NINE TIME MACHINES: Do you want to undo your entire life on planet earth?

CHAPTER 194

Now I'm wearing a brand new silver chain without anyone to show it off to. This time I'm not waiting around to see if the serpent appears though. I'm used to abandonment, especially from the ones who make the most promises. My main concern is getting out of this maze so I can have a few moments to myself before everything collapses. But when my foot touches the step, everything disappears; the stairway, walls, everything. I feel for where I last knew the walls to be but there's nothing left. So this is not a case of a trickster taking the lights off. Then the stairway abandons my feet. Warm sands on a windy night, and the ocean's call, replaces it. And now I'm nearing the most dreaded thing that has been calling me for some time now.

The first thing that welcomes me when I get there is a circle of fire; behind it, a throne with its own electricity and someone sitting upon it. I am not sure whether it is a human or beast. It keeps shifting in and out of form. First, a serpent; and then a serpent with four legs; afterward two, and now the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, embodying all the races I know.

"I always knew you'd make it to this moment."

"Is that why you left me alone?" I ask, realizing that this woman is my serpent friend.

"Some trips must be taken alone."

"What do you want from me?" I ask drained.

"I want you to write a spell."

"A magick spell?"

"First, you'll need a circle," she replies with a taunting smile. "I believe you can draw one."

"But I've never written a spell before," I protest. "I always find one on the internet."

"Maybe if you start using your own words, you'll unlock yourself."

"It's just. It's just I'm not sure I'll even know where to begin."

"How about I throw you a hint and you let intuition teach you the rest?"

"If it's that easy, why doesn't everybody do it?"

"Everybody doesn't have me backing them."

"Okay. Where do I start?"

"Like I said, draw the circle. You know how to; don't you?"

"Yes, I remember," I say and start tracing one with my finger. "Draw the whole thing in?"

"You won't need to," she replies. "Now get in the centre and lie down."

On my back, I can see the night sky; and in the backdrop, the ocean, growing angrier by the second. Then the strangest things pop into my mind as I wait for my hint. Ruby and her glowing body, meeting that hopeful in the rain, the sun that never gets to kiss my skin, this fire growing hotter and hotter, these emotions raging inside me, Ebony and her adoring fans, my conversations with the throne masters, and the possibility of everything I touch turning to gold. I cast all those thoughts out and look to the sky, its many stars the only things keeping it relevant. Then the longer I look, I tune in to the rhythm of the ocean, really listen each time it finds the shore, and wonder just how long ago it was formed. But more than that, why I'm so drawn to it.

"I am the Universe," she says, ending my moment.

"Sun; lava; fire," I reply from out of nowhere.

"Go on."

"Silver moon that rules the sea." Then comes a long pause. "Forces rage inside of me."

"That's good. Again! I am the Universe."

"Ocean; rain; water. I remember who I am." I stare up at her. "Ancient being that made all man."

"I am the Universe."

"Magic; sight; wisdom." I turn away from her and shut my eyes tight. "Sacred knowledge in my brain. Blood of angels fill my veins."

"Yes! I am the Universe!"

Suddenly the words come easier to me, as though I'm one with their source.

"Fame; money; power. I turn metals into gold; use my mind to form new worlds."

"I am the Universe!"

"Thought; silence; wisdom." Then I look up at her again, and now her eyes are closed. "My mind rules o'er everything! I am she who reigns as king!"

"Now, Mary!" She opens her eyes and they're ablaze. "Now, you can enter!"

And somehow her words transport us from the sandy beach to a dark room, its only light, a golden symbol beneath me.