When the Martial Primordial returned to reality, he could instinctively feel the passage of time even without consulting the stars. He floated in outer space, which he had expected. But the fact that he couldn't immediately sense Gaia's presence meant that a truly long period of time had passed.
The first sensation that he registered, however, was the Fear. It seeped into his heart, causing him great instinctive terror. If not for his mentality and phenomenology as a Transcendent, it may have crippled him. But he was no stranger to the Fear, having experienced it for centuries.
"Bah, this power and the price it demands," a gruff voice of dissatisfaction rippled through the fabric of space and time. "I should Destroy the price so that I can wield the power of Transcendence freely!"
