At Dawn, a River's Woes

Date Written - January 30, 2024 Characters - Aeon (Embodiment of Time), River of Time Warnings - None, as far as I can tell.

Aeon collapsed on the ground before him. He had returned from destroying a disturbingly advanced time-travel
contraption and had spent a majority of his strength during it. He gazed down at the River and reviewed the passage of
Time. To his relief, the dangers had been resolved.
A watery, humanoid creature popped out of the river and sat down next to him. "You are injured."

Aeon chuckled softly and acknowledged his injuries from extended use of his powers. "Odd, isn't it?" He dismissed the

River's worries. "I'm fine, just a little exhausted."

The River-creature shook its head. "No. We cannot have the Guardian remain injured," the entity formed bandages from their temporary body and placed them over each wound. "We don't know if there will be any dimensional rifts in the past or the future. We must be prepared for such scenarios. The River can't defend itself. We may be Time, but we are still water. Water cannot do anything without a force. You must be able to protect Us if this final layer of existence is ever invaded."

Aeon simply rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. You've repeated this countless times. I already know all of that. I've known that since my birth. I'm not going anywhere, River. I can't be killed. They'd have to figure out how to find you first and foremost. Humans still don’t understand time. They’re restricted by their own minds.”
The River’s persona remained silent. It knew its Guardian was correct…as usual. It couldn’t help but worry. It couldn’t do anything to help or protect Aeon. It could only continue moving towards the end, as it always did.
“How will I end it all? What will drive me? What is the cause?” Aeon’s playful smile faded. “How long do I have left with my friends?”
These were the only genuine questions to come from Aeon’s lips. The River lifted a watery hand and rested it on Aeon’s shoulder. “Not even the River knows, Aeon. Time Wars are unpredictable. The Timelines are limitless. There may come a day that they merge back into one…”
The two were dead silent, but both knew the dreaded event all too well.
At midnight, the River evolves into the Sea.
“This is why you fight. To prevent Us from becoming a force that not even you can control. It may very well become an inevitable outcome, but we must preserve this universe for as long as we can.” The persona returned to the River, leaving Aeon in a deafening silence.
Aeon laid down on the green grass. Time was very different on this last layer of reality. It was not transient, yet simultaneously not eternal. It moved, but still remained entirely stagnant. It was nothing and it was everything. He remembered all the contradictions that created his very essence. Before he ever knew it, his injuries had successfully been reversed. They did not heal, because they had never existed in the first place. Yes. This is the meaning of Time. Incomprehensible by all but two. That is my burden to bear. The moment it is understood… I will have failed my mission.