"What about Lucien?" Rei asked, voice tight. "Did he know? That his sister killed herself because of what he did?"
"He was already dead by then," Darius replied. "Three weeks after the county fell, found in an alley with his throat slit. Official story was robbery." His expression was grim. "So no. He never knew. Never had to carry that weight. Escaped into death before the consequences of his actions caught up."
"That's..." Rei trailed off, his throat dry.
"Unfair?" Darius finished. "Yeah. But that's how history works. The ones who start the fire usually die before they see the ashes." He studied Rei for a moment, eyes narrowing. "Why are you asking about this now?"
Rei hesitated. "Because I saw them today. In the park. Before any of this happened. Lucien looked arrogant, but not cruel. Elise looked... alive. Kind. They're just kids. Not monsters. Not yet."
"Everyone's just kids before life ruins them," Darius said quietly. "The question is what you do with that knowledge."
Rei didn't answer immediately. His mind ran through possibilities he couldn't speak aloud.If I could keep the county stable, stop Crest from rising, maybe the chain breaks before it begins.But saying that out loud would raise too many questions, questions Darius wasn't ready to hear the answers to.
"I just... don't want her story to end the same way," Rei said finally.
Darius tilted his head. "Elise's?"
Rei nodded. "She tried to save everyone. And everyone let her down. Died alone in that frozen castle because she refused to belong to anyone."
Darius exhaled slowly. "Some tragedies can't be undone, Rei. Even knowing what's coming doesn't mean you can stop it."
"Maybe," Rei said quietly. "But maybe I can... change the shape of it. Just enough that she survives."
"You really think that's possible?" Darius asked, his voice caught between skepticism and reluctant hope.
"I don't know." Rei met his gaze. "But I know what happens if I do nothing."
For a while, there was silence. Rain tapped faintly against the window, steady and rhythmic. Darius leaned back, watching Rei with an expression that mixed weariness and concern.
"You've changed, kid," Darius said finally. "You used to just talk about surviving the next day. Now you sound like someone planning a revolution."
Rei gave a faint, humorless smile. "Maybe I am. Just a quiet one."
"Whatever it is you're planning," Darius warned, "don't lose sight of what matters. If you want to save someone, start with the ones closest to you. Your sister needs you now more than anyone."
"Yeah," Rei said softly. "Mira first."
Darius stood and walked toward the window, his silhouette outlined by the cold light outside. "If you do somehow manage to save that girl, Elise… even if it's by accident, even if no one remembers what you did, don't dismiss it. Changing one life might not seem like much, but it can echo farther than you think."
Rei didn't reply. The darkness was already pulling at his vision, tugging him back toward the past.
Darius's final words blurred as the world began to dissolve.
"She deserved better than being traded like property and dying alone. If you can give her anything else, even a little mercy, do it."
442 A.R. – 2:47 AM (Past Timeline)
Rei's eyes snapped open to darkness. His chest rose sharply as the familiar weight of two worlds settled over him.
Elise Varen's story. Mira's awakening. Two lives balanced on the edge of time.
He checked his phone. 2:47 AM.Thirteen minutes until 3:00.Thirteen minutes until everything changed.
One sister I can save tonight.Another I might save in two and a half years, if I play this right.
He lay there, listening to the faint, peaceful breathing of his family down the hall.
Mira, still asleep. Elise, somewhere across the city, still alive and unaware.
Two sisters. Two timelines. Too many chances to fail.
The clock ticked closer to three.And Rei waited for the world to break again.