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“Wow,” Billy breathed out, the word echoing off the rough stone all around him, a chorus of awed voices in his ears.
He had never wandered this far into the Rock of Eternity before, never dared to leave the familiar halls around the throne room with its warm light and smooth stone floors. He’d always felt safe there, content that he was exactly where he needed to be.
But he'd felt a pull that afternoon, a stirring in his gut urging him deeper into the Rock of Eternity than he had ever gone before. It was like the very blood in his veins was yearning for something that couldn’t be found anywhere else, a feeling so intense that there was no way he could ever ignore it. He'd learned over the years to trust the magic that guided him in those moments. Because if the gods or fate or magic itself wanted something from him, then it was best not to fight it.
The feeling dragged him from his habitual perch on the steps of the throne room, past the statues of the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man, with their scowling faces and squinted eyes, and out through the large doors set into the wall. He shot one last look over his shoulder, his eyes lingering on the brazier that would bring the Wizard's spirit to him, before turning away. This was something he had to do on his own. He wasn't sure how he knew that when he didn't even know what he was doing, but he did.
He continued on through the winding corridors, hopping over the dusty tracks of the subway car he sometimes took there, until he reached the Hall of Doors with its seemingly endless possibilities. There were doors of all shapes and sizes–some made of thick metal, others of brightly painted wood; doors of rough wood and glossy crystal and chipped stone. There were doors even taller than those that led to the throne room and others only the size of Billy’s palm. Most were set into the walls, but some floated in the air, untethered to the world around them.
He’d traveled through only a handful of those doors, some leading to the Earth he knew but most leading to other worlds entirely. He had a theory that he could go anywhere in the universe if only he could find the right door. A voice in the back of his mind whispered that it might not just be his universe on the other side.
But the Hall of Doors, for all that it could take him anywhere, was not his destination today so he continued on, veering off into the otherwise mundane caverns beyond that were lit only by the flickering torches on the walls that never seemed to burn out or need lighting.
It wasn't long before the tracks of the subway car led him to the way station between the Seven Magiclands. The faded map on the wall looked the same as it always had, offering little more than simple directions. He glanced down each corresponding tunnel that led to the various Magiclands just to assure himself that the portals were closed and no unauthorized visitors had slipped in while he was away. It was more habit than anything, a duty he'd grown used to since his first visit to the realms of magic he was meant to care for.
He let his shoulders relax as he confirmed there was only unassuming darkness in all directions.
Next he passed through the Library of Eternity with its near infinite knowledge all at his fingertips. The shelves just went up and up and up, disappearing into the darkness high above, all densely packed to the point that the wooden shelves sagged under the weight of it all. He dragged his fingers along the spines of the books roughly at his eye level. Soft leather and worn parchment, scrolls tied neatly with twine or ribbon, well-read paperbacks and modern textbooks with glossy illustrations, all mingled together on the shelves. He could spend a lifetime locked away in there, reading every book he could get his hands on and he’d still never so much as make a dent in the collected volumes. It would probably have been a real librarian’s nightmare—Billy certainly didn’t understand the system for what books went where—but he always managed to find what he was looking for exactly when he needed it. Magic was tricky like that.
Nothing was jumping out at him today though. It was as if the magic within the books themselves was gently urging him onwards, telling him that he could come back and learn their secrets some other time, but for now he was needed elsewhere.
He knew better than to argue.
Just off the Library, through an elaborate archway framed by intricate columns, was a large circular room. It was adorned with breathtaking carvings, images of the Wizards and Champions past splashed across every surface in a mosaic of muted colors. Veins of of glowing magic spider-webbed across the floor like the branches of a lightning bolt racing towards the earth, illuminating the room with its soft golden light. At the center was the only piece of furniture in the room: a simple wooden pedestal with a golden orb balanced on top of it, the one that could show him all of time and space. He considered the Historama for a long moment as he passed, heavy and shining with every moment past and present–perhaps even the future too if he ever dared to look.
He knew people who would kill for even just a peek at the such a thing, for a chance to know. It wasn't as dangerous as some of the other things in the Rock, but was infinitely more valuable to those that knew how to use it. Billy was always careful when he used it, he didn’t want to be paralyzed by the possibilities. Perhaps even more so he didn’t want to get stuck dwelling on the past, living vicariously through memories. It would have been easy to get lost in someone else’s life, especially when it meant he could see people he lost, people like his parents.
He knew that it wasn’t the Historama calling to him, so he tore his eyes away before he could get distracted.
