog? …Wait, it's a big wolf!' Ryan's eyes widened.
"This one is a descendant of Fenrir. He is still three years old. He will be your guide." Anubis explained.
Ryan blinked. "A Fenrir?"
"You can name him. And he can hide in your shadow. Prepare yourself well, Ryan. You must become strong to fulfil your destiny."
With that, Anubis dissolved into the shadows, leaving Ryan shaken and bewildered.
Ryan took a deep breath.
He glanced at the wolf, who seemed to be sizing him up.
Ryan took a deep breath. This was going to be one strange adventure.