With the Fate-Spinner gone, the shadowy cathedral fell silent once more. The final target, the Axiom of Fate, was now unguarded. It was not a lake or a hole, but a single, beautiful, shimmering thread of pure, golden light that hung in the air, pulsing with a slow, cosmic rhythm.
It was the master thread from which all other timelines were woven, the first and most powerful rule in the book of destiny.
Following Zara's careful instructions, the team set up their conceptual net, preparing to capture this final, fundamental piece of the universe.
This was the last step. They had faced down sorrow, logic, and their own worst futures. Victory was so close they could almost taste it.
But as Scarlett reached out to take the thread, a new voice echoed in the cathedral. It was not a whisper in their minds. It was a real, physical voice, a sound that should not have been possible in this silent, conceptual place. The voice was calm, amused, and chillingly familiar.
