This large quantity of sand, weighing several pounds, had clearly been meticulously selected. For Sylas to gather it himself would have required an enormous amount of time. Only those with true mastery of the vast ocean, especially mermaids, could so easily locate such ancient, hardened grains of sand from the seabed.
After politely declining Ulmo and Uinen's invitation to remain, Sylas bid farewell to the divine couple and, escorted by the mermaids, departed the underwater palace, swimming back toward Swan Harbor.
"Thank you, beautiful ladies of the sea. Please escort me only this far. And please convey my regards to Lord Ulmo and Lady Uinen."
Emerging from the ocean, Sylas turned to thank the mermaids once more, gently declining their continued escort. He then stepped onto the surface of the sea itself, using magic to cross the water, and headed toward Swan Harbor not far away.
In his hands, besides the wide, flat shell containing the grains of sand, Sylas also carried a solid piece of ancient seabed stone. Draped over his arm was a magnificent silver garment studded with pearls, a farewell gift from Ulmo and Uinen, woven by the mermaids using a special technique. It was completely waterproof and bore the blessings of both Lords of the Sea, ensuring that the wearer would be unharmed in the ocean and unafraid of storms or raging waves.
Upon returning to Swan Harbor, Gandalf, Elrond, and the others learned of Sylas's exploration to the depths of the sea. After hearing Sylas's account of Ulmo and Uinen, Gandalf could not help but marvel at his good fortune in receiving the favor of these two sea-dwelling powers.
According to Gandalf, Ulmo and Uinen, like their attendants, occupied a unique position in Valinor. They did not reside on land for long periods, instead dwelling deep within the ocean. As a result, they were largely detached from Valinor's inland politics and the affairs of the elven tribes.
However, because the world was interwoven with rivers, streams, and ocean currents, their means of communication were extraordinarily efficient. Moreover, the power of the oceanic hosts rivaled that of the followers of Manwë, the Lord of the Air. The difference in strength between the two was minimal, but because Ulmo and Uinen had dwelled beneath the sea for so long, they were often overlooked or misunderstood.
It was also for this reason that, in ancient times, they had once been deceived by Morgoth, turning away from the authority of the Valar and unleashing a catastrophic tidal wave that nearly drowned the continent of Chūdō.
Thus, to help Sylas consider his future, Gandalf advised him to cultivate a strong relationship with Ulmo and Uinen, forming a stable and powerful network of alliances. After all, even in Valinor, the land of immortals, there existed divisions of power, influence, and status.
As for which Vala to follow as a master, Gandalf urged Sylas to think carefully. Such a choice would determine his future path, and once made, it could not be reversed.
Gandalf also said that once Sylas made his decision, especially if he chose to follow Manwë, Gandalf could personally recommend him in his role as a Maia of the West. He could also introduce Sylas to his own teacher, Nienna. Furthermore, Gandalf mentioned that Varda, Irmo (the Lord of Dreams and Visions, Nienna's spouse), and the plant goddess Yavanna all maintained close ties, and any of them might also be willing to guide Sylas.
Sylas expressed his gratitude and said he would consider everything carefully.
For now, however, his priority was clear: to first refine the Time-Turner, and only after using it to comprehend the profound laws of Time, and further strengthen himself, would he consider formally becoming a disciple.
More importantly, Sylas did not want his future path to be confined to the domain of any single master.
He remembered well the principle:
"What you inherit determines both your life and your death."
He was willing to learn from masters, but he would never allow their paths to become chains upon his own.
If possible, he wished to gather the strengths of many schools, forging a path entirely his own, so that he could go even further.
In fact, he increasingly believed that the reason no being in Arda's history had ever ascended to the level of a Vajra was precisely because they all walked the path of a Vajra.
Reaching the end of that road meant reaching its ceiling.
From the very beginning, the situation had been fundamentally hopeless.
Sylas did not wish to ruin his future path.
Therefore, even if he were to become Mandos's disciple one day, he resolved that he would only absorb knowledge useful for expanding his own road, never allowing Mandos's path to replace his own.
For now, however, all such considerations were premature.
At present, Sylas's highest priority was singular and absolute:the creation of the Time-Turner.
He requested Círdan the Shipwright, Lord of Swan Harbor and supreme king of the Teleri, to provide him with a completely undisturbed workspace. After obtaining it, Sylas spent several days personally modifying the chamber, transforming it into a sealed time laboratory.
At the center of the chamber, Sylas inscribed an elaborate alchemical formation and erected a large glass containment cage.
The cage was fully transparent, yet faint, mysterious runes were etched across its surface, glowing with a pale blue luminescence. Within it lay the ancient seabed sand he had obtained, silent, heavy, and untouched.
When everything was ready, Sylas activated the alchemical array and raised his staff, anchoring the glass cage in place.
Then.
He cast the Time Reversal Curse.
This spell was one of the most dangerous forms of time magic ever devised, far more unstable than ordinary temporal manipulation. If mishandled, the backlash could be catastrophic: irreversible temporal damage to the body, sudden aging or rapid decay, regression into childhood, infancy, or even fetal form, or complete loss within the chaotic currents of time itself, cast into the past, the future, or fractured timelines
The Time Reversal Curse was the only true time-manipulating magic ever invented by mortal sorcerers. Yet precisely because time itself was too vast and profound, the spell was inherently incomplete, an unfinished miracle.
Even the Unspeakables of the wizarding world never used it lightly. When it was employed, multiple Unspeakables were required to stabilize the spell and prevent disastrous anomalies.
Sylas, as a high-level sorcerer, possessed far greater control over time magic than they ever could.
Even so.
He exercised extreme caution.
Time was not merely powerful; it was absolute. Nothing in the universe could truly resist its erosion.
Raising his staff, Sylas completed the incantation.
In an instant, a blue radiance bloomed within the glass cage.
An invisible force emerged, undetectable even to mental perception, lacking pressure, aura, or fluctuation. It felt neither violent nor oppressive, like a silent current or a breath of still air.
Yet under its influence, the grains of sand within the cage began to age.
They weathered rapidly, turning into pale powder, then vanishing altogether.
These were grains that had endured countless ages beneath the sea without the slightest erosion, yet now they crumbled visibly before his eyes.
Some grains, slightly weaker, disintegrated instantly. Others resisted longer, then followed.
This was the true power of time.
Even the hardest matter could not escape its dominion.
When the last grain vanished, the cage stood empty.
Then Sylas waved his staff once more.
Time reversed.
The sand reappeared.
First as dust, then as grains, then whole once again.
Even the large shell containing the sand fully restored itself.
But almost immediately, the temporal current swept through again, erasing it.
The cycle repeated.
Over and over.