Time is not a line stretching into infinity, nor an endless wheel spinning. It is a garden, vast and boundless, where every branch of a tree represents a possibility, every leaf a choice, and every fruit a consequence. In this garden dwell those who can touch it, feel it, and even change it. They are the Creators of Eternity.
The Awakening of Emiren
The sun had not yet touched the horizon when Emiren awoke in an unfamiliar place. He lay on a soft moss carpet that glowed with a faint green light. Around him, trees rose, each unlike the other: some had silver leaves, others seemed made of crystal, and still others appeared woven from pure flame. Yet all of them radiated an indescribable warmth and tranquility.
“Where am I?” he whispered, rising to his feet.
The answer came unexpectedly. Right before him, a tree branch shot up, growing at the speed of lightning. The leaves changed several times: from young buds to fallen, dry pieces. At the end of the branch appeared a fruit—golden, resembling a pearl.
Emiren instinctively reached out to touch it, but a voice, low and deep, stopped him.
“Do not touch it unless you are ready for the consequences.”
Emiren spun around. Before him stood a man dressed in a long cloak that shimmered with all the colors of dawn. His eyes glowed with the same soft light as the trees.
“Who are you?” Emiren asked. “And where are we?”
“I am Ardalys, the guardian of this garden,” the stranger replied. “And this place is the Eternal Garden. Here, branches of time are born and die.”
The Garden of Choices
Emiren looked around more carefully now. The trees grew chaotically, yet there was a certain harmony in this chaos. Pathways wound between them, leading in different directions, but none were straight.
“Why am I here?” Emiren asked.
Ardalys gazed at him thoughtfully.
“Because you are a Creator. One of the few who can see time as it truly is. But seeing is not enough. You must decide whether you are ready to shape it.”
A chill ran down Emiren’s spine. His life had been ordinary until this point. He was a simple blacksmith in a small village, where everything seemed stable and predictable. But now these words felt like a distant memory of someone else’s life.
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about,” he said. “How can I shape time?”
Ardalys smiled, but there was more sorrow than joy in his smile.
“Time is not something fixed. Every decision you make creates a new branch, every action you take changes the garden. But there are those who merely walk its paths, and those who can plant the seeds. You are of the latter.”
The Fate of the Branch
Ardalys extended his hand towards a tree with crystal leaves. One of its fruits glowed brighter, and before Emiren appeared a vision: in the village where he lived, a storm raged, destroying everything in its path. People ran, screaming, trying to save their loved ones.
“This is what could have happened if you had made one of the decisions in the past,” Ardalys explained. “But it didn’t happen. Because your choice was different.”
Emiren froze, feeling his heart pounding in his chest.
“And what now?”
“You must decide which branch to nurture and which to let die. But remember: every choice has a cost.”
The First Step
Emiren looked at the paths before him. They led in different directions, disappearing among the trees. His choice was no longer just his own—it had become part of something larger.
“I am ready,” he said, though his voice trembled.
Ardalys nodded and disappeared, dissolving into the light. Before Emiren remained only the garden, quietly whispering its secrets.
Emiren took his first step, not knowing what lay ahead, but feeling that there was no turning back.