I Own the Multiverse's General Store!
Chapter 105 - Pillar of Time

Chapter 105: Chapter 105 - Pillar of Time

Time had no meaning here.

Lucius floated in a world between existence and void. There was no sky, no ground. Only a vast horizon of layered clouds and lightless mist, drifting like memories half-remembered. Each breath he took echoed against a realm that wasn’t really there. Time didn’t pass. It simply was.

"So this is Veralis," he muttered.

The air tasted of ancient dust and timeless cold. His feet hovered just above a shifting, translucent floor that gleamed like polished glass but cracked and rearranged itself with every step. Each movement disrupted the natural order, fracturing his perception. The very concept of direction warped around him. There was no forward or backward—only now.

In the distance, a figure stood alone atop a lone platform of silver stone. She was facing away, but even from here Lucius could sense the immense pressure her presence generated. She was like gravity given form, drawing all timelines toward her. Not just power, but significance.

The Architect of Time.

Her silhouette was regal, her posture perfect, and time itself seemed to bend around her. As Lucius approached, the mist parted like a curtain, granting him passage. The closer he drew, the more he noticed the small inconsistencies—her shadow moved without light, her hair floated even in stillness, and the world around her flickered, cycling through past and future in seamless transition.

"You’ve come far, Lucius," she said without turning.

Her voice was ageless. Neither young nor old. Neither warm nor cold. It echoed through the air and his thoughts alike.

"You know me?"

"I’ve seen you since before you were born. I watched you fall, rise, bleed, and rule. Every moment of your life was woven through the Loom of Eternity long before you ever drew breath."

Lucius landed on the silver platform. His boots made no sound.

"Then you know why I’m here."

"Yes," she said, turning.

And Lucius found himself face to face with the most paradoxical woman he’d ever seen.

The Architect of Time was impossibly beautiful—but it was a beauty that couldn’t be contained by physical terms. One moment she looked like a youthful girl with silver eyes and pale skin; the next, a woman in her prime with golden hair and an aura of timeless sorrow; then, an elderly matriarch cloaked in flowing robes that glowed with starlight. She was all and none of them. Every time Lucius blinked, she was someone else—and yet always herself.

"You seek the Pillar of Time," she said.

"I do."

"You want to be King of the Multiverse."

"Yes."

She tilted her head slightly. "Why?"

Lucius’s answer was immediate. "Because I can do better. Because those who came before grew complacent, and others suffered. I won’t. I will rule differently."

The Architect smiled—but it was unreadable.

"Good answer. But it means nothing here."

Time stopped.

The mist froze. The cracks in the glass beneath his feet halted mid-shimmer. Even the sound of his own heartbeat ceased. Color bled from the air.

"You cannot take Time," she said, her voice now surrounding him, pressing into his skull like an ancient echo. "You must survive it."

And the world changed.

Lucius was suddenly falling.

Falling through centuries.

The First Trial: The Weight of the Past

He saw himself as a child—fragile, human, afraid. He watched the moment his family was slaughtered. The nights of hunger. The betrayal of trust. The monsters that mocked his weakness. Every trauma he had buried was peeled open like a wound.

He screamed, but there was no sound. No escape.

He relived it all in real-time. The taunts. The loneliness. The self-doubt. The early battles. The times he nearly died. The moments where he wondered if it was even worth it. He saw himself on the edge of death, covered in blood and dirt, crawling just to survive.

Then came the future.

A vision of himself failing.

Lilith sobbing as Luna walked away, bloodied and betrayed. Alexia chained beneath a crumbling palace of ash. Walter—his mentor, his guide—lying lifeless beneath a broken moon. The General Store burned to nothing, its windows shattered, its halls silent.

And at the center of it all—Lucius on the Throne Eternal.

Alone.

Maddened.

Ruined.

A King in name only.

A God in chains.

The Architect stood amidst the chaos, untouched by the storm.

"You think you are strong enough to resist time? It will not break your body, Lucius. It will break your certainty."

