The northern tower stood in the middle of a nameless valley.
The structure soared through the black clouds.
There was no door.
No windows.
Only a single stone staircase spiraled around the tower all the way to its peak.
Aelion stood beneath it.
Someone was up there.
Himself.
The man did not move.
Yet Aelion could feel his gaze.
“He’s waiting for me.”
Lyra stood beside him.
“Looks like it.”
Aelion sighed.
“The more versions of myself I meet, the less I understand who I am.”
Lyra smiled.
“At least your faces are consistent.”
Aelion gave a small laugh.
“You can still joke.”
“I’m scared.”
Aelion turned to her.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Lyra gazed at the tower.
“But if I stop joking, I might start crying.”
Aelion fell silent.
He reached out his hand.
Lyra took it.
They began climbing the stairs.
The first floor was empty.
So was the second.
The third floor was filled with statues.
Every statue depicted Aelion.
Some were fighting.
Some were ruling a kingdom.
Some were holding flowers.
Some were kneeling before Lyra.
But the higher they climbed...
the more the statues changed.
Aelion began to be depicted alone.
There was no kingdom.
No army.
No Lyra.
Only him.
On the ninth floor...
a statue stood with a sword buried in its chest.
Lyra stopped.
“Don’t look.”
Aelion looked at her.
“That might be the past.”
“Exactly.”
She touched Aelion’s hand.
“Don’t let the past decide the future.”
Aelion nodded.
They continued upward.
On the twentieth floor...
a voice rang out.
“Stop.”
Aelion immediately raised his hand.
They stopped.
The voice came from the wall.
“Who’s there?”
There was no answer.
Then the wall turned into a mirror.
Aelion saw himself.
But the reflection did not follow his movements.
The reflection spoke.
“You’re too late.”
Aelion frowned.
“For what?”
“To save the world.”
“I still have time.”
The reflection smiled.
“How much?”
Aelion said nothing.
“Twenty-seven days.”
The reflection shook its head.
“Twenty-six.”
Aelion froze.
“What?”
“Today is almost over.”
Aelion looked at the sky through the gap in the stairs.
It was true.
The moon had shifted.
The third day was nearly over.
The reflection said:
“Every time you’re in the first world, time in Elarion keeps moving.”
Aelion clenched his fist.
“Then I have to hurry.”
“On the contrary.”
“What?”
“Don’t rush.”
The reflection touched the surface of the mirror.
“Because the person you want to defeat...”
It smiled.
“...already knows your every move.”
The mirror shattered.
CRASH!
The shards transformed into black birds.
The birds flew toward the summit.
Aelion watched them.
“He wants us to keep climbing.”
Lyra nodded.
“Why?”
Aelion answered:
“Because the answer is up there.”
They reached the thirtieth floor.
There was a door there.
The door was made of crystal.
There was no handle.
Only a single sentence.
ONLY THE ONE WHO REMEMBERS CAN ENTER.
Aelion touched it.
Nothing happened.
Lyra tried.
The door remained closed.
Aelion frowned.
“The one who remembers.”
He closed his eyes.
He tried to remember his past.
The first time he met Lyra.
His first day at the palace.
Magic training.
Their journeys together.
But the door did not move.
Then he remembered something older.
Seraphine.
The first world.
Betrayal.
Her death.
The door trembled.
Lyra looked at him.
“Keep going.”
Aelion tried to go deeper.
He saw himself as a little boy.
Then a teenager.
Then a king.
Then a soldier.
Then...
a man standing beneath the moon.
Lyra stood before him.
The first version.
The woman said:
“If you truly love me, never turn back time.”
Aelion opened his eyes.
The door opened.
Beyond the door...
a man sat in a chair.
Aelion.
But different from the one they had seen before.
There was no crown.
No wounds.
He wore simple clothes.
His hair was long.
His face looked utterly exhausted.
His eyes...
were filled with sorrow.
Lyra stared at him.
“Who are you?”
The man smiled.
“I’m the last Aelion.”
Aelion frowned.
“The last?”
“Yes.”
“How many versions of me are there?”
“Countless.”
Aelion stepped closer.
“Why are you crying?”
The man looked at him.
“Because I’ve tried everything.”
“What?”
“Every possibility.”
He stood.
“I tried saving the first world.”
“Failed.”
“Saving Elarion.”
“Failed.”
“Saving Lyra.”
“Failed.”
“Saving myself.”
The man gave a bitter smile.
“That failed the worst.”
Aelion fell silent.
