The Paradox Child

The girl's remarks caused Icarus to go still in the shadows. There was an unsettling serenity in the disorder of the black hole, an incomprehensible depth to her stare. In a realm where time stopped and reality devolved into insanity, she stood unharmed despite being a child—so young and delicate. She seemed to be a paradox, a living contradiction in a world where time is the only thing that can exist. 

The silence of the emptiness felt like it was closing in on him. The universe itself seemed to be waiting. awaiting the next move from someone or something. But here, in this great emptiness, the youngster was the sole object of attention.

"Who are you?" At last, Icarus succeeded, his voice overflowing with scepticism. It seemed like an age since he had last spoken. The strange feeling burned in his throat, like if words were alien to him now. "How are you here?" 

As though she was perplexed by the question, the girl cocked her head slightly. Her hair glowed quietly, without a light or source of illumination, but with an inner brilliance. He couldn't understand the core basis of her being. How could she be here? How could someone be here? 

Her voice was quiet and soothing when she said, "I'm Kaia," yet it carried a weight much beyond her years. "And I've been here forever."

Icarus stepped forward, driven by an unfathomable force. He moved slowly, as if his body didn't want to do what he wanted to do. He attempted to remember the final seconds of his collapse, the ensuing mayhem, but the recollection was fragmented into too many fragments to be cohesive, much like shattered glass. 

He questioned in a halting voice, "Always?" "But… this place, this black hole… it shouldn't be possible." 

The odd light emanating from Kaia's eyes glinted, reflecting the moving pieces of their environment. She stated, "Nothing here is supposed to exist, but I do," with a spooky sense of confidence. "I'm involved with it. A portion of time. 

Something inside Icarus stirred, but her words made no sense.

Is it time? He was the time god. With a single thought, he had sculpted its course and managed its tide and flow. However... This kid, Kaia, said she was involved. Her statements were true, according to his intuition, which he had long trusted as a deity. However, how? How is that possible? 

He whispered, his mind racing as it clashed with the reality before him, "Time is broken here." "I don't understand it... What are you?

As if responding to a query she had heard too often, Kaia smiled softly. Her voice was gentle but conveyed the seriousness of her statement: "I am a reflection of time." "A break. A divergence, a time when anything is possible but hasn't happened yet. Or perhaps they all have already. Here, time is not a single factor. It's both nothing and everything. 

Icarus's head was spinning as he gazed at her. She had transformed time from an abstract idea. Though her existence contradicted all he had previously understood about the nature of reality, she was time in a tangible form. He felt very uneasy about the idea.

Icarus muttered, more to himself than to her, "I... I don't understand." Even though he was the lord of time, he had never felt more lost than he did in her company. He had lost his abilities. His recollections became distorted. The assurance he formerly felt in each heartbeat and instant was now in ruins. 

Kaia took a step forward, her gaze fixed on his. She stated, "That's the point." "You're not sure where you are. I am, too. 

Even though Icarus hadn't felt his heartbeat in what felt like forever, the emptiness surrounding them seemed to pulse with an unreal rhythm that echoed in his chest. Although he was unable to fully understand what she was saying, there was something profound about the way she spoke.

"Where are we?" Icarus enquired in a more frantic tone. In this whirling, chaotic emptiness, he sought answers, something to ground him. "What is this location? How can I get out? 

Kaia's eyes grew empathetic and her face softened. She uttered the words, "This is the Endless Void," with a certainty that chilled him. It is a location outside of time. outside of space. Above all. And you can't get away." 

Her comments caused Icarus to flinch. He was a god, a force of nature itself, but he had fallen into this black hole. He couldn't just stay put.

His voice became louder and more passionate as he protested, "But I must escape." "I have to restore time, fix what was shattered." 

Kaia softly shook her head, the crushing pressure of something ancient reflected in her eyes. "Until you comprehend what's wrong, you can't change it. And unless you comprehend yourself, you cannot comprehend it." 

Her voice had a haunting calm, but it also carried a profound despair that Icarus was all too familiar with. It was the kind of grief that only eternity could endure, the kind that results from realising a truth so immense that it has the power to shatter a person's spirit.

He stumbled backward as the realisation struck him like a physical blow. Kaia was more than a kid. She was something much more ancient, a creature woven into the very fabric of time. She was an essential component of the black hole, not just a part of it. And maybe she had the answers he was looking for if she was a part of time. 

However, he felt nothing save the burning emptiness of his own doubt as he gazed at her. How was it possible for him to comprehend something as enormous as time? As a fallen god, how could he ever hope to find the answer to the riddle of life itself? 

His voice hardly more than a whisper, he said, "I don't know if I can do this."

For a brief moment, the weight of the emptiness appeared to lessen, allowing Icarus to breathe, as Kaia's eyes softened. 

She responded simply, "You will," with the quiet assurance of someone much older than a child. "But first, you must learn to trust me." 

Some part of Icarus, buried beneath the debris of his lost might, knew she was right, but he hesitated, uncertain whether to believe her. He was forced to put his trust in her. 

There was no more for him to do.