When the three returned, the world trembled. The Eternal Garden, still wavering on the edge of stability, froze as if trying to comprehend their new nature. The Silver Tree, which had watched their choice, swayed its branches, releasing a shimmering dust into the air.
But something was wrong.
The Changed Ones
Emiren observed those who had walked the paths beyond reality. Their essence had changed, but not just in form. Something in their eyes, in their movements, in the echoes of their voices felt… different.
— You have returned, — he said, but he was not sure if they were truly the same.
The one who had walked the Path of Lost Fire now glowed red, as if a long-extinguished sun was burning within him. His shadow no longer followed him—it walked beside him, separate yet still a part of him.
— I saw what never came to pass, — he said. — And I took one thing from it.
The one who had walked the Path of Mirrored Watery now seemed transparent, as though his body was composed of reflections of himself. His eyes were bottomless, showing countless variations of the same face, shifting depending on the angle of view.
— I retrieved what was lost, — he whispered. — But now I no longer know who I am.
The one who had walked the Path of the Void stood in silence. His body was incomplete—sometimes solid, sometimes dissolving, as if reality itself had yet to decide what he truly was.
— I created myself, — he finally said. — But am I real?
The Disrupted Balance
The Silver Tree reacted first. Its leaves trembled, and then some of its branches began to change. Some darkened, others became translucent, while a few started glowing crimson.
— The world does not accept you as you are, — murmured the Keeper.
Emiren felt it too. The currents of time, which had once obeyed certain laws, were now shifting, twisting, intertwining in unfathomable knots. Events that were meant to happen suddenly changed course; memories intertwined with things that had never occurred.
— You have become something… beyond the boundaries, — Ardalys spoke cautiously. — And now reality is trying to correct it.
— Correct? — The one who had come from Fire smiled. — Or erase?
The Birth of a New Power
Three seeds broke away from the Silver Tree. They hovered in the air as if searching for someone, then fell directly at the feet of the changed ones.
— The Eternal Garden is responding, — said Emiren.
One by one, they bent down and took the seeds. And the moment they did—the world trembled once more.
The Fireborn changed first. His body grew even more saturated with red light, and around him, shadows of alternate versions of himself began to emerge. They moved beside him, watching, but did not interfere.
— I am no longer alone, — he said.
The Watery merged with the river, and for a moment, his form dissolved before solidifying again. Now his body was smooth, like a mirrored surface reflecting not just the world around him but the thoughts of those who looked at him.
— I am what others see in me, — he whispered.
The Voidborn became whole. His contours no longer shifted, but behind him, darkness appeared—not as an absence of light, but as a space yet to be filled.
— I can create.
The Decision
The Keepers exchanged anxious glances.
— They have become… something else, — said Ardalys.
— They have become those who can create the new, — Emiren countered.
And it was the truth. The Eternal Garden was no longer just a place of preserving time. Now, it had become a place where time could be changed.
— If we stay, — said the one who was Fire, — we will destroy the old order.
— If we leave, — said the one who was Watery, — we will create a new world.
— If we remain between worlds, — said the one who was Void, — we will become something that has never existed before.
Their choice would change everything.
The world held its breath, waiting for an answer.