Chapter 51

Time Trial

Shadow couldn't breathe. He felt as if he were being sucked through a narrow tube. It had never taken him so long to transport before. If he did not emerge soon, Shadow feared he would suffocate. His eyes were held shut by perpetual motion. Come on. Come on.

FLASH! A swirling void of white light illuminated a cavern of unfathomable depth. Shadow landed gracefully upon a platform of blue crystals. Relief coursed through his body as his lungs expanded with air. A smile flashed across his face. He had made it. Shadow was back in the subterranean caverns of Little Planet.

Impressed with his own daring, Shadow looked around to see if anyone had noticed the sudden spark of light. The caverns were usually empty except for the occasional guards. After a minute or so, Shadow figured his presence had not been noted. That was a relief. Shadow did not want to be seen here.

The walls and hallways of the caverns shone dimly in the gloom of the caverns. Crystals coated nearly every square inch of the mines creating an atmosphere of wonder and timelessness. Shadow felt a pang of guilt as he finally managed to orient himself. He knew the way to the most secure and secret heart of the planet because Grand Elder Yorven had brought him there once. It had been a demonstration of trust in a stranger, and Shadow was going to betray that instinct.

Why should I care that some old fool has gone soft in the head? But Shadow did care and the deeper he delved into the sanctuary the more he felt the weight of his actions. Stone busts of venerable looking elders glared at him with gilded eyes. Their accusing stares followed him as Shadow crept further along. Light became more and more scarce as crystals were replaced with redstones whose light burned low and soft.

A long, winding ramp led Shadow down the spine of a statue of monumental proportions. Images were carved all along the base. They depicted several different kingly figures and other carvings of events in the planet's history. Every now and again the carvings became grander and the histories it depicted told of the forging of the universe and the collapse and rebirth of intelligent life.

Shadow's mouth hung open in wonder as he was mesmerized by the skill and scope of the art. He knew the statue continued even above the surface as it was the base for the Celestial Spyre, the gateway Shadow had used to return to earth. As Shadow marveled, he saw something that made his spine tingle. His breath hitched and he felt as if cold water had just been dumped over his head.

Beneath a carving of a black planet encompassed by swirling mist was a symbol Shadow recognized at once; a triangle enveloped by a circle crossed with twin diamonds. His hands shook as Shadow approached the carving. He traced the stone with his finger and then looked up. Was it his imagination or could he see two hands within the swirling mist around the blank planet? Shadow took a step back to observe the entire scene. The bare planet was a representation of the final spark of a dying universe. A vague outline of two hands seemed to be embedded in the mist and they were choking the last planet.

Shadow closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened them again, he could no longer see the hands inside the mist. The symbol was still there but when he looked closer it did not appear to be exactly the same one Gerald had scribbled on the video. Shadow took a deep breath and continued his descent.

At the bottom of the ramp there stood a small gilded temple. Flames of imperishable fire burned on basins near the entrance. Shadow approached and he noticed with a sense of dread that the light of the fires cast no shadows. He entered the temple and before long reached the center chamber. There were no guards or defenses of any kind. A plain wooden door was the only thing that stood between would–be-thieves and the Time Stones.

Shadow opened the door and stepped inside. A shrine dominated the far wall of the octagonal room. There was a fountain in the middle which spilled its flowing contents into small grooves all along the floor. Shadow strode past them without a second thought. He stood before the stones and felt his hands itch. There were seven in total, very much like the Chaos Emeralds.

Shadow's heart was racing inside his chest. After all the delays and dead ends, the truth was finally within his grasp. But could he settle for it? Shadow trembled as he wondered what he would do if he saw Maria again? Could he go back into the past and simply learn the truth or would he attempt to alter reality?

"The fact that you delay means that you are wiser than you appear." The voice shocked Shadow like an electric jolt. He spun around and saw to his amazement, Elder Yorven emerging from the far corner of the room. The old red panda leaned on his staff and smiled warmly at Shadow as if they had both agreed to meet here and Shadow had simply been late.

"Time is a fickle thing. Bending it to one's will is not as easy as one would assume. Even with the Time Stones many noble heroes have lost their minds when they discover that the stream of concurrent events is not so easily broken."

Shadow recovered from his shock and folded his arms. He was annoyed that Elder Yorven was here, but he would not let the old man stop him. "I don't want to change the past. I only want the truth."

"Truth?" Yorven nodded and his old eyes twinkled with amusement. "Many claim to be its servant and yet, like fire, it has a tendency to burn that hand that holds it."

"I'm not here for cryptic riddles," Shadow warned.

"No you are here to steal our Time Stones," Yorven countered. The old man did not sound angry, his tone was that of a teacher reprimanding a petulant student.

"I need them," Shadow said simply. "I've tried every other way. All my answers have been forgotten. I have to go back."

Yorven frowned. "I feared that you might come here one day. Those who have suffered hurts cannot help being drawn to the past. I saw it in your eyes when I first brought you here. Yet even then you had the wisdom to know that the past cannot be changed."

"Like I said, I don't want to change anything. I just want the truth."

