I read a series of books in sometime between 2016-2020 where there are specific artifacts that whoever holds them and is the "owner" of them both can make use of its abilities and become obsessed with them. The books were being released and I read 3 of them and was waiting for the next to come out.
I remember 3 artifacts from the story, a box which can interact with time, a world map which can "fast travel", and invisibility.
Time travel artifact:
- It's a small box
- Can be used to view into the future/past
- Anything that can fit into this can be sent into the time being viewed
World map:
- It's a map that allows the user to travel "as the crow flies".
- I think it can also be used to track people?
Invisibility
- Not sure on this being in the story
- Anyone the user was touching also turned invisible
The artifacts are essentially treated as an extension of the users body, they have to use it or at least be in contact with it. Or they suffer "withdrawal". If an artifact is forcibly removed I'm pretty sure the book described it as painful as removing a limb.
The protagonist of the story has the time travel artifact, I think in the beginning chapters of book 1 his mother gave it to him. The world map is introduced in either book 2 or 3. Invisibility artifact is held by the protagonists friend. Protagonist is male, his friend is female, world map holder is male as I remember it. There is a whole good organization which the protagonist joins that also has the artifacts. As well as a bad, human, organization which tries to steal the artifacts.
The main antagonist is after the artifacts of time travel and world map. The book describes him and others like him as monster-like. Very much not human. He was the owner of those two artifacts before the human-counterparts who now hold them are. I believe he is seen as the leader of the monsters due to the power of the artifacts he once possessed. Not sure on that. Any one of his kind can also detect when their artifact has been used.
In one scene where the antagonist and the protagonist fought:
The protagonist used the time artifact to see everywhere the antagonist would be and put a stone there, inside of the antagonist. Forcing the antagonist to retreat. The antagonist was "happy"? that the artifact wasn't wasting away.
The above fight scene took place in woods.
The majority of story takes place in a city environment, it is modern day.
The last book that I read transported them to a different environment, and they met basically gods who I think are the creators of the artifacts? That book ended on that note so I don't have further detail of them.