Billy made his way deeper and deeper into the Rock. He passed storerooms filled with magical objects, most too dangerous to be left on Earth, and dungeons holding monsters of all kinds that snarled and snapped at him. Magic pulsed a warning around those prisons, warning him away from the danger they posed. He knew not to linger in those places long.
He walked until his feet grew sore, marveling at how vast the Rock of Eternity really was. How many secrets would he uncover? How many wonders were hidden away in these halls that he didn't know about? That he couldn't even dream of? At twelve years old how could he even hope to comprehend the impossibility of Eternity?
It wasn't often that the implications of the place weighed down on him like this. Most days the Rock was little more than a rest stop for him, a place to relax between battles, to gather information, to learn. The wonder of it all was lost on him, fading into the mundanity of his daily life.
But today he felt the weight of Eternity settling deep in his bones. It felt enormous, important, too much for one kid to handle–
Billy turned a corner, his breath hitching at the swirling mess of his thoughts.
Only to find a brightly lit diner nestled into the passageway. It had a classic feel to it, like the one Billy would visit back in Fawcett City on the rare occasions he had the cash to do so. It had the same checkered floors and shiny red booths. There was a jukebox tucked into the corner and a long marbled counter that ran the length of the restaurant. It even had a flashing neon Open sign in the window. The only difference was that it was cleaner, practically spotless, and instead of old rock and roll memorabilia adorning the walls there was a single large neon lightning bolt.
When Billy opened the door, a bell jingled overhead announcing his presence to the empty building. He instantly felt better. It was funny, he'd never seen this place before but it felt so familiar that he couldn't help but be put at ease as he took in the rest of the building.
The table of the corner booth held a single tall glass containing what looked to be a chocolate milkshake. Billy grinned to himself and slid into the seat, the cushion soft and bouncy. It felt good to get off his achy feet. The seat was nice, it didn’t have any holes in it like the one from the diner back home. It was all the best parts of a diner without the mess. He pulled the milkshake close and took the chance to indulge in a rare sweet treat. It was perfectly cold, soothing his dry throat, and easy to drink without being too melty. And the flavor was amazing—like drinking a candy bar.
Under normal circumstances, he'd be suspicious of something like this; he knew better than to trust random, clearly magical food left out in the open, but this was the Rock, this was his home base, there was nothing that could hurt him here. Or rather there were many, many things that could hurt him–things that desperately wanted to hurt him, kill him even–but he could feel the magic of the Rock baked into the foundations of this unassuming building, soaked into every sip of his milkshake. This was a place created specifically to give him a break, a respite from his mounting fears, giving him the strength and courage to continue on.
He was getting close, he just had to keep going.
Once he had rested, finishing his milkshake with a loud slurp of his straw, he slowly and reluctantly rose from the booth. At the door he glanced back one last time. His glass had already vanished, leaving the place as pristine as he had found it. He bid goodbye to what he had unofficially decided to refer to as the Cafe of Eternity and continued on his way.
The further he went, the fewer man made things he saw—or rather things that looked man made. Billy was sure that the Rock decided what it looked like more than anyone that wandered its halls-he couldn't imagine there was ever a time where people built the things he saw. But still he couldn’t help but notice that the walls were rougher, the passage narrowing enough that Billy could reach out and touch the stalactites projecting from the ceiling. The flickering torches gave way to softly glowing stone, the light softening the sharp edges.
Then all of a sudden the passage opened up into a large cavern.
Billy gazed breathlessly at the magic all around him; magic that was buzzing just beneath his skin and glowing beneath his feet. Magic that was swirling all around him, constantly shifting and changing, flowing like a river from high above before splashing down and forming a glittering cosmos here in the center of all things. He had never seen anything so beautiful, could barely believe that he was witnessing something so profound, yet so simple.
In the middle of the cavern, where the magic flowed most freely, was a hole in the Rock that should have plunged into the darkness, but which produced a beam of pure white light, cutting through the very center of the Rock, a solid axis to rest on. Floating within it was the source of the light: a small stone, the exact shape of the Rock of Eternity itself
He reached out to touch it.
He could feel the magic mounting in the air around him, the sharp tang of it on his tongue. The voices of his gods faded away, replaced with the hum of lightning. His skin buzzed with the proximity of raw unfiltered magic, his mind filled with visions of…Eternity.
As he gripped the stone in his hand,his own magic deep inside sang in harmony with the magic of Eternity, it pulsed in time with his heartbeat, moved in time with his breaths. He had never felt such a deep sense of connection, of belonging. He was becoming one with the source of all magic, accepting it into his heart, into his soul.
This is where he was always meant to be.
He was home.