The Fractured Memory
Diane's Perspective
Diane had thought the shadows would leave her alone once she left the library.
She was wrong.
The shadow's voice—the hollow echo of "Tick. Tock."—still reverberated through her mind, a clock counting down toward some unseen end. Every step she took through the labyrinthine tunnels of the forgotten city felt heavier, the weight of time itself pressing on her shoulders.
But the worst part wasn't the pressure of the abyss's presence.
It was the doubt.
The images of Tom—her Tom—wielding the golden roulette wheel haunted every moment she was awake. His voice, cold and distant in the vision, repeated in her head like a broken record:
"You're not supposed to be here."
What did that mean?
Was it a warning? A curse? A reminder of something she'd already done but refused to remember?
Or something she was about to do?
---
A Thread Unraveling
She emerged from the tunnels into the dim half-light of dawn, the surface world colder and harsher than she remembered. The winds howled through broken ruins, carrying with them whispers she couldn't understand.
Diane gripped the hilt of her sword tighter. She needed clarity. Answers.
And there was only one person—or rather, one thing—that could give them to her.
Ren.
---
The Bargain Resumes
She found him where she expected: in his obsidian tower, surrounded by shelves of forbidden magic and scrolls that pulsed with latent energy.
Ren's smirk returned the moment she entered the room. "Back so soon, dear Diane? Couldn't stay away from me, could you?"
"Cut the games," Diane said, her voice low and dangerous. "I need answers. Real ones."
Ren leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. "Ah, I was wondering how long it would take before you cracked." His grin widened. "What is it this time? The boy with the wheel? The tribunal's judgment? Or the fear that you've already lost everything before the game even began?"
Diane slammed her fist on the table. "You know what I saw in the abyss. You felt it."
The air around Ren pulsed with dark energy, the smugness in his eyes replaced with something colder.
"I didn't need the abyss to show me that," he murmured. "You're already broken, Diane. The real question is whether you'll stay that way."
Diane forced herself to breathe, steady and slow. "What was the tribunal? Was that real? Was any of it real?"
Ren tilted his head. "Real is such a… flexible word, isn't it?"
"Enough riddles!" Her magic flared, the aura around her blade glowing faintly gold. "If you know something about Tom, tell me. Or I swear, I'll tear it out of you."
For the first time, Ren's smile faltered.
"You're not ready for that truth," he said quietly.
Diane didn't blink. "Try me."
---
The Fragments of Time
Ren stood, moving toward a shelf lined with cracked crystal orbs. He selected one, holding it between his fingers like a fragile snowflake.
"You want to know what the abyss showed you?" His voice was low, almost reverent. "The tribunal exists outside time itself—a cosmic judgment against those who tamper with the flow of existence."
He turned to face her.
"And you, Diane Peters, did tamper with it."
Her heart stopped.
"No."
"Oh yes," Ren said, setting the orb down on the table. "You weren't always like this. You weren't always a mother, or a scientist, or even human as you understand it."
Diane's throat tightened. "You're lying."
Ren leaned in, his voice a whisper now. "The wheel you saw Tom holding? It's not just a symbol of chance—it's a key to unraveling fate itself. And the tribunal? They erased you because you broke the rules of the universe. You rewrote time to save the ones you loved."
Diane's pulse thundered in her ears.
"That's impossible," she croaked.
"Is it?" Ren tapped the orb. "I can help you remember. I can show you everything. But the cost…" His eyes gleamed like dying stars. "The cost will be high."
---
A Choice in Shadows
The room seemed to shrink around her, the walls pulsing with the weight of her past mistakes—ones she couldn't even remember.
If what Ren said was true…
If the tribunal had erased her for tampering with time…
Then Tom's wheel wasn't just a random image from the abyss.
It was a warning.
A fragment of a future she might have already lost.
But what if it was a lie?
What if Ren was manipulating her, feeding her the doubt she feared most?
Diane's hand hovered over the crystal orb.
She could refuse. Leave the past buried and fight the battles ahead with what little she knew.
Or she could look.
And risk becoming the very thing the abyss wanted her to be.
Broken.
Forgotten.
Erased.
Her breath trembled as she made her choice.
"Show me," she whispered.
Ren's smile returned, sharp as a dagger.
"As you wish."
---