My actions will echo out past all previous understanding of the self, yes, a new future for the unbridled mind. What wonton desire can remain unmet in the face of such unimpeded ecstasy, what need shall I ignore in the wake of this newfound power? Yet, I cannot repress the fear that I am not alone in this darkness, as such quiet and wicked creatures reach out to me from the shadows and draw my eyes to things that I cannot see, or perhaps, do not want to see. Things that I should not see. Such is the tradeoff, my end of the bargain in this deal with devils, that I would receive certain visitors in return for my renewed vigor. The architects of this vile magic that I have called upon said that it would be so, said that I would live as a master of my domain, yet the masters of some other domains would visit themselves upon me. In this, I will find no peace. I will dash my enemies against the stones, I will raise up my friends to new heights of glory, and I will live the lavish life of a king, yet I will never find peace. In the night, my sheets move against no touch, in the day the shadows dance in the corners of my vision. I am unalone here; forevermore.

The spell casters would not tell me of the additional terms of this bargain, of what these visitors would want or do. Perhaps they did not tell me out of fear that I would reject them, or perhaps they did not know. Magic is no sure science, after all, and there are avenues of mystery that wind through every spell. The more complex the spell, the more apt for the unknown it becomes. I am given to the hope that these visitors will be benign, and thus far they have been, but only time will tell of their long-term intentions. Even if they are malevolent, I am immortal now. Time has been made to visit its cruel hands upon others, and I am immune to its predatory touch. I will be young, so say the mages, forever. With my eternity of time I will build up an empire for myself that none can master. I will control wealth, women, whatever my heart so desires, for I have nothing but time to acquire whatever I so desire.

I am told that I will become lonely, but this is a fear experienced by mortal men, men who are burned with loss because they cannot rise above it. I have ascended such mortal suffering, such feeble weakness. Besides, if I am to be lonely, I will have my visitors to keep me company. My one fear, my one nagging concern is that I will be assailed by these visitors one day. Their presence will become more constant, their actions more aggressive. Despite my eternality, I still will require food and sleep, lest I be hungry and tired, and if I can find no rest, then what shall I do? How will I achieve my goals if they are strewn out across a sleepless canopy and tossed about my tired mind? I suppose I will have to find out. Until then, I shall plan and prepare. I shall prepare to seize all my days, all my nights. I shall command my own existence, free from all constraints.

There it is again, that playing of the lights in the distance. Darkness dances under the street lamps, never still. I am aware of a presence that follows me, staying just out of sight as it casts wicked shadows into the dim light of the cobblestone. This one is different from the others, not playful or innocent in its advance. No, this one is different entirely from the others. I can feel wicked eyes on me, evil whispers in a language I cannot comprehend. It mocks me, I know it. I feel its laughter in the air around me. Though I do not understand its words, I know their meaning. I know that they insult my arrogance. They tell me that I will be visited by this entity forever, that I will never be free of it. They tell me that I should be afraid for my soul, for my body may be immortal, but that my spirit was immortal from the beginning. Perhaps this creature does not visit mortal men because it does not have the time to wrap its cruel hands around them before their souls take flight from their bodies upon death. It has nothing but time with me. Nothing but time to edge closer and closer to me as the ages pass around us. It means to kill me. It means to visit death upon the deathless. I am afraid.