The world no longer felt linear to Ethan. Time ebbed and flowed like water around him memories, visions, fragments of futures that hadn't yet happened, some that might never happen at all.
Sometimes he would wake up with the taste of smoke in his mouth, a battle echoing in his ears… only to realize it hadn't happened yet. But each vision brought clarity. Every ripple of the Seed's power wove a deeper understanding into his soul.
Still, he knew one thing for certain now:
Time does not like to be changed. It began with the birds. Every morning, flocks would pass over Ashen from the west. Small, black, and harmless.
But then they stopped. Not one bird in three days. Then the clouds stopped moving. Rain hovered above the fields but never fell. And finally—the dreams.
Ethan stood in the Ember Tree's grove, where no flame had burned in centuries. Lyra stood beside him. But when she turned to speak, her eyes were hollow, her skin cracked like ancient bark. The ground opened, and he fell.
He woke in his bed, drenched in sweat. But on his bedside table, the stone with the time-mark rune had shattered. That same morning, the portal shimmered open—unexpected, uncontrolled.
Ethan bolted from his quarters, heart pounding. No one should have been able to cross without him guiding it. Unless… Unless the veil was thinning.
He arrived just in time to see a man stumble through—a man in worn jeans, boots caked in dirt, and a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He looked around, dazed, until his eyes landed on Ethan.
And then he said the last thing Ethan expected to hear:
"You're Ethan Carter, right? I'm Daniel. I think you know my sister… Chloe?"
Ethan froze. Chloe Carter. His younger sister.
The one he hadn't seen since he was sixteen.
The one he'd left behind when he ran from everything. They sat in the war tent while Mira, Lyra, and Selene watched with silent suspicion. Daniel explained everything.
"She's been looking for you for years," he said. "Last we heard, some guy from a loan office said you vanished. She figured… the worst."
Ethan rubbed his temples. "I didn't mean to disappear. I—things just spiraled. And then Avalon…"
Daniel laughed bitterly. "Yeah, I figured you were just off the grid. Not off the planet."
"How did you get here?"
Daniel glanced at the glowing tree in the distance.
"Someone gave me this."
He pulled out a coin. Gold, etched with strange symbols Ethan recognized instantly—Avalonianrealmkeys.
Selene leaned forward. "That's not a coin. That's a sigil key. Forbidden magic."
"Someone from Avalon sent him," Ethan murmured. "But who?"
That night, Ethan stood alone by the Seed chamber. Every time he used it, every time he bent time, he could feel the strain tightening around his chest. Not pain—but pressure.
Like the universe was watching, weighing.
The timelines were starting to tangle. The more he resisted destiny, the louder time screamed.
He saw flashes: a child crying in the ruins of Ashen. Lyra bleeding in the snow. Tavren, hanging from a ruined watchtower. Selene, facing Vaelen in a chamber of fire. And himself—dying. Over and over again.
Time was warning him. Not all futures could be saved.
Back in Ashen, Daniel explored the village with Lyra reluctantly trailing behind. She didn't trust him—and for good reason. Too many spies. Too many betrayals.
But when Daniel passed by the forge, Mira stiffened.
"What's wrong?" Lyra asked.
Mira narrowed her eyes. "He walked past that fire with no reaction."
"And?"
"It's enchanted," she said. "Only those attuned to this world feel the warmth. He didn't even flinch."
Lyra's grip tightened on her blade. "You think he's not who he says he is?"
"I think someone wants Ethan to doubt himself," Mira said grimly. "And what better way than with family?"
That night, Ethan dreamed again.
But it wasn't a vision—it was a memory.
He stood in his apartment on Earth, years ago. Chloe sat curled on the couch, reading. He'd just come back from another failed job interview. They didn't speak. But her silence was full of hope. She still believed in him.
"I'll make it up to you," he whispered.
Then the memory shattered. And he saw a burning Ashen. Daniel standing at its heart. Holding the Seed.
Ethan woke gasping—and this time, the walls of his room rippled. The timeline was fracturing. Reality was bending. And at its center was a man with his face… holding Chloe hostage.
Not a dream. Not a vision. Awarning.