s, he could not decipher the spell. He recognized some parts within the unraveling strands, but even then he couldn''t analyze their purpose.


    These strands were, after all, far moreplex than the most advanced spells Eldrian had ever cast.


    He felt like a child looking at a nuclear physics equation. Sure, he could pick out some numbers and symbols. They were familiar individually. But the meaning of the equation would remain beyond him. And the same held true for these strands.


    Naturally, this meant understanding the workings of the entire spell was infinitely beyond him.


    Leaving, however, was a frightening proposition. Eldrian knew not how time would flow differently. Or, rather, what the difference between the pacing of time here, at the core of everything, and elsewhere, was. Time might be almost frozen here, or it might flow equally. He had no hint as to which option would give him the most time.


    But that wasn''t even the biggest problem. Eldrian still didn''t know how to leave this realm. And if he left, there was no guarantee he could return.


    He also didn''t know what he would find on his return—if he even seeded in doing so. He was certain years had passed. Earth might be already destroyed.


    A depressing thought. One he did not wish to dwell on.


    If it turned out to be the truth...


    ''No, it can''t be. Let''s just assume time is frozen when I''m here.'' He told himself. Lest he lose all his motivation to try anything.


    Taking onest nce at the spell, Eldrian decided to start wandering through this "ne" again. Time flowed, and days passed. Weekster (if Eldrian''s perception of time passing was urate), he stumbled upon a connection.


    The connection, of one of the bands that connected the outer sphere of this ne—and thus connected the rest of existence to this core of time—was affixed here.


    Like many things, he could "see" this connection. Perhaps because of the warping of space, or the warping of time. Or perhaps because of its interaction with the outer sphere.


    Regardless, it formed a semi-physical opening. Appearing like a whirlpool. From which time and pure energy streamed out of the core, into the universe this "band" connected to.


    Eldrian felt walking into this whirlpool would allow him to leave this ne. s, there was no signpost to inform visitors which universe/world/dimension this led to.


    And that was if Eldrian would survive the journey.


    He wasn''t here physically. He was here as a conscious mass of thoughts. A formless being called a soul. And thus he didn''t need to worry about physically warping of space—which was happening before his very eyes.


    No, that posed little danger to his ethereal form. The danger came from the warping of time. And the energy contained within this whirlpool. Perhaps better described as a wormhole.


    Afraid of risking it all for nothing, Eldrian took a moment (days) to affix a spell to the area. Due to the nature of this ne, this was no easy task. There was no mana, and even lifeforce was incredibly ineffective here.


    Luckily, the energypromising some (only a small percentage) of the ce was something he was familiar with. This wasn''t true close to the core, but here, near the edge, the raw energy turned into something heprehended. Astral energy.


    It fluctuated and wasn''t very much. But it was there, and he could gather it and use it for his spell.Sadly, he was used to controlling it only when it was a part of himself. Taking this energy and morphing it when it was of a different creation—and thus neutral in consideration of his thoughts—was difficult.


    But it was doable. It took time—especially since every so often a wave of energy would send his attempt right into the whirling wormhole. But he kept at it, and after a few hundred attempts, he created it.


    A spell so basic he could hardly call it a spell. But it was exactly what he needed. A signpost. One which he would always be able to feel—as long it wasn''t destroyed. And thus it could serve as a guide if he wanted to find this ce again.


    Satisfied, Eldrian moved on. Discovering several more whirling wormholes and constructing the same type of spell at each. Soon, he had enough of them to allow him a limited GPS of sorts.


    A few dozen constructionster, Eldrian recognized a pattern in it all. He realized that the wormholes were not equally distanced from one another (nor always on the same level—some were high up in the "sky" and others low down "underground").


    In any case, these wormholes had something inmon. And that was they always appeared where the flow of energy was strongest. A stupidly simple observation, but one Eldrian couldn''t have noticed before.


    He had simply been overwhelmed by the energy. Noticing that here was "a lot" and there "about the same" and there "a lot plus some", wasn''t easy. In fact, it was impossible without his "signpost" spell.


    While its main function was as a guide to the wormholes, these spells also told him how turbulent the flow of energy was. Not in a clear way, but rather in how quickly the spell was deteriorating. The more static he got from its feedback, the stronger the flow of energy.


    s, this discovery was as useless as could be. Or so Eldrian thought. That is until he discovered a type of interference that felt weirdly familiar. Curious, he stopped his current spell construction and focused on the direction he had felt it from.


    Nothing.


    He waited.


    Nothing.


    He waited some more.


    "There!" Eldrian shouted. The next wave from the core hade, and it brought with it a disturbance of a familiar wavelength. It felt eerily close to when Eldrian had tried to control time. And, instinctually, he understood that this was his home world.


    Rushing towards this signpost, he was fully willing to throw himself into the wormhole. s, an especiallyrge wave came from the core. Taking with it dozens of his signposts.


    Losing more than half his signs—and having been thrown thousands of meters aside by the wave—Eldrian cursed Chronos for the umpteenth time.


    He waited, s, those that remained did not have the right feedback static. And while Eldrian knew the general direction he needed to go, thousands of bands were in that direction. It felt hopeless.


    "It''s one of the nearer ones." He told himself. Beyond happy that he had decided to work from one "side" and go from there. And to define a side, he had installed a line of signposts vertically from his normal ne of "walking".


    While he had lost most of those signs, two had survived. Their distance, as the furthest signs, confirmed that he was facing the right direction.


    Going from there, Eldrian created new signposts while retracing his steps. About fifty wormholester, he found the right one.


    Gazing at the whirling convex pool of primordial energy, Eldrian hesitated. The sight before him was probably what the forming of the universe looked like. Just a jumble of unorganized power. Still trying to form into things so defined as space.


    It was the raw nature of existence, and jumping into it felt like suicide. But if he wanted to return home, this was his only option.


    Gathering his courage, Eldrian took the plunge. He stepped forward, and as soon as his foot touched the barrier, he disappeared.


    His consciousness lost all shape as he was thrown into the whirlpool of raw energy. Assaulted with all of creation, he barely retained his sanity. His previous experiences helped him shield a part of himself—while letting the rest be destroyed.


    He lost consciousness as one tiny fragment of him hurled through the whirlpool. Like a tiny pebble in the currents of a stormy sea, it floated without aim. Taken by one current after the other. Until, finally, it reachednd.


    Waking with a start, Eldrian curled onto his side and vomited.


    His thoughts weren''t intact. Some of his memories had been lost, but he had survived.


    Trying to stand, Eldrian fell. A sharp crack and intense pain informed him that something was really wrong.


    He shifted his eyes to the source and found a bone protruding from his arm. Having fractured as soon as he tried to move himself.


    It wasn''t the only source of pain. He realized that in curling onto his side, he had torn plenty of atrophied muscles.


    Eldrian currently looked like an atrophied moving corpse. Like a starving vampire thrall starting to fall apart. His skin had torn along with his muscles, and death was clearly waiting for him.


    But Eldrian wouldn''t let death im him so easily. He sent out his thoughts and felt the abundance of mana around him. Which he called to himself.


    The mana obeyed, as easy to move as breathing. No, breathing was currently a massive struggle. Even thinking clearly was difficult. But using mana. It was simple. Easier than even forming a coherent thought.


    The mana rushed to fill Eldrian''s body, to repair it. But, shockingly, as soon as it entered his body, it disappeared. His situation did not improve, and shortly, Eldrian realized he might be in some real danger.


    The density of mana dropped sharply. Even as he expanded his zone of control, Eldrian depleted therger area of all its mana with ease. Forming a vacuumcking any mana around himself.