The air in the next shard was cold, and Aeris could feel the silence—like time had stopped breathing. This timeline wasn't broken…
…it was abandoned.
The city was suspended mid-motion—hovercars frozen in mid-air, raindrops unmoving like glass beads in space, citizens stuck in loops of half-spoken words.
Aeris walked through it all like a ghost in her own skin.
"Where are we?" she whispered.
The Spark appeared beside her, cloaked in white this time.
"A failed future. One where Kael tried to save you… and failed. Again and again. Until time itself chose to end before watching him try anymore."
They reached the center of the city—what used to be a clock tower.
Now it was him.
A monument of Kael, built from fractured gears and whispering hourglasses. His face etched in pain. His eyes empty.
A plaque at the base read:"To the One Who Waited Too Long."
Aeris trembled.
This was a timeline where Kael never gave up, and time had punished him for it.
Suddenly, the clock ticked. Once. Loud.
Then again.
And time unfroze.
The city exhaled.
A scream pierced the air.
And from behind her, a child ran toward her—a girl, maybe seven years old, glowing faintly with Rift energy in her veins.
"Mom!"
Aeris blinked.
"What…?"
The child threw her arms around her waist.
"You came back! You remembered! I knew you would!"
The Spark's eyes widened for the first time.
"This isn't possible," she muttered. "That child shouldn't exist…"
But Aeris was staring at the girl—hazel eyes, silver-streaked hair. Kael's smile.
"What's your name?" she asked, barely breathing.
The girl beamed.
"Lyra."
Aeris felt the world tilt.
Kael had a daughter. With her.
But when? Where?
Before Aeris could speak, the clock behind them screamed—a thousand ticking voices collapsing into rage.
The monument twisted, and Kael's stone face turned to her, moving. Bleeding.
"You left her behind," it whispered.
"You loved time more than family."
Lyra clutched Aeris's hand tighter, fear in her eyes.
The Spark stepped forward.
"This isn't a memory. This is a prophecy. A path yet unchosen. The Rift is showing you futures it wants you to shape."
Aeris turned to her.
"Then why show me this one?"
"Because now… you'll do anything to make it real."
But even as she held Lyra, the city began to fade—cracking like glass, disappearing piece by piece.
Lyra looked up at her, a tear slipping down her cheek.
"Don't forget me. Please."
Aeris tried to hold her.
"I won't—"
But the shard collapsed.
And Aeris woke up back in the void between timelines, gasping, empty arms clutched around nothing.
The Spark whispered:
"Now you understand… this isn't just about remembering love.It's about choosing the future that deserves to exist."