The silence between Lumis and Eili was heavy. Their decision had come down to this — a moment that could reshape everything. The choice that lay before them was not just a matter of right or wrong. It was not simply a question of what they wanted, but of what they were willing to sacrifice. This was the turning point.
“Do you think we can really do it?” Eili’s voice was barely above a whisper, the question hanging in the air like a fragile thread, ready to snap.
Lumis looked at her, his expression unreadable. He had heard the same question echoing in his own mind, over and over, for what felt like an eternity. Could they destroy everything? Could they create something new, something better — but at what cost? And if they didn’t do it, would the world remain stuck in this never-ending loop of decay and repetition?
“Everything we know,” Lumis replied, his voice firm but laced with uncertainty, “could be gone. But if we don’t make this choice, everything will stay the same. Maybe even worse.”
Eili’s brow furrowed. “But what if it’s not just the world that changes? What if we do this, and we’re changed forever? What if we can’t go back? What if we forget ourselves in the process?”
The idea of losing themselves — of being altered beyond recognition — was a fear they both carried, a fear that threatened to overtake their resolve. But the world they had known had been a prison, and the truth they were uncovering was one that would never let them return to the lives they had before. They could not stay where they were.
“I don’t know what will happen after,” Lumis said softly, “but if we don’t act, we’ll never know if there’s something better on the other side.”
Eili’s gaze turned inward, her mind racing with thoughts of what could be. A world without the constraints of time, without the system that had controlled them for so long. But even in the possibility of freedom, there was uncertainty. Could they create a world where balance existed without destroying everything in its path?
“What do you think will happen to us?” Eili asked, her eyes meeting Lumis‘, searching for some assurance, some certainty that they were not stepping into oblivion.
“I think we’ll either lose everything, or we’ll find something better,” Lumis said, though even he could not predict the future. His own heart was a battlefield of hope and fear.
There it was, the heart of the matter: the choice. They could destroy the world they knew, or they could leave it as it was — fragile, unbalanced, and dying slowly. To make a new world would mean tearing down the old, creating something that might work, but it could come at a cost they were not yet able to fully comprehend.
A sharp pain pierced Eili’s chest. She wanted to say something comforting, to reassure Lumis that everything would be okay, but she knew that would be a lie. There were no guarantees. There never had been.
“Do you think we’re ready for what’s coming?” she asked, the words coming out more as a plea than a question.
Lumis was silent for a long time, as if considering every possible outcome, every scenario that could play out. Finally, he shook his head. “No. We’re not ready. But maybe we never will be. Sometimes, you have to make a choice even when you don’t know what the outcome will be.”
Eili closed her eyes, steeling herself for what was to come. The weight of their decision pressed down on her, and yet, there was no turning back. They had reached the precipice. Now, all that remained was to decide whether to leap into the unknown or to stay safely in the world they knew, for better or worse.
“Then let’s do it,” she said, her voice filled with quiet determination. “Let’s make the choice and face whatever comes. Together.”
Lumis nodded slowly. There was no more time for hesitation, no more room for doubt. The world, their world, was waiting for them to make the ultimate decision — a decision that would determine not just the future of everything they knew, but the very essence of who they were.
Together, they stepped forward into the unknown.