The Silver Tree had fallen silent again. Its branches no longer trembled, and the light flowing through its bark had settled into a steady, even current. The balance that had been disrupted was restored—but was it the same as before?
Emiren felt the change.
He stood beneath the tree’s canopy, staring into the darkness that still lingered at the edge of reality. It seemed that after the intervention of the One Who Guards Balance, everything should have returned to its usual rhythm. Yet instead, a new silence had emerged—not one of peace, but of tension, as if the world was holding its breath before something unknown.
— This is not the end, — Ardalys whispered, stepping closer.
Emiren nodded.
— We opened doors, and he only closed one of them. But how many remain open?
— Are they even doors? — Ardalys’s voice was pensive. — Perhaps the world has always been this way, and we simply never saw its fullness.
Emiren did not answer. He sensed something shifting in the air.
The darkness beyond the Eternal Garden no longer approached, but neither did it disappear. It did not consume the light, nor did it threaten destruction. It simply was. And someone was on the other side.
A Voice Through the Silence
When the voice spoke, it did not sound—it was felt, like the wind touching the skin, like the brush of a thought that had yet to take shape in words.
— You have learned to open. But have you learned to listen?
Ardalys stepped back.
— Who is this?
Emiren did not sense danger, only curiosity.
— Those who stand beyond the boundary, — he answered. — We knew we were not alone.
— But who are they?
The darkness stirred but did not move forward.
— We are not your enemies. We are not your friends. We are only those who have always been here.
Emiren realized that they were not trying to break into reality. They were waiting. They were watching.
— You observe us?
— We observe the world. You are only a part of it.
His mind contracted and expanded at the same time, as if struggling to grasp a different way of existence.
But what did they want?
A Meeting at the Edge of Reality
Emiren took a step forward, approaching the boundary of light and shadow.
— If you are not part of our world, why speak now?
— Because you have begun to hear.
He felt something touch his consciousness—not roughly, not with hostility, but like the faint reflection of a thought that could become part of his own.
— You have expanded the world. We felt it. And now we are curious—what will you do next?
Emiren turned to Ardalys, but he seemed as if he had not heard the words, only sensed their presence.
— We can no longer simply stand aside, — Emiren said. — If the world is changing, we must learn to live in it.
— Then live.
The voice of Those Who Stand Beyond the Boundary was neither human nor alien. It was part of everything.
The darkness began to condense, forming something that was not a body, yet no longer merely a presence. They were taking shape—but not as the Unspoken Ones had. The Unspoken had longed to exist, had sought names. Those who stood beyond the boundary desired nothing—they simply were.
— We will go with you, if you allow it.
— For what purpose?
— To see. To understand.
Emiren was silent for a long time.
He understood that this was the next step. The Eternal Garden could no longer be an isolated island in time. That which existed beyond its borders would no longer remain silent.
— Come. But know this—we are watching, too.
And then, they stepped into the light.