Aevum

**Aevum** (エーヴァム, *Ēvamu*) is a researcher within Radiant Garden and a powerful, albeit unorthodox Time Mage who harbors an intense power of darkness. Despite holding such forces within him, Aevum is not a malevolent individual. He was simply a young scientist enthralled by a strong curiosity and desire to help others. In his attempts to revert the effect of darkness he took to diligently studying the means to manipulate time, but it was to no avail. During the proceedings of one of his experiments, the darkness he believed he could repel instead attempted to consume him.

While most would be deterred from such dangerous research after these events, Aevum is of a different breed entirely. His resolve to discover the truth and alleviate the struggle of those inflicted with the darkness instead *strengthened* his Heart. While the darkness will undoubtedly corrupt him in time, it is that very time Aevum gambles upon to reach his lofty ambitions.

## Appearance

Aevum is a youthful male characterised by his dark skin and white hair in a similar fashion to Xehanort, although he insists he has no relation to the Keyblade Master in question. He bears an innocent, keen visage with his light brown eyes, which are contrasted by his spiked black hair he has fashioned into a short mullet, along with his fringe narrowly framing both sides of his face. Although his facial features are sharp and accentuate a cunning visage, there is an innocence in them that lights up into a fiery passion when pursuing his scientific goals. As expected of a Mage and researcher, Aevum does not possess a particularly well-built physique. However, to maintain the stamina required for his daily endeavors he has taken up physical exercises to ensure his body is at a reasonable condition, hence the slow emergence of some degree of musculature.

Aevum's typical attire consists of a black, buttoned overshirt with long sleeves over a white, long-sleeved t-shirt tucked into his black pants. To finish off this attire, he wears a pair of black, leather, flat shoes. The most distinctive part of his attire is the vestment he wears over his standard clothes. Contrary to most vestments, it does not cover his sleeves, instead going down the length of his knees at the front, and down to his calves at the back. Across his upper torso are a pair of cross insignia, whereas along his legs are two unique patterns.

## Personality

An impassioned and fiery young man who refuses to give up in the face of any adversity that gets in the way of his ambitions. From the onset, Aevum appears like a naive young man with lofty goals, but belied by his youth is a depth unknown to the world. A scientist of great intelligence, there is no doubt that Aevum is a methodical man whose choices and theories are calculated with reason. But such a life is dull to a man of Aevum's aspirations. He seeks to use science and Magic to repay those who he is indebted to. Alas, in that selfless motivation to seek a cure to the ailment of the corruptive darkness, there is the selfishness of desiring to heal himself to continue his pursuit of knowledge. For a man of countless facets, he is surely nothing more than a boy with a single-minded ambition, or perhaps, *obsession*.

## Abilities

### Magic

#### Time Magic

**Time Magic** (時魔法, *Toki Mahō*) is the ability to influence the concept of time through utilizing Magic. Among the numerous disciplines, Time Magic is perhaps the most difficult to learn. One's Soul must be ignited with considerable power, before channeling that very power into the concept of time itself. For this reason, the vast majority of Time Mages are forced to use a medium such as a pocketwatch or, in most cases, a Keyblade in order to invoke its effects.

Prior to his affliction by Darkness, Aevum's pursuit in Time Magic for the sake of his research made him particularly skilled within the art. He was knowledgeable on most spells, albeit his lack of combative focus made him approach only a select few with the intent of mastery.

* **Slow** (スロウ, *Surō*):
* **Stop** (ストップ, *Sutoppu*):
* **Reflect** (リフレク, *Rifureku*):

#### Clocktower

Following his affliction by Darkness, the nature of Darkness had contorted his Time Magic significantly. Because Darkness was a force in which time had no bearing, he possesses virtually no control over the exact effects his Time Magic has. In addition to this spontaneity, his Magic has seemingly altered to the point where it solely affects his being. Rather than provide him with momentary enhancements, however, his Magic in fact *changes* his very being in accordance to the time he is tapping into. Aevum has since dubbed this practice as **Clocktower** (クロックタワー, *Kurokkutawā*).

Unlike the time of the world, which can border onto a nigh-infinite number of years, the time of a human is rather limited. As such, the majority of Magic that manipulate time revolve around manipulating the time of the world. This may be purely conceptual and allow for the acceleration and deceleration of the time possessed by inanimate objects, stagnating one's perception of time, or outright creating a world where time does not flow for anyone but the creator. However, Clocktower is nothing so elaborate. Using an introspective means of approaching time, a practitioner of Clocktower gains incredible power at a cost of paying tribute to the **"darkness of time"** (時間の闇, *jikan no yami*). In other words, to employ the power of one's own time, all foreseeable events of their own future must become destiny sacrificed to the graveyard, knowledge which would undoubtedly drown any normal person into the depths of the darkness that they have glimpsed from their future.

Time is a nonlinear pathway which all things in the world must travel in. It is an invisible force that acts on everything with certainty. As time passes, there is movement of matter, and change inevitably occurs. The transition from the past to the future is defined by these very changes, whether they be physical or spiritual. In the case of humans, however, there is one permanence in our time for as long as we live: the Heart. So long as the soul exists, life as an *individual* may continue. In other words, the time of an *individual* is purely dependent on their heart: any material changes that occur to the body are seemingly irrelevant. But these changes are sporadic and infinite in their potential, how would Clocktower, a Magic that capitalizes on these very material changes in an individual, capture such a vast spectrum in the first place?

It doesn't. Clocktower is a form of Magic that places the user's heart on a metaphorical tower, in which the practitioner's heart in the present is regarded as the foundation of the tower, and every material change that occurs to the body the heart inhabits is regarded as another level of the tower. Clocktower is a discipline Magic that enables one to witness *their own* future by connecting their present heart to that of any possible future. A practitioner is capable of this by connecting their heart with the spiritual flow of darkness — focusing on the abstract flow of time — and enabling it to travel across its sporadic journey. Should the flow stop at any place, the practitioner is able to observe the very state of their body in that time, and therefore unlock its existence on the many doors of the metaphorical tower of their soul.

However, as any Magic that employs the forces of darkness, there is a consequence to these actions. When the flow of time stops at a certain point and that time is elucidated to the wielder, it means that the certainty of death is inevitable for that branching point. Knowledge of this is apparent to the wielder of the discipline, and often causes incredible psychological damage on the user as they repeatedly encounter visions of their heart's death. Unfortunately, this is not the greatest cost to utilizing Clocktower. As one might have assumed, taking upon the responsibility of the possibility of viewing every possible future stacked onto a tower forces a single, profound effect on the wielder: they are incapable of accessing *any* of these futures. When one is placed onto the Clocktower, they become an observer detached from time itself. No future is accessible to them, and it is the despair of being forced to adopt the shadows of possible futures that clenches at the soul, inevitably bringing them closer and closer to falling into complete darkness.

Despite this burden upon his Heart, Aevum continues to move forward into his pursuit of the single future where his Heart has not faded away. For the sake of his own survival and the happiness of others, his Heart remains strong, no matter how corrosive the darkness of time may be.