Ayan did not answer immediately.
For several seconds, he simply stared at Aeris.
The child stood beneath the fading light of the sunset, his small hand still glowing with the strange colorless symbol. The wind moved gently through his silver hair, but his expression remained unusually serious. There was no childish curiosity in his eyes now. Only confusion.
And fear.
Ayan slowly crouched in front of him.
"You said you saw me."
Aeris nodded.
"An older version of me."
Another nod.
"Are you certain?"
"I don't know."
Ayan studied his face.
Aeris looked genuinely frightened.
"I saw a city," the child whispered. "It was very big. Bigger than anything here. There were towers everywhere, but none of the windows had lights. There were roads, but nobody was walking on them. There were buildings, but nobody lived inside them."
Ayan remained silent.
"What else?"
Aeris swallowed.
"You were standing in the middle of the city."
"Alone?"
"No."
Ayan's expression tightened.
"You said someone was with me."
Aeris nodded slowly.
"But you said it wasn't another version of me."
"Yes."
"Then who?"
The child looked at the ground.
"I don't know."
Ayan's eyes narrowed.
"What did they look like?"
Aeris hesitated.
"They looked like..."
He struggled to find the words.
"They looked like you."
Ayan felt a chill travel through his body.
"Exactly like me?"
"No."
Aeris shook his head.
"More like what you would become if you stopped being human."
Ayan's expression became still.
Seraphine, who had been standing several steps away, immediately noticed the change.
"What did you see, Aeris?"
The child looked toward her.
"Something with Ayan's face."
Seraphine's hand slowly moved toward her sword.
"Was it hostile?"
Aeris shook his head.
"No."
"Did it attack?"
"No."
"Then what did it do?"
Aeris looked at Ayan.
"It was talking to you."
"What did it say?"
The child closed his eyes.
For a moment, he seemed to be listening to a distant memory.
Then he whispered.
"It said..."
Aeris opened his eyes.
"...you finally came home."
The words settled over the group like a layer of frost.
Ayan stood.
He looked toward the horizon.
The sun had nearly disappeared.
Only a thin band of orange remained between the mountains.
Home.
The word had always meant something simple.
A place.
A person.
A memory.
But now it sounded like a warning.
Caelum approached.
His expression was serious.
"You shouldn't have seen that."
Ayan turned toward him.
"You know what it means."
Caelum didn't answer.
"Caelum."
The ancient being looked at Aeris.
Then at the colorless mark on his hand.
Finally, he looked at Ayan.
"It means the future wasn't erased."
Ayan's eyes hardened.
"We already knew that."
"No."
Caelum shook his head.
"You don't understand."
He pointed toward Aeris.
"The future that disappeared was the future we knew."
Ayan frowned.
"Then what did Aeris see?"
"A different future."
Silence.
Ayan stared at him.
Caelum continued.
"When you gave that creature a choice, you destroyed the predetermined future. But you didn't destroy possibility itself."
Ayan looked at Aeris's palm.
"The window."
"Yes."
"The future can still exist through possibility."
"Not just possibility."
Caelum's voice became quieter.
"Choice."
Ayan understood.
The moment he allowed Aeris to choose his own existence, he had created something completely unpredictable.
Aeris wasn't bound to the future.
But neither was the future bound to him.
Every choice created new branches.
Every branch could become real.
The future hadn't died.
It had multiplied.
Ayan slowly exhaled.
"So the city Aeris saw..."
"Is one possibility."
"Not our future."
"Not yet."
Ayan's eyes narrowed.
"That sounds like a threat."
Caelum looked toward the darkening sky.
"It is."
The wind suddenly stopped.
Ayan felt the Bridge react.
The strange sensation lasted only for a second.
Then it disappeared.
Ayan looked around.
"Did you feel that?"
Seraphine nodded.
"Yes."
Rhael approached from behind them.
His armor was damaged, and his spear was resting across his shoulder.
"I felt something too."
Mira followed him.
"So did I."
Lumen was walking behind them, carrying several wounded warriors.
"The Bridge is behaving strangely."
Ayan looked at them.
"How?"
Lumen hesitated.
"It's no longer connecting places."
Ayan frowned.
"What is it connecting?"
She looked at Aeris.
"Possibilities."
Everyone became silent.
Ayan looked toward the child.
Aeris stared back.
His expression was innocent.
But something about the situation made Ayan uneasy.
He had spent countless years learning how to control the Bridge.
Now the Bridge was responding to a child who had existed for less than an hour.
Ayan stepped closer.
"Aeris."
"Yes?"
"Can you control that window?"
The child shook his head.
"I don't know how."
"Can you make it appear?"
"I don't know."
"Can you make it disappear?"
Aeris looked at his palm.
"I think so."
"Try."
The child closed his eyes.
The colorless symbol dimmed.
Then vanished.
Ayan felt the Bridge relax.
"Good."
Aeris opened his eyes.
