The universe stands before me, the cosmos unveiled as a sea of stars winking in the silent void.

Somewhere, I sensed that time was ticking away. A frail mortal body brought another drink to its lips mechanically, the taste of a familiar poison igniting its throat with white-hot pain. It sputtered and coughed as its animal instincts kicked in, screaming for escape.

Time unfolds itself before me. I reach into the currents of destiny and search for the nexus, feeling none of the fear and uncertainty that once permeated a distant heart, beating raggedly as it the poison seeped into its tissue.

The body was now bound to a table, chest and forehead wet liquor that sloshed out of a funnel in its mouth. Rough hands pinched shut its nose. There was no turning back now- its organs were already beginning to shut down.

My hands find the moment my heart longs for. I dive into it headlong. A sea of knowledge threatens to drown me but my desire flies true like an arrow toward that infinitesimally small point in time.

The body draws its last breath, and I feel the surging power that saturates its flesh propel me at the speed of light into oblivion.

I am naked in a sea of white light.

"Back again?"

A reflection of myself stands before me, hands crossed impatiently across his chest.

"What does 'again' mean to you anyway? You live outside of time."

He furrows his eyebrows in disapproval.

"Oh I see, I'm just a transcendent entity," he spits, rolling his eyes contemptuously. "What could I know about your piddling mortal existence?"

"Spare me the glib remarks. I've made the sacrifice, you know what comes next."

"As you wish."

The setting sun floods the cobblestone street with molten bronze. A dull thud on the table in front of me stirs me from my daze. A girl with jingling silver earrings and auburn hair has brought me a foaming mug. In three years, she will break my heart.