Waste of Time - Akira vs. Paradoxical Prophet

[Zephyr]

Prophet eyes were set with determination as he gazed stonily at the demon swooping down upon him. His eyes flicked to the beast's sword, which was whirling towards him with deadly intent, then to the boulder which - compared to the other two - was falling almost lazily, and back to Jin. With an almost absent-minded gesture, Prophet wove a web of time magic around the sword, slowing its approach drastically. A small grin flickered across his face as the boulder suddenly exploded in mid-air, showering the area with fine particles of dirt. He held eye contact with the beast until the very last instant - at which point he vanished.

"I don't think you quite appreciate who your enemy is, t'kah," Prophet said as he re-appeared a few metres from where he had been standing. "You made a mistake, letting me flee your home plane. I'm not usually one prone to hubris, but it is impossible for you to win. Fate itself denies you, and as its instrum..."

Prophet's words faltered as an inhuman scream reverberated through his mind. Mournful and piercing, it carried with it tones of regret, anguish, and bitter loss. Just as soon as it had faded, the pain - a vast, aching emptiness - hit him. With a small cry, he fell to his knees, eyes held tightly closed. His head pounded with the echoes of an entire universe's destruction. Above the chaos, floating above the screams of the dying world, a single sentence hung in his mind. 'The pillars have been unlocked.' Suddenly, vertigo took him and another voice joined the cacophony; “Come to me, my child,” it said.

Prophet opened his eyes to find himself standing in a featureless white void. "My Lady," he asked aloud, "For what reason have you summoned me?"
"You know it well," a woman's voice answered regally. "Your time with The Masters is at an end. They have fulfilled the task required of them. I have new orders for you."
"The destruction of an entire universe!? For what reason?" Prophet asked fiercely.
"Your compassion doesn't become you, Guardian. The Balance must be kept. You of all people should know that," the voice replied serenely.
Prophet sighed with resignation. He knew why these things had to happen, but he had trouble accepting it sometimes. "You can't just expect me to walk out on them," he said sullenly, "Not in the middle of a war. I swore an oath on my life's blood!"
"I admire your loyalty, but perhaps you've forgotten the oath you swore to me," the voice replied shortly, "'One years service, for every life-thread you severed that day, or your soul be damned.' Ponder on that for me, Dargarth."
“Then at least allow me to finish this one last service. Please, Great Lady,” he almost begged.
“Do as you like,” the voice answered, and the vertigo took him once more.

Prophet's eyes flickered open, and he found himself staring at blackened, withered grass. Regaining his feet, he glanced over at Jin and discovered that no time had passed during his conversation with the Lady of Time. A smouldering rage burnt in his eyes, as he realised he'd been played for a fool. Without bothering to finish his incomplete sentence, he leapt at Jin. Drawing his katana faster than any eye could follow, he aimed a single, blindingly fast slice at the beasts abdomen. The blade hummed as it ripped through the air, magic blazing along its length. The edge, so fine it was invisible to the naked eye, became even sharper as the magic altered it. If the sword hit, not only would it be very likely to slice right through the dark beast, but the magic that fuelled it would explode forth, turning them both into dust.

(OOC: t'kah is 'demon' in the language of Prophet's people. If you're wondering how he dodged the attacks; Time Magic. There is more than one way to 'stop' time. This time, he just made himself ridiculously fast.)