As the light beyond the Door faded, the Creators found themselves standing at the edge of the Final Reality—a realm beyond the limits of ordinary time. Everything here felt both familiar and alien.
The sky was fragmented, like shattered mirrors reflecting different moments in history. Some showed events that had already happened, while others displayed moments that had yet to come—or might never come at all.
The ground was an endless watery surface, solid enough to walk upon, yet every step sent ripples that did not fade but became part of the reality’s structure.
At the very center of this world stood the Gate of Reflections—the last barrier between them and the truth they sought.
— This place… it no longer follows our laws, — murmured Watery, touching the shifting ground beneath his fingers.
— This is a trial set by time itself, — said Empty. — Here, we will not only see what was or what will be, but also what could have been if we had made different choices.
— Perhaps this is the true essence of the Eternal Garden—it does not merely preserve time but reflects all its possibilities, — Emiren added.
Approaching the Gate
As they took their first steps toward the Gate of Reflections, the space around them began to shift. Each of the Creators saw three silhouettes before them—reflections of themselves, yet different:
1. The Shadow of Past Choices—a version of themselves that they could have become had they chosen differently.
2. The Embodiment of the Ideal—what they had always aspired to be but never became.
3. The Hollow Image—their essence stripped of everything, without name, without fate, without choice.
— Is this… us? — Flamen whispered, staring at his own reflections.
— It is us, and yet, it is not, — Empty replied.
Then, the voices of the reflections spoke.
— Do you regret your choices? — asked the Shadow of Past Choices.
— You will never become what you dreamed of. Can you accept that? — said the Embodiment of the Ideal.
— And what if you are nothing but an empty shell? — whispered the Hollow Image.
The Trial of Truth
To pass through the Gate, each of the Creators had to give an answer.
Flamen looked at his Shadow and said:
— I have no regrets. My past is only a part of me, not my fate.
His Shadow dissolved.
He turned to his Ideal and spoke:
— I may never become what I once dreamed of, but that does not make me any less.
The Ideal vanished.
Finally, he faced the Hollow Image and declared:
— Even if I am empty, I am the one who fills myself with meaning.
The Image shattered, and his path opened.
Watery approached his reflections and heard the same questions.
— I accept my choices as they are, — he told his Shadow.
— I do not need to be perfect to be real, — he said to the Ideal.
— I change, but that does not make me lesser, — he answered the Hollow Image.
His path opened as well.
Empty stood in silence before his reflections. He did not speak for a long time, but at last, he whispered:
— I would not exist if not for my choices. Even if I am empty, I create myself.
All three reflections faded.
Opening the Gate
As the Creators gave their answers, the Gate of Reflections trembled and dissolved, revealing the final passage.
Before them appeared the Ultimate Key, glowing with pure light.
— This is it… — whispered Emiren.
— The final choice, — Flamen added.
— The truth about ourselves, — Empty concluded.
They stepped forward, knowing that now their journey would lead them to the most important moment of all.