Topic Battle

Time inspires existential dread of an altogether different magnitude. The fear of ageing, of mortality, of watching everything one loves decay, affects virtually 100% of conscious beings. Philosophers term this 'chronophobia,' and it underlies humanity's most persistent anxieties. Time's horror is not the sudden shock of fangs but the slow, inexorable certainty of endings. Every wrinkle, every grey hair, every fading memory serves as Time's calling card, reminding us that entropy comes for all.

Time's persistence is altogether more absolute. It existed before matter, before light, before the very concept of 'before' had meaning. Physicists estimate Time will continue for at least 10^100 years until the heat death of the universe renders all processes impossible. Even then, Time does not technically end; it simply runs out of things to happen within it. Time requires no sustenance, fears no wooden stakes, and has never once needed to sleep in a box of dirt. Its persistence is not merely impressive; it is definitional.

Time has never been defeated. Humanity has attempted to slow it, measure it, and philosophise about it, but stopping Time remains impossible. Even travelling near light speed merely alters one's experience of Time through relativistic effects; Time itself continues unperturbed. Black holes stretch Time; they do not break it. The theoretical concept of 'timelessness' exists only in religious and speculative frameworks. Every weapon humanity has devised, every technology created, every prayer offered has failed to halt Time's advance by even a single second.

Time's cultural influence is so fundamental that every human civilisation has developed systems to measure it. The Gregorian calendar, adopted by 168 countries, structures global commerce and communication. Phrases referencing Time appear in virtually every language: 'time flies,' 'killing time,' 'time heals.' The concept has inspired philosophers from Aristotle to Einstein, artists from Dali to Nolan. Humanity has spent approximately $40 billion on timekeeping devices annually, desperately attempting to track something that cannot be stopped.

Time transforms everything, everywhere, always. It converts mountains into sand, stars into black holes, and civilisations into archaeological curiosities. The erosive power of Time carved the Grand Canyon, collapsed the Roman Empire, and will eventually render our sun into a white dwarf. Time transforms children into adults, adults into memories, and memories into forgotten whispers. Unlike Dracula, Time does not choose its victims; it simply processes all matter and energy with the patient inevitability of universal entropy.