“Then what’s left?”
The man answered:
“Forgetting.”
Aelion stared at him.
“Forgetting?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“By erasing every version of Aelion from history.”
Lyra stepped forward.
“No.”
The man looked at her.
“That’s how it’s done.”
“If Aelion is erased...”
“Reality will no longer have a reason to collide with itself.”
Aelion understood.
“Because I’m the link.”
“Correct.”
“So if I never existed...”
“The first world remains dead.”
“Elarion remains alive.”
Lyra shook her head.
“And him?”
The man answered:
“He never existed.”
Lyra looked at Aelion.
Aelion did not move.
The man continued:
“On the thirtieth day, if you choose to erase yourself, everyone will forget you.”
“Lyra too.”
“Yes.”
“And if I don’t?”
“The two worlds will collide.”
“How many will die?”
The man looked at him.
“Everyone.”
Aelion clenched his fist.
“Always two choices.”
“Because those are the only choices you’ve ever looked for.”
Aelion stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
The man walked closer.
“You always ask how to save the world.”
He stopped directly in front of Aelion.
“But you never ask...”
He pointed to his chest.
“...why saving the world has to require someone’s sacrifice.”
Aelion fell silent.
So did Lyra.
The man smiled.
“That was the first mistake.”
Aelion glared at him.
“Then answer me.”
“Answer what?”
“How do I stop all of this?”
The man pointed at the sky.
“Beyond this world are seven pillars of reality.”
Aelion listened.
“Six have been damaged.”
“And the seventh?”
“Still intact.”
“Where?”
The man pointed to Aelion’s chest.
“Inside you.”
Aelion was stunned.
“Impossible.”
“Because you are the seventh pillar.”
Lyra looked at Aelion.
“So your power...”
“Yes.”
The man nodded.
“Moon Elves are not an ordinary race.”
“They are the guardians of the pillars of reality.”
Aelion began to understand everything.
“So as long as I’m alive...”
“The first world will always have a way back.”
“And if I die?”
“The path will close.”
Lyra asked:
“Then why don’t we move the pillar?”
The man looked at her.
For the first time...
he smiled.
“That’s the third choice.”
Aelion stared at him.
“What?”
“Move the pillar.”
“Where?”
The man pointed at Lyra.
“Into her.”
Aelion immediately shook his head.
“No.”
Lyra fell silent.
“Why?”
“Because she can’t bear it.”
The man nodded.
“Correct.”
“If we force it?”
“She’ll die.”
Aelion answered firmly:
“No.”
Lyra looked at him.
“Aelion.”
“No.”
“We don’t even know...”
“I said no.”
The man smiled.
“You’re still the same.”
Aelion stared at him.
“She’s not a tool.”
“I know.”
“She’s not a sacrifice.”
“I know.”
“So don’t ever mention that choice again.”
The man lowered his head.
“All right.”
Then he said:
“Because that isn’t the third choice.”
Aelion froze.
“Then what is?”
The man looked at them.
“The third choice is...”
He pointed at the two worlds.
“...to make both of them stop needing a pillar.”
A map appeared.
Two worlds were visible.
Elarion.
The first world.
A line of light lay between them.
CHRONOS RIFT.
The man said:
“As long as the two worlds consider themselves separate realities, they’ll keep colliding.”
Aelion began to understand.
“If they become one...”
“Correct.”
Lyra stared at the map.
“But that would destroy history.”
“Yes.”
“Everyone might change.”
“Yes.”
“Even us?”
The man nodded.
“Everything that ever happened would become a single new history.”
Aelion fell silent.
“And my memories?”
“They might disappear.”
“Lyra?”
“She might never know you.”
Lyra looked at Aelion.
“But at least she’ll still be alive.”
The man shook his head.
“Not necessarily.”
Aelion stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because merging two worlds requires an anchor.”
“Me?”
“No.”
He looked at Lyra.
“Her.”
Aelion immediately stood.
“No.”
“If the two worlds merge, someone has to bear witness to both histories.”
“Why Lyra?”
“Because she is not bound by the laws of time.”
Aelion frowned.
“What does that mean?”
The man looked at Lyra.
“Lyra isn’t from Elarion.”
The room suddenly fell silent.
Lyra stared at him.
“What?”
“You’re from the first world.”
Aelion froze.
Lyra shook her head.
“No.”
The man continued:
“Your memories were erased when the first world collapsed.”
“Who am I?”
The man answered:
“You are the first witness.”
Lyra stepped back.
