The Thief of Time did not urge Angel, leaning casually against the door frame, waiting with a smile, “Young man, this isn’t a profound choice, why not try, let me be a part of your life?”
The words of the Thief of Time were of no concern to Angel; he was caught in a memory.
It was back in the Abyss, when he had told Sanders about the Thief of Time.
Sanders had said to him, “When you can’t escape the Thief of Time’s shackles, facing the choices he offers, you must follow the decisions of your heart.”
Follow his heart.
Because Angel was making choices for his own future.
With this in mind, Angel looked up at the Thief of Time and shook his head, “I won’t give up this door.”
The Thief of Time, “Even if it’s useless to you?”
Angel remained silent.
“The door holds little significance for you. Your description was very accurate; it indeed simply acts as a target anchor, with no other effect.” The Thief of Time, “Are you really not considering giving it to me?”
Angel nodded his head.
The Thief of Time was not annoyed, still smiling, and then he softly snapped his fingers.
The door began to disappear slowly before Angel’s eyes.
Angel showed no expression; though seemingly taken by the Thief of Time, the door was not truly gone. Angel sensed that it remained in place, yet the Thief of Time had done something to conceal it.
“Not giving me the door is also a choice. Since that’s the case, I shall grant you a wish~” The Thief of Time, “You wanted to conceal it, I’ve concealed it for you.”
After speaking, the figure of the Thief of Time began to fade slowly.
“Right and wrong, real and fake, existence and illusion, past and future. Countless choices lead to countless paths. Among these paths, there is always one that leads to truth. My visit, is it to eliminate your wrong choices, or to steal your correct ones? Young man, this is a multiple-choice question.”
As his voice faded, the figure of the Thief of Time completely vanished into the far reaches of time.
As if nothing had happened.
No ripples, no disturbances.
However, Sanders saw things differently. When the door vanished, he thought Angel had made a deal with the Thief of Time.
As Sanders wondered, Angel suddenly stepped forward.
With a gentle touch into the empty air, the door that Sanders thought had disappeared reappeared. There were no energy ripples, no fluctuations of illusion; it was as if it had materialized directly from the depths of time.
“He’s gone? You didn’t give the door to him?” Sanders asked.
“Hmm,” Angel nodded in agreement, his mind still in a haze; even though he had refused to give the door to the Thief of Time, was he still rewarded?
Sanders inquired about the details of the process.
After listening, he said to Angel, “That’s just the way the Thief of Time is, no matter what choice you make, even if he gains nothing, he will grant a favor.”
This is why many wizards are so eager to seek out the Thief of Time.
Yet often, the decision at hand is not the ultimate objective of the Thief of Time, but rather what lies hidden behind series after series of choices. Even if you receive a favor this time, as you succumb to the honey trap time and time again, what the Thief of Time truly desires might just slip away unnoticed.
As the saying goes, by the time you realize time is a thief, it would have already stolen all your choices.