[WP] you have learned forbidden time magic in order to sneak in a few naps while the world is frozen
"Congratulations."
Elbert had been enjoying a nice dream, and he was barely waking up when the lovely voice spoke. He'd been dreaming of women, and he hadn't realized he was completely awake already, imagining the voice to be part of that dream. He slowly opened his eyes as he stretched out on the bald mattress. Once he finally learned the forbidden time magic, he went to the nearest mall and went straight to the bedding section of the highest-end store. His entire goal was simply to sneak more naps in, and he wanted to do it publicly just to prove to himself that he could.
Mattresses weren't in high demand, and there were only a couple of other people browsing the selection when he arrived. The two were still there, frozen in time as he left them, but there was a third person now. A lithe, white-haired woman in a black blazer and professional dress had her eyes locked on him as he got to his feet.
"You've learned a forbidden magic," she said. It wasn't until that moment that Elbert realized she was the one who congratulated him. He glanced back at the other patrons to double-check. They were, in fact, still time-locked, but she was there speaking to him normally. He'd taught himself advanced magic and wasn't dumb. She was there because of him.
"Who are you?" he asked. In his mind, he didn't admit to anything.
"My name is Minuette," she nodded. "I represent Void Holdings, the company directly responsible for outlawing time magic. You've violated an immensely important rule; do you have anything to say in your defense?"
"I didn't mean anything by it!" Elbert shook his head. "I'm not trying to take over the world or do bad stuff or anything! I just wanted to nap more."
"Aww, sweetie...," Minuette smiled and shook her head. "...it was a trick question. You broke the rules. There is no defense. What were you thinking?" she took on a lecturing tone. "That whoever declared it 'forbidden' forgot? That they wouldn't notice the fabric of time being manipulated? Maybe you thought it was just a generic warning handed down through time? They're all interesting possibilities, but in the end, your reasons don’t matter."
"Wait!" She wasn't actively doing anything at the moment, but Elbert understood his situation. He wasn't going to survive the encounter without some hard work on his end. "I can forget it! I can rewind it so I never learn the forbidden magic! Then, you don't have to do anything to me, right?" he asked.
"I suppose that's true...," Minuette nodded. "But, I think you're missing a bigger piece of the puzzle here...," she pointed at one of the time-stopped shoppers. "I'm moving just as freely as you, and employed by those who explicitly forbade time magic. You should've figured out that I'm at least as adept with temporal manipulation as you are, and actually much better," she smiled. It was the last thing Elbert would ever see, and at least she was a lovely final sight. "I can rewind time, too, but what fun would that be?"
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Server
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Cast
