The city trembled.
White cracks raced across its marble streets, and the towers shimmered like reflections on water.
Above them, the sky had begun to unravel.
Fifty-nine minutes remained.
The young man stood calmly in the middle of the empty avenue.
His silver compass glowed with the same rhythm as Zayden's.
Aria narrowed her eyes.
"You called yourself the Second Anchor."
"I did."
"Who are you?"
The young man smiled faintly.
"My name is... Elias."
"I wasn't born an Anchor."
"I became one."
Zayden took a step forward.
"My compass recognizes yours."
Elias nodded.
"They were forged together."
"One for the man who ended the old cycle."
"And one for the person who would protect the new one."
The Keeper frowned.
"There should only be one."
"There was."
Elias replied quietly.
"Until history changed."
---
Aster studied Elias carefully.
"I've never met you."
"You haven't."
"Not yet."
The old man's expression became serious.
"You're from the future."
"Yes."
"How far?"
"Ten years."
Silence settled over the deserted city.
Captain Lyra crossed her arms.
"So you came all this way to warn us?"
Elias looked down.
"I came to apologize."
Everyone stared at him.
"For what?"
He looked directly at Zayden.
"Because..."
"I failed."
---
The words echoed through the empty streets.
"The future survives."
"The Council survives."
"The Layers survive."
"But..."
His voice grew heavy.
"They lose something they can never replace."
Aria's heartbeat quickened.
"What?"
Elias closed his eyes.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"I remember the grief."
"I remember the silence."
"But every memory after that day is fractured."
Almost...
Erased.
The Null King stepped closer.
"Someone tampered with time."
Elias nodded.
"Someone erased the truth."
---
A low hum spread through the city.
One of the marble buildings dissolved into light.
Fifty-two minutes remained.
Elias looked toward the fading skyline.
"We're running out of time."
He removed a small crystal from his pocket.
Inside it floated countless silver threads.
"What's that?" Aria asked.
"A memory prism."
"It contains everything I managed to protect."
He handed it to Zayden.
The moment Zayden touched it...
A vision flashed before his eyes.
A peaceful city.
Children laughing.
The Council Hall standing taller than ever.
Aria...
Older.
Smiling.
A silver ring on her finger.
Zayden stood beside her.
Then...
The vision shattered.
Everything turned white.
A scream echoed through the silence.
One chair in the Council Hall became empty.
No face.
No name.
Only absence.
The vision ended.
Zayden staggered backward.
His breathing became uneven.
Aria caught his arm.
"What did you see?"
He looked at her.
"...I don't know."
The memory refused to settle.
As though someone had ripped out its most important piece.
---
The Keeper looked toward Aster.
"The future is protecting itself."
"No."
Aster replied softly.
"It's protecting someone."
The words hung in the air.
Someone's identity had been hidden so completely...
That even time refused to reveal it.
---
The city shook violently.
A massive bell rang across the empty streets.
Forty-five minutes remained.
Elias looked at the horizon.
"They've found us."
"They?" Zayden asked.
Elias's calm expression disappeared for the first time.
"The Time Hunters."
The air behind him twisted.
Three figures stepped out of shimmering fractures in reality.
They wore featureless white masks and long cloaks woven from silver threads.
None of them carried weapons.
They didn't need to.
The leader spoke in a voice that sounded like hundreds layered together.
> "The future must remain unwritten."
> "Return the Memory Prism."
Elias stepped in front of Zayden.
"I can't."
The masked figures took another step.
Reality itself bent around them.
Flowers withered.
Light slowed.
Even the sound of the wind seemed to stop.
Zayden instinctively reached for his compass.
The silver key blazed with brilliant light.
The leader tilted its masked head.
> "So..."
> "The First Key has awakened."
The Time Hunters raised their hands.
The streets cracked apart.
The final hour had become a battle against time itself.
---