The moment Hine opened her eyes, the world felt wrong.
The air in the realm was heavier than usual, saturated with a quiet hum that prickled at her skin. It was neither warm nor cold, neither welcoming nor hostile. It simply was, stretching endlessly across the horizon, an empty void with threads of faint gold weaving through the darkness.
She blinked, disoriented, her body still aching from her last death. She remembered the dull pain, the sharp gasp, and then nothing. And now… this.
A soft voice drifted from behind her, calm but carrying the weight of eternity.
"Hine."
She turned, and there she was. Naberius.
The Ruler of Life stood tall and still, her robes flowing like liquid starlight, her hair a cascade of white streaked with strands of emerald. Her presence was serene, almost soothing, but there was a sharpness in her gaze that made Hine's breath catch. Naberius rarely summoned her without reason.
"Where… are we?" Hine asked cautiously, her voice smaller than she wanted it to be.
Naberius tilted her head slightly, studying the child as if searching for cracks in her growing resolve. "A place beyond the cycles you know. Between your deaths. Between your choices."
Hine clenched her fists. "Why am I here?"
The Ruler's expression softened, though her eyes remained unreadable. "Because you are ready to see. Ready to understand what lies ahead."
Before Hine could question her, Naberius raised her hand. The darkness around them shimmered, then fractured, like glass catching light. And then the world changed.
Suddenly, Hine was standing in a sunlit field. Wildflowers brushed against her ankles, their colors impossibly vivid. In the distance, she saw herself — older, stronger, her face hardened with determination, her hands steady as she guided others through danger. People followed her, trusted her. And they survived.
The sight sent a strange warmth through her chest.
"This is one path," Naberius said, her voice quiet, almost reverent. "A future you could claim, should your choices lead you there."
Hine stared, unable to look away. The older version of herself laughed at something, her voice clear and confident. It felt… unreal. Impossible. And yet, there it was.
The scene fractured, shattering into blackness again. When the light returned, it was a different vision.
This time, the air reeked of ash. The ground was cracked and burning, the sky torn apart by violent streaks of crimson lightning. She saw herself again — but she was on her knees, her hands covered in blood. Around her lay the broken bodies of those she had sworn to protect. Her own voice, ragged and hollow, echoed in her ears.
"No," Hine whispered, shaking her head.
Naberius' tone was steady, though sorrow threaded through it. "This, too, is a possibility. A path where fear drives you. Where you falter."
"I…" Her throat tightened, the words catching. "I would never let that happen."
"You cannot promise that," Naberius said gently. "Not yet."
Hine's nails dug into her palms as she stared at the image of herself, broken and alone. The girl in the vision lifted her face, and for a brief, terrifying moment, their eyes met — the same brown, wide and desperate, as if begging for help.
And then it was gone.
Hine stumbled backward, struggling to catch her breath as the void closed in again. Naberius reached out, steadying her with a light touch to her shoulder.
"You see now," the Ruler murmured. "The balance is delicate. Every choice you make carries weight. Every hesitation, every moment of courage… it will shape the worlds around you."
Hine looked up at her, anger and confusion churning in her chest. "Why show me this? If I can't change it, if it's all already decided, then what's the point?"
Naberius' expression didn't waver. "Because nothing is decided. Not yet. Time is fluid, Hine. It bends, it twists, but it never truly stops. What you saw are possibilities, not certainties."
Her gaze sharpened, and for a fleeting second, Hine thought she saw something — fear, or maybe hope — flash across Naberius' face.
"You will understand, in time," Naberius continued. "But you needed to see the truth. That strength alone will not save you. That survival is not always victory."
Hine's lips trembled. "Then what do I do? How do I make sure… that the good one happens?"
Naberius regarded her quietly, the silence stretching until it felt unbearable. When she finally spoke, her words were softer than a whisper but carried the weight of eternity.
"You keep moving forward. Even when it hurts. Even when you are afraid. Especially then."
The words lingered, sinking deep into Hine's chest. She wanted to ask more, to demand answers, but before she could, the golden threads of light began to pull away, unraveling the space around them.
Panic flared in her chest. "Wait—!"
Naberius' form began to fade, her voice steady even as the void swallowed her.
"Remember, Hine. The future is a living thing. It breathes with every choice you make."
And then everything collapsed into darkness.
When she awoke, her body still ached, but her mind felt sharp, almost electric. She lay in the cold dirt of another battlefield, the familiar sting of death still ghosting along her skin.
But this time, she didn't gasp or cry out.
Instead, she stared up at the endless, indifferent sky, her thoughts replaying the images Naberius had shown her. The brightness of the field. The horror of the ruins.
Two futures. Two paths.
And her. Standing at the center of them both.
Slowly, Hine sat up, wiping the dirt from her hands. Her muscles trembled from exhaustion, but her resolve burned hotter than ever.
She did not know if she could change the path she was on. She did not know if she was strong enough to reach the version of herself who laughed freely in the sunlight.
But she would try.
She had to.
For herself. For the ones she had already lost. For the ones she had yet to meet.
Her fingers curled into fists as the wind whispered through the broken trees around her, carrying with it a promise that felt older than time.
She would keep moving forward.
No matter how many times she died.