The misty sky resembled an endless canvas, stretched to the horizon, upon which anything could be painted. The Eternity, once halted, was awakening again, but this time its nature was different. It was neither space nor time—it was flexible, undefined, trying to find new boundaries for its existence.
Antem stood beside Melania, and both of them watched as new elements appeared and danced in the air, like particles of light subject to unknown forces. They had been called to give shape to what had become the new Eternity, but their role was not just to protect this process.
— Eternity may not be… like it was before, — Antem said, observing how one of the light spots began to form figures resembling people. — We can watch over its development, protect it if it faces a threat. But we cannot dictate what its essence should look like.
Melania remained silent, her gaze fixed on how the worlds began spinning around themselves, forming new paths. She felt it: Eternity no longer saw her just as its creator. It was beginning to choose for itself. To choose paths, elements that had never existed before.
— It has the right to choose, — Melania said. — We cannot take away its freedom of choice. If I tried to control this, it would be like limiting its development.
Antem looked at her with seriousness in his eyes.
— It cannot just choose without us, without those who watch over its existence. We cannot allow something or someone from the outside to take control. You have great ideas, Melania, but this is not an easy path.
Melania turned to him, her gaze resolute.
— Eternity chooses on its own, — she said quietly but confidently. — I cannot dictate who it listens to. And it doesn’t just choose me. It chooses from what it deems important. This is not just about me or you, Antem. This is about its self-evolution.
Antem understood her words but couldn’t fully accept them. He was one of those who guarded Eternity, but it was more than just a role he performed. He was part of it, but couldn’t shake the feeling that Eternity was looking for teachers and teachings from everything around it, even if those teachers did not match his understanding.
— You’re right, — he said, his voice a little softer. — It chooses, and that’s not always a good thing. But even it cannot build everything on its own. It needs us. It needs guidance, at least to a certain point.
Melania shook her head.
— We can only observe and help when necessary. Eternity has already made its choice. It’s looking for not only teachers but also itself in every choice it makes. We can only become part of this process, not control it.
Antem fell silent, but his eyes held the same anxiety. Eternity was choosing new paths, new teachers, new formulas for its existence, and he wasn’t sure it was ready for such changes.
They stood in silence, filled with deep energy, like a magnet drawing metal particles toward itself. Eternity, like a cloud, was moving, beginning to take on forms it had chosen itself. And perhaps it was a time when even those who guarded it needed to leave it the freedom to choose.
— One way or another, it’s choosing itself, — Antem finally said. — And if we want to be part of it, we’ll have to go along with it, not try to hold it back.
Melania understood that his words were true. Eternity had already made its choice. And now, instead of protecting it or showing it the way, they would have to walk alongside it, even if it meant changing their own beliefs.