Janus took the controls to the Epoch as Crono closed the glass dome. Nadia situated herself. The Epoch lifted of sharply, and Janus fiddled with the time controls. Satisfied with his adjustments, he punched the Chrono Trigger sharply, and the Epoch slammed forward, into the past. Janus seemed perturbed.
They arrived to see a fairly desolate world. It was mostly desert and mountains, no streams, rivers, or any other water source. No life, either animal or vegetable seemed to make it's home out in these desolate wastes.
"I thought the world's beginning would be a more...lively affair." Nadia said softly.
"There's nothing. It's a wasteland. Are you sure you know what your doing, Janus?" Crono inquired, surprise in his voice. Janus dismissed his worries with a wave.
"Why should it be full of life? You saw Ayla's time period. A few trees and a lot of volcanos. Why should even before that be any different?" He answered Crono in an annoyed tone. He was taking the theft of his castle very seriously. Before this whole matter had been just another dark, foreboding, evil object to investigate and perhaps gain more power or a clue to his sister's whereabouts. Now, it was personal. Very personal.
Janus pointed the flying time machine towards 0,0 and punched the acceleration. "It's supposed to have been forged at the center of the world. I think that may literally mean its core, but this will be someplace to start." He explained, regaining a little of his patience.
Nadia and Crono sat in silence, contemplating this strange world that would evolve into their own in a few hundred aeons. Crono took Nadia's hand and held it. They were now trusting their lives, once again, to someone who had tried to kill them. Crono and Janus had actually become friends, though Nadia was not sure how. She thought they had been acting close ever since they had come back from dropping Robo off in his time period, but both had refused to talk about anything that had happened.
But friendship aside, Janus had still attempted their lives. Even though it had been over 3 years ago now, Nadia still felt edgy around the sardonic sorcerer. Crono wasn't bothered at all by him, however, and she took that as reassurance.
They approached what appeared to be an oasis. Crono let go of Nadia and activated the camera that was used to aim the cannon, and zoomed in on the small patch of green in the desert.
Indeed it was an oasis. Palm trees surrounded a small lake that held an azure beauty unmatched by waters in their time. A small hut, apparently of dried palm leaves, appeared to be the only non-natural thing in sight, but it was hard to confirm anything else from the cockpit camera.
Janus set down a few yards from the oasis and popped the glass dome open. The three got out and approached the only life they had seen thus far. The oasis was fairly large, as large as one of the small towns outside of Gaurdia. The lake was a good 100 yards across, and a sense of peace and tranquility came over the trio. Even Janus got a content look on his face and stopped snapping at everyone.
The tropical environment was intoxicating and entirely unexplainable. Crono spotted the hut they had seen from above and they moved toward it at a surprisingly unhurried pace. Janus felt more than just peaceful and content however, he also felt power. Lots of energy. The oasis seethed with it. He was too busy enjoying it to contemplate however, though later he would realize that this must be where everything began, including magic. That meant that this was the largest concentration of pure power ever.
But those thoughts were far from his mind as they approached the hut. It was indeed made of dried palm leaves, a few feet in length and a foot wide. It seemed to be supported by hollow wood-like poles. The hut seemed as if it was maybe 10 feet by 10 feet. Some more of the hollow wood tubing served as a doorless frame which led inside the hut. Nadia was the first to enter.
"Woah." Was all that was heard. A few seconds of the silence and Crono and Janus both followed her in.
"Woah." The simultaneous response. The inside of the hut was quite large. A luxuriously furnished room lay before them. Silk drapes lined the many windows, and a lush carpet with myriad colors lay out on the floor before them. In the center of the room was an old man, sitting contently and sipping tea. Noticing the trio, the old man looked up from his tea. His eyes where the blue of the sky, with a glint in them that could very well be the sun. They possessed a deep, ageless quality that defied definition.
"Visitors, I see. Come, have a seat. I am Melchesadik, the father of all you see before you." His voice was pleasant, like the sound of a stream in the forest during spring's first bloom. The three seated themselves at chairs close to the old man at the round table he sat at. Four more chairs sat empty.
"Father, that means that your God!" Nadia exclaimed softly. Crono and Janus's eyes widened.
"Well, that's not entirely true. A god would meddle more often. I have just created this place, and watch and observe. I have not directly interfered in my world since creating it." He explained, with a slight chuckle. "Now, it's not everyday I get visitors from the future. Tell me, why did you come here?" He asked pleasantly.
"How did you know..." Nadia began in wonder, but Janus answered her question before it was finished.
"We are, in a way, his children. He can recognize his own, and since we haven't been created yet by him, we must be from another time." He interjected thoughtfully.
"Very good." Melchesadik said, nodding. "I'm sorry, I've been a horrible host. Would you like some tea?" All three nodded their heads at once, and cups of hot tea appeared in front of them. Each found the tea to be the best they had ever had, though afterward it was impossible to tell what the flavors were.
"Melchesadik, how does what we see before us evolve into the life we know millions of years from now?" Crono asked, speaking for the first time.
"I don't know." Melchesadik answered. "It hasn't happened yet. I may be immortal and have immense power, but I am still stuck inside of time." Satisfied with the answer, Crono returned to his tea. "Now, why did you three come and visit me?"
"I have heard of a weapon forged at the beginning of time called the Celestial Reaver. We have come to see if we can obtain it." Janus explained.
"Oh, that thing. I forged it for my counterpart, Beelzebub, but he didn't like it. Too flashy for him, he said. The sun and moon didn't go with his whole death motif. Anyway, if that is what you wish..." With a flourish, the old man disappeared. The room and the entire oasis soon followed suit, vanishing as if the had never been there. All except for the lake. The lake still shimmered in its azure glory. At the edge of the water, latched on to a rock, a speck of moss grew.
Janus now held a scythe in his hands. He never actually felt it until he saw it. The blade looked to be made of a silver metal, and shone softly like the moon. The 6 foot long handle it was attached to shone as gold, but had a transparent feel to it. It was surprisingly lightweight. Janus hefted it and smiled.
"Now, we must return to your time, and defeat the bastard that would dare steal my castle." Magus said softly, but the chill and intent behind those words cut like an icy knife. The three returned to the Epoch in silence, savoring the slowly fading euphoric feeling that had possessed them since they had first set foot in the oasis.