A Foreboding Presence
The city they had saved from chaos seemed calm, but Emiren could sense a subtle fracture at its core, invisible to the ordinary eye. It wasn’t just a remnant of the changes they had brought—it was something deeper, as if the world itself had yet to decide whether to accept the new order.
“Something is wrong,” Flamen said, looking up at the sky.
The clouds, which had previously drifted smoothly as if following the harmony of the new time, now moved in erratic jolts, froze in place, and then vanished, as if swallowed by an invisible vortex.
“Are these lingering echoes of past possibilities?” Watery asked.
“No,” Hollow said. “This is something else. These are scars.”
Emiren clenched his fists. He saw these scars in the very air, in the walls of buildings, in the reflections on the river’s surface. They did not merely affect the world—they were now a part of its new reality. And if left unchecked, the city might unravel once more.
The Fracture Awakens
The streets seemed deserted, though they knew the city was inhabited. People behaved as if sensing something unseen—they stayed in the light and avoided narrow alleys where the shadows seemed unnaturally dense.
“The darkness has grown thicker,” Shade said, watching the blackened corners.
Emiren approached one such area. It was not ordinary—this darkness was not merely an absence of light; it devoured it.
“This isn’t just a shadow,” he said. “It’s something more.”
Flamen reached out his hand, but the darkness quivered, almost alive, and retreated.
“It avoids us,” he whispered.
“Or it’s waiting,” Hollow said.
And then, the ground trembled beneath their feet.
The Twilight Rift
A fissure split the stone pavement, and a swirling mass of black mist erupted from it. At first, it appeared to be dust, but then it thickened, taking form.
Figures emerged—humanoid in shape, but faceless. They were not merely creatures; they were remnants of erased possibilities, fragments of worlds that never came to be.
“The Forgotten,” Shade whispered.
One of the figures reached out toward Emiren. He felt its touch graze his mind, as if attempting to weave itself into his memories.
“They are searching for a place in reality,” Watery said.
“And if they find it,” Flamen added, “the city will change again.”
But this time, not by their will.
A Rift Between Worlds
Emiren raised his hand, summoning a surge of energy that cut through the space between them and the Shadows. Light burst from his fingertips, tearing through the darkness, and for a moment, it seemed the figures would disappear.
But they did not.
Instead, one of them spoke.
“You created a world where we have no place,” its voice echoed with a thousand whispers.
“You left us behind,” another murmured.
“But we are still here.”
Flamen turned to Emiren.
“We cannot simply destroy them. That would mean… rejecting a part of ourselves.”
Emiren realized his friend was right. These were not just shadows—they were alternative versions of themselves, reflections of who they could have become had they made different choices.
“Then we must find another way,” he said.
But the shadows did not wait.
One of them stepped forward and dissolved—only to reappear behind them.
“They can bypass the laws of space,” Hollow observed, dodging an attack.
“Which means they are not bound to a single reality,” Watery said. “We cannot simply trap them here.”
Emiren closed his eyes, seeking a connection to the Eternal Garden. If there was anywhere they could find an answer, it was there.
A Choice That Will Define Everything
The Silver Tree responded to his call.
He sensed the delicate threads of time unraveling before him, offering paths.
“We can offer them a new space,” he said. “A world between worlds.”
“But what if they refuse?” Flamen asked.
“Then they will tear this world apart.”
Silence.
The Shadows remained motionless, but their presence grew denser.
“You abandoned us,” the many-voiced whisper repeated.
“We cannot give you this world,” Emiren said. “But we can create a new one for you.”
He reached out to the Silver Tree, and its branches glowed. In the center of the square, a portal appeared—an entrance to a space that had not existed before, a place where they could become real.
The Shadows hesitated.
“You are giving us a chance?”
“We are giving you a choice.”
They hesitated only for a moment.
Then, one by one, they stepped into the new world.
When the last figure vanished, the city became whole again.
Emiren lowered his hand.
“Another knot of time has been secured,” he said.
Flamen exhaled.
“But how many more are there?”
Emiren looked toward the horizon.
“We will find out.”
Their journey was far from over.