"Was that right?"
Ayan nodded.
"Yes."
The child smiled.
Then he frowned.
"Can I bring it back?"
Ayan hesitated.
"Why?"
"Because I want to see."
Seraphine immediately spoke.
"No."
Aeris looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because whatever you see might not be safe."
The child looked at Ayan.
Ayan understood what she meant.
He nodded.
"She's right."
Aeris lowered his hand.
"Okay."
There was no complaint.
No argument.
He simply accepted the answer.
Ayan felt something strange in his chest.
The child had been created from possibility itself.
Yet he was already learning restraint.
Perhaps that was the difference.
Possibility wasn't dangerous.
The refusal to accept limits was.
Ayan turned toward the settlement.
"Let's go."
They began walking.
The journey back to the settlement was quiet.
The battlefield slowly disappeared behind them.
The wounded were carried toward the medical tents. The First World warriors helped the silver beings gather fallen weapons. Some of the silver creatures had never walked under the open sky before, and they kept stopping to stare upward.
Children watched them from behind broken walls.
At first, they were frightened.
Then curious.
One little girl approached a silver soldier.
The soldier immediately knelt.
The girl stared at his horns.
"Are those real?"
The soldier nodded.
She reached toward them.
He hesitated.
Then lowered his head.
The girl touched one.
Her eyes widened.
"They're cold."
The soldier smiled.
"Yes."
"Can I touch the other one?"
The soldier nodded.
Ayan watched from a distance.
Seraphine stood beside him.
"Not exactly the army you expected."
Ayan smiled.
"No."
"Do you regret creating them?"
Ayan looked toward the silver beings.
"No."
"Even after everything?"
Ayan shook his head.
"I regret abandoning them."
Seraphine was quiet.
"That's different."
"Very."
They continued walking.
Aeris held Ayan's hand.
He occasionally looked around with fascination.
Everything was new to him.
The trees.
The houses.
The people.
The smell of food.
The sound of children laughing.
At one point, he stopped.
Ayan turned.
"What happened?"
Aeris pointed toward a small wooden building.
"What is that?"
"A house."
"Why?"
"So people have somewhere to live."
"Why don't they sleep outside?"
Ayan thought about the question.
"Because houses protect them."
"From what?"
"Weather."
"What's weather?"
Ayan paused.
Seraphine covered her mouth to hide a smile.
Ayan sighed.
"You're going to ask a lot of questions."
Aeris smiled.
"Yes."
"Fine."
He pointed toward the sky.
"Weather is what happens in the sky."
Aeris looked upward.
"Why?"
Ayan looked at him.
"I don't know."
The child blinked.
"You don't know?"
"No."
Aeris smiled.
"Good."
Ayan raised an eyebrow.
"Why is that good?"
"Because then we can find out together."
Ayan stared at him.
For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
Then he smiled.
"Yes."
They continued.
By the time they reached the settlement, darkness had fallen.
Fires burned throughout the streets.
People gathered around them.
Some stared at Aeris.
Others stared at Caelum.
A few whispered about the silver army.
Ayan could feel the uncertainty.
He understood it.
Their world had changed too quickly.
Yesterday, they had been fighting an unknown enemy.
Today, their enemy had become their neighbor.
Ayan climbed onto a raised platform.
The crowd gradually became silent.
Aeris stood beside him.
Ayan looked over everyone.
"Today, this world changed."
No one interrupted.
"The war is over."
A murmur moved through the crowd.
"But that doesn't mean everything is solved."
Ayan continued.
"We have wounded people."
He pointed toward the medical tents.
"We have destroyed homes."
Then toward the damaged buildings.
"We have millions of new people who have nowhere to live."
He looked toward the silver civilization.
"And we have questions."
The crowd remained silent.
Ayan's voice became firm.
"We will answer them."
He paused.
"Not today."
A few people smiled.
"Not tomorrow."
Ayan looked toward the sky.
"But eventually."
Then he looked at the silver beings.
"Starting tomorrow, the two civilizations will begin rebuilding together."
Some people looked uncertain.
Ayan understood.
So he continued.
"You don't have to trust each other."
That surprised them.
"You don't have to like each other."
A few nervous laughs escaped the crowd.
"But you will have to live beside each other."
Ayan looked at the silver army.
"And that means learning."
The elderly warrior stepped forward.
"We will cooperate."
A silver soldier beside him nodded.
"So will we."
Ayan smiled.
"Good."
He looked at Aeris.
The child was staring at the crowd.
Ayan placed a hand on his shoulder.
"And this is Aeris."
The child immediately looked at him.
Ayan continued.
"He is not a god."
Aeris blinked.
"He is not a weapon."
Aeris looked relieved.
"And he is not your ruler."
The child smiled.
"He is simply a child."
Ayan looked at Aeris.
"One who has the right to choose his own future."
The crowd became silent.
Then the elderly warrior bowed.
"Welcome, Aeris."
