Kael stood at the edge of the golden path, the broken clock heavy in his palm. The Rift hummed quietly around him—its endless corridors of time folding inward like a sleeping beast.
When Aeris appeared, her eyes wide with shock and hope, the world seemed to still.
They moved toward each other, cautious, wary—two halves of a shattered whole finally finding their way back.
But the Rift was never kind to reunions.
As Aeris knelt beside him, the compass beneath their feet glowed brighter, then projected a translucent figure—a spectral judge with eyes like galaxies.
The voice echoed, deep and cold.
"To proceed, you must answer—What binds you?Fate?Choice?Or something… beyond?"
Kael exchanged a glance with Aeris. The question felt heavier than any battle.
"It's not fate," Aeris said, voice steady despite the trembling in her hands. "We didn't choose each other because the stars told us to."
"Nor was it choice alone," Kael added. "Choices can be undone, rewritten. But this—us—is more."
The judge's eyes shimmered, waiting.
Aeris took Kael's hand.
"It's trust. And forgiveness. The courage to keep moving forward, even when time tries to tear us apart."
Kael nodded.
"It's love—messy, flawed, impossible to predict. The one force no timeline can control."
The Rift's light pulsed, then softened.
The judge spoke one last time:
"Then go.But remember—the Rift tests all bonds. It will ask again, in different forms, until it knows.Your future is not safe.But it is yours."
The spectral figure dissolved into stardust.
The golden path stretched forward, brighter now.
Kael and Aeris rose, side by side.
"Together?" Aeris asked.
"Always."
Hand in hand, they stepped forward—ready to face whatever the Rift threw next.