Aelion took her hand.
“Don’t believe him.”
The man smiled.
“Then see for yourself.”
He raised his hand.
A circle of light appeared.
An image of the past took shape.
A little girl stood before the palace of the first world.
The girl was...
Lyra.
She wore royal clothes.
Seraphine stood beside her.
And the first Aelion knelt before her.
Aelion watched the image.
His chest felt tight.
Little Lyra said:
“One day, I’ll go to another world.”
The first Aelion answered:
“And I’ll find you.”
The image changed.
Lyra stood before a gate.
She was crying.
Seraphine embraced her.
Then a spell erased all her memories.
The first Aelion stood far away.
Crying.
The image ended.
Lyra covered her mouth.
Tears streamed down her face.
“I...”
She couldn’t speak.
Aelion held her shoulders.
“Lyra.”
“I’m from here.”
Aelion did not answer.
Lyra looked at him.
“So when I met you...”
Aelion answered softly:
“...we had actually met before.”
Lyra cried.
“I don’t remember.”
“It’s okay.”
“Why?”
“Because now I know.”
Aelion wiped away her tears.
“And I’ll still choose you.”
Lyra looked at him.
“No matter who I was before?”
Aelion smiled.
“I don’t love your memories.”
He held her hand.
“I love you.”
The man before them lowered his head.
“Finally.”
Aelion looked at him.
“What?”
“That sentence.”
The man smiled.
“That’s the sentence every one of my versions always failed to say.”
Aelion frowned.
“Why?”
“Because they were too busy trying to save the world.”
He looked at Lyra.
“You two found the answer instead.”
Aelion asked:
“So what do we have to do?”
The man pointed at the tower.
“Find the seven pillars.”
“Six are damaged.”
“Correct.”
“How do we repair them?”
“By gathering the seven shards of time.”
Aelion nodded.
“Where?”
The man smiled.
“Each shard is in a different world.”
Lyra asked:
“How long?”
“If you succeed...”
He looked at the clock.
“...twenty-seven days.”
Aelion drew a breath.
“And if we fail?”
The man looked at him.
“The thirtieth day will come.”
“And the world will choose.”
Aelion held Lyra’s hand.
“Then let’s begin.”
But before they could leave...
the man called out to Aelion.
“Aelion.”
He turned.
“Yes?”
“If you meet me again...”
Aelion waited.
“...don’t trust me.”
Aelion frowned.
“Why?”
The man smiled sadly.
“Because by then...”
His eyes turned black.
“...I might no longer be myself.”
Aelion was startled.
A fracture appeared across the man’s body.
He fell to his knees.
Lyra stepped back.
“What’s happening?”
The man bit his lip.
“He found me.”
“Who?”
The man looked at Aelion.
“The real one.”
His body began to change.
Black eyes.
Fractures spreading.
Another voice emerged from his mouth.
“That’s enough.”
Aelion raised his sword.
The man screamed:
“RUN!”
An explosion erupted.
BOOOOOOM!
The entire tower collapsed.
Aelion pulled Lyra along.
They leaped out.
Stones fell.
The tower was destroyed.
But from the middle of the rubble...
a black shadow rose.
The first Aelion.
But not the first Aelion they knew.
His body was now covered in black fractures.
His eyes were empty.
He looked at Aelion.
“You shouldn’t have come.”
Aelion raised his sword.
“Who are you?”
The figure smiled.
“I’m the part you threw away.”
Aelion froze.
The figure continued:
“I’m all the pain you erased so you could love Lyra.”
Lyra looked at Aelion.
Aelion could not move.
The figure raised his hand.
The sky split open.
Six worlds appeared beyond it.
Six pillars.
Six shards.
Then everything began to collapse.
“If you want to save the world...”
The figure smiled.
“...you must first defeat yourself.”
Aelion gripped his sword.
Moonlight blazed.
But before he could attack...
a message appeared in the sky.
DAY 4 OF 30.
Then a second message.
THE FIRST WORLD HAS AWAKENED.
And finally...
THE HUNT BEGINS.
Aelion stared at the six collapsing worlds.
Then he looked at Lyra.
“Ready?”
Lyra squeezed his hand.
“As long as you don’t let go of me.”
Aelion smiled.
“I won’t.”
They stepped toward the first fracture.
Without knowing that the first world...
had already sent something to pursue them.
Something they could not fight with a sword.
Something they could not kill with magic.
Something with only one goal:
to make Aelion forget why he wanted to live.
To be continued.