Aeris looked surprised.
He slowly bowed back.
"Thank you."
The tension eased slightly.
Ayan stepped down.
But before he could move farther, someone grabbed his arm.
It was Rhael.
"Come with me."
Ayan frowned.
"Why?"
"I found something."
The urgency in his voice made Ayan follow.
They moved through the settlement toward the northern wall.
Mira joined them.
Then Lumen.
Then Seraphine.
Caelum followed last.
At the edge of the settlement stood a damaged stone structure.
Ayan recognized it immediately.
It had been there before the battle.
An ancient ruin.
Rhael pointed toward the ground.
"Look."
Ayan crouched.
There were footprints.
Not human.
Not silver.
They were enormous.
Three toes.
Deep enough to sink several centimeters into stone.
Ayan's expression became serious.
"When?"
Rhael shook his head.
"We don't know."
Mira pointed toward the wall.
"There's more."
Ayan followed her finger.
A second set of footprints.
Then a third.
They surrounded the settlement.
Ayan slowly stood.
"Why didn't we notice them before?"
Lumen answered.
"Because they weren't there."
Ayan looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
"They appeared after the battle."
A cold feeling spread through Ayan.
He looked toward Aeris.
The child was still standing near the central fire.
He suddenly looked toward them.
Their eyes met.
Aeris's expression changed.
Ayan immediately returned to him.
"What happened?"
Aeris pointed toward the northern forest.
"There."
"What?"
"Someone is there."
Ayan looked toward the darkness.
"I don't see anyone."
Aeris shook his head.
"They're hiding."
"Can you tell who?"
The child closed his eyes.
Then opened them.
"It's the person from the city."
Ayan's heart stopped.
"Which person?"
"The one who looked like you."
Seraphine immediately drew her sword.
Ayan turned toward the forest.
"Stay here."
Aeris shook his head.
"No."
Ayan looked down.
"No?"
"I can help."
"How?"
Aeris raised his hand.
The colorless window appeared again.
This time, it didn't show the future city.
It showed the forest.
Ayan could see between the trees.
A figure stood there.
Tall.
Motionless.
Wearing a long black cloak.
Ayan stared.
The figure slowly lifted its head.
Even through the window, Ayan could see the face.
His face.
Older.
Much older.
But unlike the Ayan who had appeared in the city...
this version was smiling.
Ayan's eyes narrowed.
The older figure raised one hand.
He pointed directly toward Aeris.
Then he mouthed four words.
Ayan understood them.
"Give him to me."
Ayan's expression became cold.
The window vanished.
Seraphine stepped beside him.
"Who was it?"
Ayan looked toward the forest.
"Me."
Rhael tightened his grip on his spear.
"Your future self?"
"Apparently."
Caelum's expression became grim.
"No."
Ayan looked at him.
"What?"
Caelum stared toward the forest.
"That isn't your future self."
Ayan's eyes narrowed.
"Then who is he?"
Caelum answered quietly.
"The future version of the person you could have become."
Ayan stared into the darkness.
The forest was silent.
Too silent.
Then a voice came from between the trees.
"Ayan."
His own voice.
Older.
Colder.
"You're making the same mistake again."
Ayan tightened his grip around the staff.
"What mistake?"
The voice laughed softly.
"Trying to save something that was never meant to survive."
Ayan stepped forward.
"Come out."
The trees remained still.
Then the figure emerged.
He looked almost exactly like Ayan.
But his hair had turned completely white.
His face was covered with faint scars.
His eyes were colorless.
And behind him floated seven broken fragments of the old marks.
Ayan stared.
"You."
The older figure smiled.
"Me."
"You said I was making a mistake."
"You are."
"Why?"
The older Ayan looked toward Aeris.
"Because you're protecting him."
Ayan's expression hardened.
"Yes."
The older version smiled.
"Then you already know how this ends."
Ayan raised his staff.
"No."
The older Ayan tilted his head.
"You really don't understand."
He looked at Aeris.
"That child is not the future."
His eyes became cold.
"He's the beginning."
The ground beneath Aeris suddenly cracked.
Ayan's expression changed.
The colorless symbol on Aeris's palm exploded with light.
The entire settlement shook.
And from somewhere beneath the earth...
something answered.
A deep voice.
Ancient.
Awake.
"Finally."
Ayan looked downward.
The older version smiled.
"You've awakened it."
Ayan's heart sank.
"What?"
The older Ayan stepped backward.
"The thing that existed before the first world."
Ayan's eyes widened.
"The old man?"
The older version shook his head.
"No."
The ground split open.
Ayan heard a whisper rise from the darkness.
"Older than him."
The entire world trembled.
Aeris grabbed Ayan's hand.
"Father..."
Ayan looked down.
The child's eyes were glowing.
Not silver.
Not white.
Black.
Ayan's expression changed.
Aeris whispered.
"It's awake."
The darkness beneath them opened.
And something looked up.