Light.
Blinding.
Absolute.
It swallowed the Realm of the Gods whole.
The countless thrones…
The divine council…
The crushing pressure…
Everything disappeared beneath an endless sea of white.
Only one voice remained.
The God of Time.
"The future is not fixed, Emrah Aybeyli.
It bends.
It changes.
You have been granted a second chance.
The council has chosen to spare you.
Not because they forgive your actions…
…but because your future has yet to be written.
You made us a promise.
You promised that your creation would never fall into the hands of humanity.
You promised that you would stop Adem Yesari."
His voice became heavier.
"Do not break that promise.
For if you fail…
…there may not be another future left to save."
The light consumed Emrah.
Then…
Everything vanished.
A pillar of brilliant white light erupted in the center of Emrah's living room.
The entire house trembled.
Family photographs rattled against the walls.
Everyone instinctively jumped back.
"What the hell—?!"
The light slowly faded.
Standing at its center was Emrah.
His clothes were still stained with blood from the warehouse. His breathing was uneven. For a brief moment his hands trembled slightly before he forced them still. A faint pressure lingered behind his eyes, like the residual weight of something far too large for a human mind. The images of burning cities and a fractured sky still sat at the edge of his thoughts. He pushed them down.
His mother was the first to move. She rushed toward him, hands shaking.
"Emrah—!"
His father stood fully, jaw clenched, eyes sharp with controlled alarm.
"What was that light?"
His sister took a half-step back, voice rising.
"That wasn't one of your portals! What just happened?!"
Even the guards near the doors had raised their weapons for a split second before recognizing him.
Emrah barely heard them.
His eyes scanned the room once, then narrowed.
"Efsun…
Efsane…
Yusuf…
Aslan…
Where are they?"
The room fell silent for a beat.
His father frowned.
"We thought they were with you."
A cold realization struck Emrah.
"The Pocket Domain…"
Without another word, he raised his hand.
Space rippled.
A familiar black rift slowly opened in the middle of the living room.
For several seconds… nothing happened.
Then—
Yusuf practically threw himself through the opening and collapsed onto the floor.
He took a deep breath.
"Oh, thank God!"
He looked back toward the portal.
"I swear another hour in there and I would've gone crazy listening to Efsane and Efsun argue."
Efsane stepped through immediately afterward.
"We were not arguing."
Efsun followed her, arms crossed.
"You started every single argument."
"I was proving a point."
"You were being stubborn."
"I was being correct."
"You were being loud."
"And you were being annoying."
Aslan walked out last, calmly brushing imaginary dust from his jacket.
"I can confirm…" He sighed. "They argued the entire time."
Yusuf pointed at him.
"See? I wasn't exaggerating."
Despite everything, a small, tired smile appeared on Emrah's face.
They were alive.
All of them.
His mother looked between the newcomers and the fading traces of the portal, still shaken.
"…Would someone please explain what is going on?"
Emrah closed the Pocket Domain. The residual pressure behind his eyes pulsed once more. He ignored it.
"I will. But not yet."
His expression hardened.
"There are more important things we need to do."
Everyone noticed the change in his voice. Something had shifted in him — not broken, but colder. Sharper.
Emrah looked toward Efsun, then toward Efsane.
The agreement already made between them still stood.
He spoke calmly.
"Tomorrow night… we proceed."
His gaze shifted between the two women.
"The marriage will happen tomorrow night."
Silence filled the room.
Efsane's lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile.
"…You really know how to keep people on their toes."
Efsun simply watched him, calm and unreadable.
"…You're serious."
"I've never been more serious."
Emrah did not explain further in front of the others. Most of the people in the room only needed to know that the already-agreed marriages would take place the following night. The deeper purpose behind the timing would stay hidden.
Only one man needed the full picture.
Emrah stepped slightly aside and took out his phone. He dialed.
After two rings, a deep, controlled voice answered.
"Cengiz Saygın."
Emrah kept his tone low and absolute.
"It's me.
Tomorrow night is happening.
Everything needs to be ready."
There was a short pause.
Then Cengiz's voice came back, colder than before.
"You're accelerating it.
That's a risk."
"I'm aware."
"The others don't know the real reason."
"They don't need to."
Another pause. Longer this time.
"Understood," Cengiz finally said. "I'll handle my side.
Just don't get yourself killed before the night is over."
The call ended.
Emrah slipped the phone back into his pocket and turned to face the room again. The pressure behind his eyes had not fully faded. The vision of a burning world still waited at the edge of his mind.
He pushed it down once more.
Far away, hidden somewhere within the city, two fugitives sat in silence.
Adem stared at the suitcase of chocolate prototypes resting beside the table.
Güneş broke the silence.
"What now?"
Adem slowly looked up.
There was no panic left in his eyes.
Only resolve.
"We continue."
He rested a hand on one of the wrapped chocolates.
"This changes nothing.
It only means we'll have to be smarter and that the game has just started."
Somewhere beyond time, the God of Time watched in silence.
The future had shifted…
but only slightly.