Two doors towered before them.
One—woven from light, its surface shimmering like still water under the sun. The other—woven from shadow, its darkness swallowing the light, creating the sensation of endless emptiness.
Flamen stepped forward first, reaching out toward the bright door.
— Why does it feel like there’s something familiar behind it? — he whispered.
— And behind this one, — the Hollow added, staring into the dark door, — there’s something I fear, but at the same time, something I long for.
Emiren remained silent.
These doors were not just a choice—they were testing each of them, pulling them toward different destinies. And he knew: the decision they made here would change everything.
A Voice from Beyond
— These are not just doors, — spoke the Threshold One, the entity that had emerged from the Heart of Time. Its voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere. — This is a boundary that no one has ever crossed.
— And what happens if we choose? — Emiren asked.
— One path leads to the truth, but those who learn it can never return. The other allows you to remain as you are.
— And what is this truth? — Flamen narrowed his eyes.
— Truth has no form, — the Threshold One replied. — It dissolves illusions, forcing you to see what is hidden. But once seen, it can never be forgotten.
Emiren looked at his companions.
— I won’t force you. But I’m going.
He reached out and touched the dark door.
A Step into the Unknown
The moment his fingers brushed the cold surface, darkness merged with his body. The space shattered like broken glass, and he fell…
But not downward.
He fell into the depths of existence.
Everything around him vanished—there was no space, no sound, not even his own body. Only pure, unbound thought.
— You have chosen the path of a creator, — a voice echoed.
Emiren felt something weaving into his consciousness—not words, but knowledge unfolding like an ancient scroll.
A vision appeared before him.
The World Before Time
He saw reality as it had been before Time existed.
A world with no beginning, no end, no division between past and future. Everything existed at once, woven into an infinite knot.
— Once, there was no garden, no branches. Only roots, intertwining to form eternity.
Emiren saw beings, similar to the Creators but greater, more powerful, touching these roots.
And then came a decision—to divide everything into flows, to create chronology, to give events direction.
— Time was never a law. It was a choice.
Emiren shuddered.
He had been taught that Time had always existed. That it was unbreakable, its flows immutable.
But now he saw otherwise.
Someone had created Time.
And that meant it could be changed.
Return to Reality
He felt something pull him back.
The darkness dissipated, and he was once again standing before the doors.
Flamen and the Hollow stood beside him, while the Threshold One observed with cold interest.
— Have you learned the truth? — it asked.
Emiren exhaled.
— Time can be changed. Not just shaped into branches. It can be broken and remade.
Flamen’s eyes widened.
— But if we do that… what will happen?
Emiren looked ahead, where the Heart of Time was still pulsing, weaving its streams together.
— We will become the ones who decide what happens next.
And in that moment, somewhere deep within reality, something shifted.