Lucius clenched his fists. "Is that all you’ve got? Parlor tricks and fear? I know who I am. I know what I’m building."

"Do you?" she asked.

And the vision twisted.

He stood over the corpse of Lilith.

His hands—his hands—were around her neck.

He had done it. In a moment of rage. Or madness. Or loss.

He stepped back, horrified. Blood on his hands. The love in her eyes gone.

"Power consumes," the Architect whispered. "What happens when you lose control?"

"I won’t," he snarled. "I won’t."

He reached deep within. Felt the fire of his will—burning hotter than any fear. He roared, unleashing a vortex of bloodforce that shattered the illusion. The glass of memory exploded around him. Frozen time fractured.

And he landed hard on the silver platform again, chest heaving, sweat dripping.

The Architect regarded him.

"You have passed the first truth of Time: The past will haunt you, but it does not define you."

Lucius wiped blood from his lip and stood tall. "Then what’s next?"

The Second Trial: The Poison of the Future

Without a word, the world changed again.

This time, Lucius stood in a grand city—his city. The Store had evolved into a shining empire. His name was on statues. His banners hung over towers of glass and obsidian. People bowed to him in reverence.

But it felt wrong.

Cold.

His women followed him, but their faces were hollow. Their movements mechanical. Their joy gone.

Walter stood at his side, expression unreadable, hands shaking. The air smelled of steel, not blood.

"You have everything," the Architect said beside him. "And yet nothing."

The throne room was silent. No laughter. No life.

Lucius approached his throne. It was massive. Jagged. Dead.

And when he sat on it, he felt the crushing weight of isolation.

"This is what happens when ambition becomes obsession," she said. "Power without love. Victory without connection."

Lucius looked around. Lilith was there—expressionless. Luna behind her, eyes blank. Alexia advising him without conviction. No spark. No fire.

"This isn’t my future," Lucius whispered.

"But it could be."

The city erupted into flames.

The sky tore apart.

His empire crumbled. Statues fell. His name was drowned in ash. He saw them all die—not from war, but neglect.

And again, he was alone.

"The second truth of Time," the Architect said, "is that a ruler without passion becomes a tyrant."

Lucius dropped to one knee, gritting his teeth.

"I won’t become that. I’ll never stop caring."

"Then prove it."

She summoned a blade of light.

"Fight me."

The Duel Beyond Time

Lucius summoned his voidblade. They clashed—and time rippled.

The Architect struck with a style that bent reality. One moment she was young, fast, agile. The next, she was aged, strong, calculating. Every attack came from a different era—a future where Lucius failed, a past where he never rose.

He had to adapt instantly, using everything he’d learned. Every technique. Every instinct.

She struck with knowledge of battles he had never fought. She anticipated his strikes before he made them.

Lucius bled.

But he endured.

"You are Time!" he roared. "But I am the one who chooses how it’s used!"

He channeled raw power. Bloodforce erupted around him, cloaking his blade in red lightning. He moved faster than thought, dodged a temporal strike, and countered with a blow that shattered her illusion.

Their blades locked.

And for a moment—he saw her smile.

She stepped back and lowered her weapon.

"You have endured."

The world fell still.

Above them, a great hourglass hovered, its sands frozen in place. Within it, a glowing golden crystal spun slowly, pulsing like a heartbeat.

"You have faced the past and denied its chains. You have seen the future and resisted its decay. You are not yet King... but you are worthy."

Lucius stepped forward.

"Then give me what I came for."

"Claim it."

He raised his hand, reaching into the hourglass. His fingers brushed the crystal.

And time screamed.

A wave of golden light burst outward, wrapping around his body. The air twisted. His perception split. He saw every version of himself—every failure, every success, every path.

And in that chaos—he chose.

He grasped the Pillar of Time.

And the multiverse shuddered.

It was now time for him to go and acquire the rest of the pillars, one after the other.

Now that he had acquired the pillar of time. It was only a question of time before he acquired the rest and became the King of the Multiverse.

Acquiring the Pillar of Time had been much easier than he thought. However, he could only imagine that it would be harder as time passed.