The final chime echoed through the empty city.
Silence followed.
Zayden stared at the letter in his hands.
His own handwriting.
His own signature.
Yet...
He had never written it.
Aria stepped closer.
"What does it say?"
He continued reading.
> "Don't be afraid."
> "I know how impossible this sounds."
> "I didn't believe it either."
A chill ran through the deserted streets.
The letter continued.
> "Ten years from now, we succeeded."
> "The Layers survived."
> "The Council endured."
> "And Aria..."
Zayden stopped reading.
His heart skipped a beat.
Aria looked at him.
"What about me?"
He hesitated.
Then handed her the letter.
She read the next line herself.
> "...Aria never stopped believing in you, even when you stopped believing in yourself."
She lowered the page, unable to speak.
---
The Keeper examined the marble pedestal.
"No magic."
"No illusion."
The Null King looked around the city.
"This place exists outside time."
Aster arrived moments later, his expression unreadable.
"So..."
"You found it."
"You know this place?" Zayden asked.
Aster nodded slowly.
"I hoped it would never appear."
"What is it?"
"The City of Tomorrow."
He looked toward the silent streets.
"It only manifests when history reaches a crossroads."
---
They continued reading the letter together.
> "If you're here, it means the City has accepted you."
> "Listen carefully."
> "There is one future you must never allow."
The words beneath had been violently scratched out.
Only fragments remained.
...the Council falls...
...trust breaks...
...the First Seed...
Nothing more could be read.
Someone had deliberately erased the warning.
Zayden frowned.
"Who would do that?"
A voice answered from behind them.
"The person who wanted history to remain unwritten."
Everyone turned.
Standing at the end of the empty avenue was a young man.
He looked no older than twenty-five.
Dark hair.
Gray eyes.
A long black coat fluttering in the breeze.
He looked strangely familiar.
The young man smiled.
"I've been waiting."
Zayden instinctively stepped in front of Aria.
"Who are you?"
The stranger tilted his head.
"I've had many names."
A pause.
"But you'll know me best as..."
He reached into his coat and pulled out a silver compass.
Exactly like Zayden's.
"...the Second Anchor."
Silence fell.
The Keeper's eyes widened.
"Impossible."
"I thought all Anchors after the cycle were gone."
The young man laughed quietly.
"So did I."
He looked directly at Zayden.
"You have questions."
"I have answers."
"But first..."
His smile faded.
"...we don't have much time."
A deafening crack echoed through the city.
The sky above split open.
Not with darkness.
With brilliant white light.
The buildings began to shimmer.
The streets trembled.
Aster's face turned pale.
"The City is disappearing."
The Second Anchor looked toward the collapsing skyline.
"We have exactly one hour."
He met Zayden's gaze.
"And after that..."
"The future changes forever."
The silver compass in Zayden's pocket pulsed.
Not once.
But twice.
As if recognizing another bearer.
The mystery had only deepened.
---