The Garden of Time breathed in the darkness. The trees, towering high above, appeared as giant silhouettes swaying to the rhythm of invisible currents of time. Their leaves glimmered with a silvery light, as if reflecting the echoes of events that had already passed or were yet to come. But within this natural flow, there was a place where harmony had been broken.
Emiren walked down a narrow path, keeping his hand on the hilt of his sword. After his encounter with the shadow, he did not allow himself any moment of inattention. Something had awakened in the Garden. Something dangerous.
His footsteps were almost inaudible. The soft ground absorbed the sound, and the wind carried only the distant whispers of the leaves. Yet, even in this silence, he felt he was not alone.
He stopped.
Before him, the path split into two. The left road led deeper into the Garden, where the trees grew closer, intertwining their branches into a vaulted canopy that allowed no light to penetrate. The right path descended into the roots of the Tree of Time, to a place where no one dared to venture.
His hand tightened around the hilt of his sword. The choice did not seem simple.
The past remembered everything.
The shadows of the ancient Creators wandered between the roots, echoing through the shattered branches of time. Their voices were almost inaudible, but with every step Emiren took, they whispered louder.
— You’re going the wrong way… — whispered the first voice, like the rustling of autumn leaves.
— You’ve come too late… — another voice, warm, but filled with bitterness.
Emiren did not stop.
The roots of the Tree of Time resembled a labyrinth. Massive, knotted intertwining branches stretched deep into the earth, forming tunnels and passageways. Somewhere beneath the surface, the very essence of time pulsed.
He knew the Shadow would come again.
And it came.
The presence was felt before it was seen. The darkness thickened, creating a tension in the air. And then, among the roots, it appeared – a figure with no defined shape, rippling like smoke in an airless room.
— Time does not tolerate emptiness, — it hissed.
Emiren tightened his grip on the sword, the blade catching the faint reflection of the Garden’s silvery light.
— Who are you?
The Shadow did not respond. But this time, it did not remain motionless. It moved forward, approaching him.
When it touched the ground, the roots began to change. They darkened, cracked open, and sparked with dark energy, spreading like an infection.
Emiren did not wait.
He drew his sword and lunged forward.
The blade passed through the Shadow, but instead of cutting it, it stopped, as though it had hit something solid. Time shards flew off from the collision – silver fragments spinning in the air and dissipating.
The Shadow withdrew.
— You won’t be able to destroy me, — it whispered.
Emiren gritted his teeth.
— Then I will find a way.
The Shadow tilted its head, as though studying him. Then, slowly, it raised its hand, and new branches emerged from the earth—dark, twisted, covered in fire that didn’t burn, but consumed the very fabric of reality.
The roots reacted.
Emiren felt the ground tremble beneath him, as if the Tree of Time itself was struggling against this foreign presence. But something was wrong. These branches… they were part of the Garden. They had not come from outside.
— You want to understand? — asked the Shadow.
Emiren did not answer.
— Look.
The world tore apart.
He was back in the past.
But this time, the scene was different.
Before him stood someone. A tall man in silver robes, his eyes glowing with the same light he had seen in the tree leaves. His face was calm, but his gaze was filled with heavy resolve.
— We made a mistake, — he said.
His voice echoed through the space, repeating itself countless times.
— Time does not tolerate emptiness.
And then everything began to crumble.
Light faded, cities scattered like dust. The branches of time themselves snapped under the weight of their own existence.
Emiren understood.
This was not just an invasion. It was an attempt to fix something.
Or to destroy what could not be saved.
He opened his eyes.
The Shadow was gone.
But its words remained with him.
The roots of Time were no longer untouched. They had changed, branching out into other paths he could not yet see.
Emiren wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked up.
He knew this was only the beginning.