Emiren stood alone among the trees, which, though in bloom, still had a shadow in their branches. He felt how the shadows of this place were changing, how something dark was awakening within the Garden of Time itself. It wasn’t long ago that harmony had reigned here, but now he saw how each day, each hour, slipped away like sand that was beyond his reach. Yet, he didn’t know that the moment of decisive choice had already come.
After his conversation with Meresa, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Her words, though calm in tone, seemed to carry unspoken, dangerous truths. Meresa was right in some ways — sacrifices like Aliana’s changed everything, but they weren’t necessarily the answer. Instead of continuing the battle, Emiren decided to seek another path — one where he would understand what was happening to the Garden and why time, this living organism, couldn’t find peace.
He ventured deeper into the Garden, to the place where the flow of time was different. Here, time moved in strange ways. It was a place abandoned, tangled, filled with dark lines of time that wove together, like a chaotic knot of memories and hopes.
At the very center of this chaos stood an ancient arch, leading to an unknown place. No one dared enter here, as it was believed this place devoured those who tried to understand it, leaving them with nothing but fragments. The walls of the arch were covered with inscriptions in a strange language, growing rustier with each passing year. At that moment, Emiren realized that his path was not just about helping the Garden or fighting for its survival; it was about understanding what these dark corners of reality were hiding.
As he crossed the arch, he entered an open meadow, where there was no sign of life. But before him, an image suddenly appeared — one he had not expected. It was a figure resembling him, but altered, darkened, and disturbed. The eyes of this stranger were deep, filled with glowing dark droplets of time, as if the branches of the tree had become part of its essence.
“You have come to me, as many have before you,” the voice was deep and sorrowful, like the echo of a past that knew no redemption. “You want to stop this darkness, but you are part of it. What you seek is already within you.”
Emiren took a few steps forward. “Who are you?” he asked, trying to hide his unease.
“I am the dark branch that grows from your doubt, your fears, and your choices. I am the reflection of what you may become if you continue down the path Aliana chose.”
Emiren felt his heart race. “You cannot be part of me. I am not like that.”
The dark figure laughed. “But you already are. You long to know, yet fear what you will discover. You still think you can avoid the darkness. But time is not what you think it is.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, no longer able to hide the sense of anxiety that gripped him. It was too close to his own essence.
“You want to fight time, you want to fix all the mistakes and remove the dark branches. But you do not understand: these branches are part of the tree. You cannot remove them without removing yourself.”
Emiren felt his mind begin to waver. This was the truth he had tried to avoid. The dark branches were part of him, part of the Garden. And he was the one who could change it.
With a deep breath, he stepped forward, ready to face whatever followed from this dark mirror of his soul.