Yorven nodded and came up beside Shadow. He looked up at the Time Stones and their light twinkled in the old panda's dimmed eyes. "I come here sometimes and wonder what the harm would be in going back. I could not save my wife or child, but perhaps I could just go back and remember what it was like to be with them again? My eyes dimm and my memory fades. What exactly did Tella look like? What color were Xavier's eyes?" Yorven closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

"But I know the truth. If I went back, if I saw them again, I would not be able to return. I would either want to live perpetually in the past, or save them so that I may know them in the future."

"Can't you?" Shadow asked. "Why can't you live in the past?"

"Because the rules of time won't allow it. There cannot be two Yorven's in the same space. My counterpart prevents me from entering too deep into the past, and I cannot remain as a ghost for too long. Those that lusted for the past, killed their doppelgangers and broke one of the most sacred laws that governs the universe."

Shadow recoiled. "People have killed their past selves?"

"Of course. They desire what they used to have, so they tried to take it back by force."

"What happened to them?"

"Death breeds death. Without a past self to tether themselves too, they were sent adrift in space time. It is a branch of knowledge that I am unfamiliar with. I don't believe there is anyone alive who knows the exact truth. What I do know is that the past is a gateway to false promises and madness."

"I don't plan on staying. Once I find out what I want to know, I'll return."

Yorven leaned on his staff and turned to look at Shadow. "The past is gone, Shadow the Hedgehog. What bearing does the truth have on your future?"

"I have a right to know."

"A right?" Yorven chuckled. "What rights have we creatures in a vast universe? You seek to know the exact circumstances of your creation, why does that make you so different from everybody else? Shouldn't we all strive to rewind time so that we can stare into the face of god or absence so that we may know the truth of our existence be it tragedy or farce?"

"It's not like that," Shadow insisted. "I am not interested in existential musing, I need the answers because…"

"You are afraid?" Yorven's eyes widened. "What has happened to make you feel such dread?"

"The Realm Lord," Shadow whispered. The name had stuck itself into the back of Shadow's consciousness ever since the two of them had met. Though Shadow rarely acknowledged it, he knew that the Realm Lord was the reason he was so determined to understand the real reason for his creation. "I…at first I thought my existence was connected to the emeralds and the Space Colony Ark. When it fell to earth, I knew it was my destiny to stop it, to put all the horrors of Project Shadow to an end." Shadow clenched his fist. "But I didn't die. The Realm Lord saved me and as I look back I realize there is a piece missing. I am neither the prototype nor the final version of the Ultimate Life Form. I'm…I'm something else entirely."

Yorven's heavy brows furrowed. "The Realm Lord? You mentioned him before, but you said you had just met him. Why would he lead you to the past?"

"I'm not sure!" Shadow exclaimed exasperatedly. "That's why I have to go back. I need to know why Gerald changed the project, why he made me a hedgehog, why he named me Shadow."

"I see," Yorven scratched his chin. "In my long years as guardian I have made it a point to never give the Time Stones to those who do not understand the nature of time."

"Didn't you offer them to Sonic? That simpleton doesn't understand anything."

Yorven chuckled. "He is smarter than you think. I offered them to Sonic because I knew he would only use them to defeat Robotnik and restore the planet. Sonic has no interest in the past, nor does he fear the future. He understands that time flows ever onward and every second spent standing still or looking backward is a second wasted."

Shadow frowned. "Will you let me use the Time Stones or not?"

"Does it matter if I give you permission?" Yorven asked pointedly. "You did not sneak down here in the middle of the night to ask."

"But you're here now, so my original intentions are in the past and don't matter."

An indulgent smile stretched Yorven's withered face. "As quick as ever I see. Very well, if you want my answer then I say I cannot simply give you the stones. Sonic was easy to judge for his heart is pure and unconfused. Your's, on the other hand, is harder to read. There is a way however, to pierce the heart and test your ability to handle the power of time."

"I don't have time for games," Shadow snarled.

Yorven raised an eyebrow. "Don't you? You need not fret however, the test will not take any time, at least not to the outside world. For this trial, you will delve inside yourself and see if you can stand before the mirror of your desires and not flinch."

Shadow sighed. "If you can set it up quickly, then I'll do it."

Yorven reached into a pocket of his robe and drew out a packet of red sand. "We can do it now. Sit here, if you please." Yorven indicated a circular pool where all the water from the fountain gathered.

Shadow rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. He cringed slightly as he expected the water to be cold, but to his surprise he felt nothing. The water did not react to his presence at all, almost as if it wasn't really there. Shadow tried touching the surface but his hands passed through the liquid as if it was only a vapor. "The waters of this shrine exist outside of time. Due to extended exposure to the Time Stones, the water now drifts concurrently , both ever present and yet not existing at all. It is a state of limbo and the fate of those who meddle with time."

Yorven poured some of the red sand into his hands and pressed them together. He whispered something in a strange language and then looked at Shadow. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

Yorven opened his hands and blew. Red powder sprayed into Shadow's face. It made him choke and his eyes water. Shadow sputtered and suddenly he started to feel himself sink. The water within the pool was spinning like a whirlpool and he was being sucked down into its depths. Elder Yorven stood above him and gave him a fleeting wave as Shadow was pulled down into darkness.