The room is too quiet.
Aria looks at Kael.
Then at the other Kael.
Two versions.
One past.
One future.
Her voice barely steady.
"…you let me die?"
Kael doesn't answer.
Future Kael does.
"Yes."
Jonas mutters.
"Man, this guy really ruins conversations."
Aria's eyes burn.
"Why?"
Future Kael sits up slowly.
Pain in every movement.
"Because keeping you alive breaks everything."
Aria shakes her head.
"That doesn't make sense."
Future Kael laughs weakly.
"It didn't to me either."
He looks at the younger Kael.
"You'll try everything."
Silence.
"You'll run."
Another pause.
"You'll fight the Keepers."
The creature listens.
Watching.
Future Kael continues.
"You'll break time again and again."
Aria whispers.
"…and then?"
His eyes soften.
Sad.
"Then you'll realize the truth."
Aria's chest tightens.
"What truth?"
Future Kael points toward the spreading cracks in reality.
The shadows pushing through.
"The universe doesn't want you alive."
The words hit like ice.
Aria steps back.
"…why?"
The creature answers.
"Because she is the fracture."
Everyone freezes.
Aria whispers.
"…what?"
The creature's voice echoes through the broken room.
"Her survival is the anomaly."
Elias steps forward slowly.
"That's impossible."
The creature continues.
"The moment she survived… reality began splitting."
The cracks grow wider.
More shadows pouring through.
Future Kael whispers.
"I tried to fix it."
Aria looks at him.
"How?"
His voice breaks.
"…by letting you die."
Silence crushes the room.
Aria's breathing becomes uneven.
"You killed me?"
Future Kael shakes his head quickly.
"No."
A long pause.
"I stepped aside."
The younger Kael finally speaks.
Cold.
"You won't."
Future Kael stares at him.
"You think that now."
The creature raises its massive arm.
The room trembles.
"The timeline must stabilize."
Aria whispers.
"…how?"
The creature answers simply.
"One of you must disappear."
Everyone goes still.
Future Kael laughs quietly.
"There it is."
Jonas mutters.
"I really hate these options."
Aria looks between them.
Two Kaels.
Two futures.
One choice.
And somewhere beyond the broken timelines…
something ancient opens its eyes.