Don't Mess With Time

Zira Marnik glanced through one of the many books in her mother's library. Her hand was curled around a worn, black, leather-bound book before flipping through the pages, trying to find the potion she needed. Thinking about the item that would soon make her life effortless, she started to read through the recipe, ingraining it into her memory.

To make a potion to freeze time, fill your medium-sized cauldron and fill it halfway with rainwater. Add in one bottle of Redstone dust, two spoonfuls of scorpion's venom, one sprig of sage, and six sugar cubes. Mix it all together. Using a watch, dip it into the cauldron and let it sit for ten minutes. Once it's done carefully take it out. To stop time, rub your finger on the face of the clock twice in a clockwise motion. To resume it do it in a counterclockwise motion.

Below the recipe in an all bold font was the words: CAUTION! DO NOT- it read. Zira wasn't able to read any more of it as the next few words were ripped out. Zira knew it was a warning sign to not do it but still decided to go for it. She gathered all the ingredients, making sure to be careful with the scorpion's venom. While it was in a protected bottle, that didn't mean she wasn't gonna take her chances.

Zira began the potion before finishing it perfectly. The watch turned from a plain blue pocket watch into a magnificent looking, golden watch. Zira grinned happily. Her key to complete her tasks was right in her hand! She spun her finger on the watch twice in a clockwise motion, before looking up at her clock. A bright smile began to form on her face. The regular house-clock was permanently stuck in the 3:00 position. Tucking the pocket watch into her pocket, Zira yawned.

Her first decision with unlimited time? A nap. A very long nap at that. Zira walked a few feet forward before collapsing onto her chaise. She kicked off her shoes, which were very short black heels that matched her all-black outfit. The shoeless girl curled into herself, making her as small as possible. She made a sweeping motion with her hand. Her blanket flew out from her closet before resting itself on top of her.

A few hours passed and Zira woke up after having enough sleep for once. She folded up her blanket, placing it back in her closet before starting in the mess that was her potion area. Snapping her fingers a few times, her potion ingredients began to fly back to their places while her supplies magically washed and dried themselves.

Nodding her head in satisfaction, Zira walked up the stairs, carrying her heels in one hand and watch in the other, swinging it calmly. She sauntered over to her room after placing her boots near the door. Making a mental checklist in her head, she taught about what she needed to be done. Her main priority at the moment was her ingredients. Zira was currently running low on many things, causing her to put off her potion making. 

She grabbed a black cape from her closet, wearing it around her shoulders. The caped girl made a mental checklist in her mind of all the things she needed while walking down the stairs. Zira should've been prepared for the clumsiness that would happen after one of the few graceful moments that occurs with her.

Zira accidentally tripped on the hem of her dress, sending her sprawling to the floor. Unknowing to Zira, the magicked watch fell out of her pocket to an unknown place. With a loud groan, Zira wobbly stood up from her position. After making sure she wasn't wounded anywhere, she placed her hand on her pocket where the watch was.

Zira's faced morphed into one of nervousness before getting down on her hands and knees, trying to find the gold watch. She examined under cabinets, behind boxes, even in her shoes, before finding it tucked behind her staircase. With a relieved sigh, Zira picked up the watch only to let out a strangled gasp at the large crack in the watch.

Zira once again dropped the watch, but this time, in surprise. "No, damn it!" she shouted, the sound reverberating around the empty hall. Zira bent down to check on the damage once more before her eyes widened.

A gold, ink-like thing poured out of the crack. It started to move towards her, like a snake to prey, causing Zira to scoot back before her back hit the side of her staircase. Zira gestured with her hand, trying to think of a spell that could help her.
The thing stopped a few feet away from Zira before growing into a large humanoid figure. Zira stayed huddled near the staircase, watching as it grew. Her mind went blank from fear, not having the strength to move.

The gold-being stopped transforming and instead looked at Zira in a mix of amusement and irritation. "Hello there sweetheart," the figure greeted, kneeling down to Zira's eye-level. It looked like a regular human, except for the fact that it wore an ancient golden robe and had gold hair with piercing golden eyes. "Were you the one who summoned me?" it asked, a hint of danger in its otherwise neutral tone.

Zira just stared at the figure, "What, whatever do you mean?" What did it mean by summon? She thought to herself. "I didn't summon anything?

The being rolled its eyes, annoyed at the mortal already. "I mean, did you make a time-stopping watch?" it asked like it was the most obvious thing ever.

Zira began to panic. What did this guy want? Pushing away the panic, she braced herself against the banister and shakily pushed herself up. Hiding the shakiness of her hands behind her back, she nodded with a faux confident look, "Yes, I did. I am Zira Marnik." she greeted. She held her hand out for the thing to shake. "You are?"

The figure smirked and stood up. The two were almost eye to eye. Not because they were both short, or anything, but because they were both equally tall. "Me?" it asked rhetorically. "I'm the god of time, Kronos," he answered, grabbing onto Zira's hand.

Zira collapsed at the feeling of her energy leaving her. An involuntary gasp abandoned her body. The feeling of her breath escaping her lungs frightened Zira to the core. Her hand was still wrapped around Kronos, who was now bending next to Zira for easy access to her lifespan.
Zira was a shriveled up mess of skin and bones. The last thing she heard before succumbing to her final breath was the words tumbling out of Kronos' mouth.

"Thanks for the meal, Zira Marnik. It was absolutely ravishing."