"We cannot take that risk, Elrond," she whispered. "He is not aware of everything that happened in the past — at least, not yet. For us, these are facts that have already occurred. But for him, they are still the future."
Elrond fell silent, frowning. "Is this... connected to that 'temporal paradox' you mentioned before? You once said that past, present, and future might not be linear, but rather... I don't fully understand these concepts."
Galadriel sighed softly: "It was he who first raised the topic of temporal paradox, and I myself understand only a small part of it. He said that time is not a river, but a sea; it does not flow in one direction, but is multidimensional and interconnected. Changing the past could create a parallel future, and interfering with the future could change the present..."
"The simplest approach is probably to limit contact with him and wait for him to reach out to us," Galadriel concluded. She looked again in Karl's direction, her gaze tender and joyful: "I have waited an entire age; I do not mind waiting a little longer. The most important thing is that he has returned, and that is enough."
As soon as she finished speaking, Galadriel nodded to Elrond, and her figure vanished like morning mist in the sunlight. Only a faint floral fragrance remained in the air, and the light screen dissipated. Elrond stood alone in the moonlight, holding the mithril box in silence.
---
As night fell, Rivendell was bathed in silver moonlight. Karl stood in the corridor before his quarters, leaning against the carved railings, gazing into the distance. His gaze first swept over the other dwellings, the temporary lodgings of Thorin and his companions. Bofur, Bifur, Dori, and several of the more energetic fellows had not gone to rest immediately. Instead, they had started a small fire in this spot and were roasting meat around it.
Karl's gaze drifted upward, past the spires of the buildings, past the mist of the waterfalls, and finally settled on the night sky. A bright, nearly full moon hung high overhead, its silver light flooding the land, not far from the moon. One star was unusually bright, constantly flickering, as if breathing and winking.
To be honest, he was quite curious about what would happen if they rose to a sufficient height. Looking down at the world from above, would they indeed see a flat earth? Or did this world have its own laws, presenting itself in a different form? What exactly did the golden fruits and silver flowers left after the destruction of the Two Trees — mentioned only in Elven songs — look like?
But despite his curiosity, Karl had no intention of testing this in practice, as the risks were significant. In this world dwelt more than a dozen Valar, gods such as the Maiar, and the creator god Ilúvatar. He did not know whether these beings were benevolent or hostile toward him. He was a stranger in this world, so to avoid trouble, it was better to forget about it.
Just as Karl was lost in thought, he heard footsteps behind him. From the other end of the corridor came the sound of footsteps, gradually approaching. Karl turned around, and in the moonlight, Elrond was walking toward him down the corridor. Elrond was still dressed in the pale-golden robe he had worn at the feast, and he held a silver box in his hands.
Karl squinted, his gaze instantly fixing on the box, examining its details. Hmm? It was much lighter and better protected than the plate armour he had made himself. Was this mithril? This metal, light as a feather and strong as steel, was extremely rare in the Central Plains. But what drew Karl's attention even more were the intricate runes on the box's surface.
Runes?! They didn't belong here, did they? This wasn't the world of witchers — did that mean the Asgardian pantheon was represented here? Moreover, Karl sensed a very familiar aura emanating from the box.
Soon, Elrond stood before Karl with the box. He did not explain why he had come so late at night; he simply solemnly handed over the box. "Mr. Karl, judging by your expression, you must understand that this is something special?" Elrond asked.
Karl frowned, not taking the box immediately, his gaze shifting between the box and Elrond's face. "Elrond, how did you come by this? You seem to understand that this draws my interest?"
Elrond shook his head and explained: "No, I neither found it nor made it. It was given to me by a friend I respect, and she asked me to pass it on. As for why I am giving it to you... She said: 'This item belongs to him.'"
Karl raised an eyebrow and repeated the phrase in a somewhat puzzled tone: "It belongs to me?"
Elrond offered no further explanation; he simply said a few words and carefully placed the box on the corridor railing. "As for the contents of the box, how to open it, and why I am giving it to you," Elrond gave a slight nod. "You may find the answers to these questions yourself when you open it."
With that, he turned and slowly walked away along the same path by which he had come. Karl watched Elrond until he had completely vanished from sight, then averted his gaze. Then he looked down at the mithril box on the railing. In the moonlight, the runes on the box's surface slowly flowed, like a living river. The runes spun and rearranged themselves, occasionally forming a short, stable pattern before dissipating and moving on to the next cycle.
Karl reached out and lifted the box. It was cold to the touch, and the runes flowed faster, emitting a brighter glow. He did not immediately try to open it. He looked up, surveyed the surroundings, and then his figure flickered. In the next second, Karl appeared beyond the borders of Rivendell, on a desolate cliff several kilometres away.
The terrain here was rugged, with exposed rocks and almost no vegetation. At night, the wind was much stronger than inside the valley, howling as it swept over the cliffs. Karl scanned the area, confirming that there were no signs of intelligent life within a radius of several kilometres. Then he raised his right hand, fingers together like a knife, and struck the sheer rock face several times. In an instant, a rectangular recess appeared in the rock wall, its edges smooth as a mirror.
Karl entered inside, and once within, turned and raised his left hand to the opening. The rock fragments rose into the air and, under the influence of his biokinetic field, blocked the cave entrance piece by piece, perfectly sealing it. Finally, Karl used his divine power to reinforce the stone a second time, then applied his forcefield to refract the light. He ensured that from the outside, it looked like an ordinary rock face.
Inside the cave, there was complete darkness. He snapped his fingers, and several golden spheres of light appeared, hovering near the cave ceiling. Karl looked at the mithril box in his hand; in the enclosed space, the box's light shone even brighter. The runes seemed to leap out of the box, forming a three-dimensional projection in the air. He carefully examined the box, searching for a switch, a keyhole, or gaps for attachment. However, apart from the floating runes, the box had no visible openings or seams.