Three doors stood before them—silent, majestic, each leading to a future that was already waiting to be born. The world around them was still, as if time itself had held its breath, awaiting their decision.
Emiren, Flamen, Watery, and Empty stood before the Last Key, which hovered between the doors, as if eternity itself hesitated, uncertain to whom its power should belong.
— This is not just a choice between the future and the past, — said Watery, touching the watery reflection beneath their feet, which, like a mirror, showed the outlines of their faces.
— It is a choice between existence and oblivion, — added Flamen, clenching his fingers into a fist.
— Or perhaps, it is a choice between power and freedom, — Empty whispered.
Emiren took a step forward.
— I can feel it… Each of us already knows which path we would choose. But this trial is not meant for just one of us. This is a choice we must make together.
The Voices of the Doors
As soon as he approached, all three doors spoke.
The Door of Creation had a voice that sounded like thousands speaking at once:
— Create a new order. Guide this world. You have the power to shape time, to influence its flows, to restore harmony to the Eternal Garden. Take your authority and become the Architects of Eternity.
The Door of Dissolution whispered like the wind slipping through the cracks of existence:
— Leave this world. Let it walk its own path. Without you, time will be free; it will no longer be bent to any will. It will exist as it chooses.
The Door of Stillness spoke with a voice that echoed endlessly in the void:
— Freeze time. Let everything remain as it is now. No changes, no losses, no pain. You can stop the very flow of being and preserve the perfect moment forever.
The Creators listened in silence. Within each of them, doubts, thoughts, and desires churned.
Flamen’s Choice
— We were the ones who protected this world. We created, we fought, and even when we lost… we kept moving forward. I cannot abandon what we built. If we let time run free, it will become a weapon in the hands of those who seek destruction!
His eyes burned as he looked at the Door of Creation.
— I choose to create. But not as a ruler. As a guardian.
Watery’s Choice
— But if we remain the Creators, won’t we become what we once opposed? Time must be free, unbound by our will. If we continue to interfere, we will only trap it in an endless cycle of changes and conflict once again.
His voice was calm but firm. He touched the surface of the water, which reflected the Door of Dissolution.
— I choose freedom. Even if it means we must disappear.
Empty’s Choice
Empty had been silent for a long time. His eyes were fixed on the Door of Stillness.
— Eternity is the most dangerous gift. If we stop time, we will never suffer again. We will not lose anything, we will not lose each other…
He raised his hand, feeling the shadow of the Door of Stillness touching his palm.
— But then we will not truly live either. We will become statues in our own world.
He stepped back.
— I cannot choose a frozen future.
Emiren’s Choice
Emiren looked at them all. His friends had spoken their hearts. But the decision had not yet been made.
He raised his head to the sky, which rippled between times, between realities.
— Our mistake is that we are searching for the right answer.
He turned to each door.
— But there are no right answers. There is only what we are willing to accept.
He reached out toward the Last Key.
— I propose another choice.
The world trembled.
A New Future
When Emiren touched the Key, all three doors shuddered. They began to change, their outlines merging together, as if time itself could not comprehend what was happening.
— What are you doing?! — Flamen shouted.
— I choose not to choose. We will not become rulers, nor will we disappear, nor will we stop time. We will remain something else. Not Creators, not mere observers. We will be… those who shape possibilities.
The Key flared with bright white light.
— The world should not have only one future. Time should not have only one path. We will not control it, but we will not leave either. We will remain as whispers in the wind, as those who open new paths, as those who offer the chance to change fate—but do not force it.
The light exploded.
A New Beginning
When it faded, the Creators stood before a new world.
The Eternal Garden remained, but now its branches stretched not in one, not in three, but in thousands of directions.
— We no longer rule time, — Watery said, gazing into the new worlds.
— We are neither its servants nor its masters anymore, — Empty added.
— We are possibility. We are the choice that will always be there for those who seek their own path, — Emiren finished.
And the world began to change.