A Foreboding of Change
Emiren stood by the Silver Tree for a long time, gazing at its branches, which swayed slightly in the light that was no longer the same as before. After the storm had passed, Eternity had taken on a new sound—a subtle, almost imperceptible hum. But he could hear it.
Flamen stepped closer, carefully scanning the space around them.
“It should have calmed down,” he said. “But I feel… something different.”
“Is it the echoes of the storm?” Empty asked, his voice quieter than usual.
Emiren closed his eyes, listening. The space that had seemed harmonious just moments ago was shifting. Deep within time, beyond where their eyes could reach, something was stirring.
“No,” he finally said, opening his eyes. “It’s not echoes. It’s a voice.”
“A voice?” Watery asked, puzzled.
“Someone is calling. And this voice is coming neither from the past nor the future. It exists outside of what we understand as time.”
Flamen waved his hand, tracing fine lines of energy in the air that connected into symbols.
“If that’s true, then this voice isn’t just seeking us. It’s looking for a way into our Eternity.”
The Silver Tree shuddered.
The Threshold Beyond Reality
They moved deeper into the Eternal Garden, toward the places where the boundaries of space had always been unstable. The trees here grew differently than in other parts—their branches intertwined, forming intricate pathways leading into the unknown.
As they stepped further, the world began to change. The branches transformed into translucent spirals, and between them, shadows emerged—not dark ones, but those that reflected possibilities that did not yet exist.
“We’re getting close,” Empty whispered.
“To what?” Watery asked.
“To a place that has no defined time.”
Emiren felt something envelop them, shifting the very fabric of reality. And then, they saw it.
Before them, amid the entwined branches, an expanse opened that was neither light nor dark. At its center, a shadow wavered—not human, not divine, but something in between. It had no form, yet it had a voice.
“Do you hear me?” the voice spoke, both distant and close, as if it echoed through centuries.
Flamen cautiously rested his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Who are you?”
“I am the one who should not be, and the one who already exists.”
Watery tilted his head, listening intently.
“This is not just a shadow. This is… an echo of the future?”
Emiren took a step forward.
“Why are you calling us?”
The shadow trembled, its contours shifting, and suddenly, flashes of images appeared around them—worlds they had never known, events yet to happen, choices yet to be made.
“Because your Eternity is not the only one,” the voice said. “And what you have created has consequences beyond its borders.”
The Crossroads of Choice
Silence enveloped them. Flamen studied the flickering images around them.
“Is this a warning?”
“This is the truth,” the shadow replied. “You have altered the flow of time, but not just your own. There are other Eternities, other worlds intertwined. And now, one of these intersections may destroy everything.”
Empty crossed his arms.
“If we interfere, we might disrupt the balance.”
“If you do not interfere, the balance will collapse without you.”
Emiren looked at the Silver Tree behind them. Its leaves trembled, as if awaiting a decision.
“What is the price of this choice?” he asked.
The shadow shifted again.
“If you follow me, you will step into a world where your rules do not apply. If you stay, you risk not seeing what is already beginning to unravel your Eternity.”
Watery exhaled heavily.
“Another choice, another possibility.”
Emiren met the eyes of his companions.
“We have already decided the fate of Eternity. But perhaps its shaping is not yet complete.”
Flamen grinned.
“And when has that ever stopped us?”
Empty nodded.
“Then we follow the voice.”
Emiren reached out, touching the shadow.
The world shattered into fragments of light and darkness, and they stepped into the unknown.