The eldritch world was changing, quietly and without ceremony. The ripples of reality that once hung in the air like the suspended threads of a forgotten tapestry were starting to snap back into place. Erasmus had sealed it, the ancient rift—the damage done by the Witness was now undone.
The universe, which had once trembled under the relentless gaze of an entity that could erase all things with a thought, felt the absence of that influence. The weight in the air shifted from oppressive to something more neutral—heavy, but no longer suffocating. Yet it wasn't complete. It wasn't a return to normality. Not fully. Not yet.
And then, as if by the quiet pull of some unseen force, they returned. Two figures materialized from the fabric of the world itself, as though they were always meant to be there—waiting for the moment the balance tipped back in their favor.
One was a knight—a man of shattered resolve, his battle-worn body bearing the scars of innumerable battles, and yet, his resolve had never truly broken. Riven Kallor. The once steadfast hero, his spirit now a tattered reflection of the man he had once been, his eyes carrying the weight of a thousand forgotten oaths. He had been lost to the threads of time and history, but Erasmus had willed him back. He was here, whole once more—at least in body. His mind, perhaps, was still fragmented.
The second figure was a survivor. He stood with an air of caution, his every step measured, as though the world itself was an enemy waiting to be confronted. Rei. The name he had chosen, not his real one, a mask to protect him from truths he wasn't ready to face. Erasmus had never asked for the truth—he had merely accepted what was presented. Yet there was something about Rei, something in the way his eyes darted around the battlefield, that told Erasmus he had not fully accepted his own return. Not yet.
The tension was palpable as Rei's eyes scanned the ruin around them, the twisted remnants of what had once been a battlefield now strangely silent in the wake of the Witness's defeat. There were only a few remaining squires and knights who survived the battle. His gaze lingered on the unnatural stillness that hung in the air. It should have been harder, he thought, more chaotic. But it was too calm—almost unnervingly so.
"What did you do?" Rei's voice was low, guarded. It was a question layered with suspicion, though it had no immediate malice behind it. He simply wanted to know—wanted to understand what had happened to the world he thought he knew. What had happened to him.
Erasmus, however, did not offer an immediate response. His eyes flicked from Rei to Riven, then back to the space between them, as though measuring the moment. It was a quiet tension—a pause. A subtle recognition, unspoken but undeniable.
"What do you think I did?" Erasmus finally asked, his voice soft, but underlined with an edge of something deeper, more unsettling. He made no movement, no gesture that could betray his next step. There was only his gaze, calm and unwavering.
Rei frowned. "You've brought us back... only us."
Erasmus nodded slowly, his eyes momentarily drifting to the ground, where the remnants of the Witness's power still lingered, like dust settling after a storm. "Yes." The word was a simple affirmation, but there was weight behind it. A knowing, a deliberate choice.
"Why?" Rei pressed, unable to mask the growing unease in his voice. There was more to it, he knew. Erasmus was no fool. He didn't do things for no reason.
Riven, standing just behind, felt something stir in him, a thought at the back of his mind, something subtle yet undeniable. He'd seen it before in Erasmus—something about him that was unyielding, something that made him impossible to ignore. Riven had only known him for a few days, but there was a sharpness to the way Erasmus moved, the way he spoke, and above all, the way he seemed untouched by doubt. His reflection—perfect, without a hint of wavering—had told Riven everything he needed to know. Erasmus did not hesitate. He did not question. His decisions were final. Unshakeable.
Riven could feel it now. The silence that came before a decision had been made. Erasmus was someone who didn't waste time. If he had brought them back, it was because he deemed it necessary. If not… they were nothing more than remnants of a forgotten world.
Erasmus turned his attention fully to Riven, his voice unexpectedly light, as though this was a simple answer that required no deeper explanation. "Because I remember you both."
The words hit the air with an almost physical impact. For a moment, everything seemed to freeze. Rei's breath caught in his throat. He hadn't expected that—hadn't thought it possible—that someone would still hold on to the memories of those they had lost. It wasn't just that Erasmus had brought them back; it was that he had chosen them. In this world of endless possibilities, they were the ones who mattered.
Riven's lips pressed into a thin line, but he said nothing. His eyes flickered to Rei, then back to Erasmus. There was something in the air—something unsaid—that bothered him, a flicker of understanding that was still just beyond his reach. But Rei... Rei was different. Rei was unraveling.
Rei's mind raced, though his expression remained composed. "You remember us," he repeated, as if testing the words. "But what about the others?" His gaze swept the horizon, where only the remains of the eldritch horrors and the shattered remnants of the battlefield stood. "You... you didn't bring anyone else back. Why?"
Erasmus's smile didn't touch his eyes. It was the kind of smile that spoke volumes without saying anything at all—one that hinted at deeper knowledge, at a truth too dangerous to speak aloud. He inclined his head ever so slightly, as if considering the question for the first time. "Because they were not necessary."
The statement hung in the air like a confession. It wasn't cruel, but it was clear—calculated. There was no sorrow in Erasmus's voice, no apology. Only the undeniable weight of a decision made. Rei's chest tightened at the implication. Erasmus had made a choice. He had sifted through the faces of the past and determined who mattered. And he had kept them.
The truth settled into Rei's bones, creeping up his spine like a whisper, the unsettling feeling of being seen.
"You didn't need them." Rei's voice was barely audible now, his eyes wide. The recognition flashed through him—the realization that he wasn't just a survivor. He was part of something much bigger, much more dangerous. And in that moment, Rei understood that Erasmus's judgments weren't just of the world—they were of them. Of him.
Riven stepped forward, his voice cutting through the stillness. "You've chosen, then." There was a strange finality in the words. He had known, in some corner of his mind, that this would happen.
Rei's gaze flicked toward him, but Riven simply nodded, as though confirming something they both already knew. He had no doubt that he, too, had been chosen. That Erasmus had made a decision. But what about the others? What about those who had been erased, forgotten, discarded? They were shadows now, lost in the dark spaces between memories.
Erasmus's gaze softened as it turned to Rei—to Caelum—and for just a fraction of a second, something flickered behind his eyes. It was gone too quickly to be named, but it was there. A hint. An understanding. He knew more than he let on. He always had.
"You've been given a chance," Erasmus said quietly. "Take it, or let it pass. The choice is yours."
Rei's chest tightened again. He knew Erasmus wasn't just talking about the present. He was talking about everything—the past, the future. The weight of everything that had happened—and everything that might still come.
But the truth was: Rei didn't know who he was anymore. Not in this world. Not in this space.
And so, Erasmus simply watched.
The Witness—now bound—watched.
And the world, once again, trembled under the weight of judgment.