Rubato sensed it first.  Then felt it.  It was as if the Turn he was surfing had slackened for a nano before washing over him with a wave of undeniable truth.

Echoes of messages from distant empathic drones he had dispatched eons ago now pummelled him with alarm.  The cacophony ceased as soon as it began.

His universe had changed.  Without a nano of warning.  His 'is' was now 'was.'

He felt it again. One had been summoned - and it was not him.

The surging anger that fueled his infinite power could not mask the sense of dread that overcame him as the Turn slid helplessly away.  Like a wisp of an unfinished dream it vanished.

The deed should have been done long ago.  And now it was likely too late.

And he would pay a price for his indolence.