Aira felt the weight of Kael's words echo inside her like a broken bell.
The girl who shattered our world.
Her?
Impossible. She could barely handle her own life—how could she destroy an entire realm?
The silver-eyed man—still leaning on her—let out a pained groan. Kael immediately stepped forward, but Aira instinctively moved between them.
"Stop. Both of you," she said, breath shaking. "I want answers, not a fight."
Kael's golden eyes softened at her voice. The silver-eyed man's fingers curled weakly at her sleeve, as if he feared she'd drift toward the other.
The forest's crystal leaves shimmered, scattering fragments of light across the ground. The air thickened—heavy, expectant.
Something unseen was shifting.
Kael drew a slow breath. "Aira… listen carefully. Fate is not a fixed thread. It changes when you change. The moment you returned—alive—every fate line in this world trembled."
"Fate… lines?" she echoed.
He nodded. "Threads that bind futures. Paths that decide who dies, who lives, who loves…" His voice quieted on the last word.
Aira swallowed, heat rising in her cheeks.
The silver-eyed man leaned closer to her ear, his voice a strained whisper.
"Don't listen to him. He twists fate with his words."
Kael's jaw tightened. "And you hide truths she deserves to know."
Aira clenched her fists. "Enough—tell me what's happening to me."
Kael stepped closer, slowly, as if approaching a wounded star.
"When you died seven years ago, fate sealed. The sky cracked. The world began collapsing into Rifts. But the moment you touched the book… something changed." His gaze locked onto hers, fierce and tender. "Your thread pulled itself back into our realm. And every fate line bent toward you again."
Aira felt a pulse beneath her feet—like the forest itself agreed.
The silver-eyed man sucked in a sharp breath. "Kael—don't."
Kael ignored him.
"You're the axis of destiny, Aira. You always were."
Her vision swam. "But I don't remember anything. I'm not the girl you're talking about."
Kael gave a soft, aching smile.
"Memory doesn't change your soul."
The forest suddenly flickered with silver light.
Aira gasped as thin strands of glowing threads appeared in the air—dozens of them, weaving around her like shimmering spider silk.
"What… what is this?" she whispered, eyes wide.
Kael exhaled in awe. "The fate lines. They're choosing again."
The silver-eyed man tried to stand, gripping his side. "Aira—don't touch them—"
But one of the threads brushed her hand.
The world jolted.
Visions exploded behind her eyes—flashes of two men standing on opposite sides of a burning sky… her own silhouette reaching toward someone's outstretched hand… a kiss beneath falling starlight… a final scream swallowed by darkness.
She staggered, gasping.
Kael caught her shoulders.
"Aira—look at me—breathe."
The silver-eyed man reached for her too, pulling her against him protectively.
The fate lines shimmered, tightening, humming louder.
Kael's voice dropped to a whisper.
"The world is rewriting itself around you."
Aira trembled.
"What does that mean?"
Both men fell silent.
It was Kael who finally answered—quiet, heavy, sincere.
"It means… your choices from this moment forward will decide all our destinies."
The fate lines brightened—then burst into ripples of light.
Aira felt her heart twist.
Because in that instant, she realized:
Both men's futures were tied to hers.
And one of them…
would break the world to keep her.