The night in the City Between Worlds was restless.
Ethan couldn't sleep.
He stood alone on a quiet platform, watching fragments of distant worlds drift like stars. The Fate Mark on his chest pulsed softly, slower now, almost thoughtful.
Control leads to peace.
The Eclipsed Order's words echoed in his mind.
He clenched his fists. "Peace without choice isn't peace," he whispered.
A soft footstep sounded behind him.
"You've said those words before."
Ethan turned sharply. A girl stood a few steps away—young, calm, with silver-blue eyes that reflected countless skies. Her presence felt… familiar.
"Who are you?" Ethan asked.
She smiled faintly. "You knew me once. In another life."
Before he could react, the world around them shifted.
The platform dissolved into mist.
Suddenly, Ethan stood in a different world—a ruined city beneath a red sky. Towers burned. People screamed. And at the center of it all…
He saw himself.
Not the Ethan he knew—but older, colder, wearing a broken version of the Fate Mark.
"That's impossible," he breathed.
"That was your past," the girl said gently. "Or one of them."
The vision unfolded. That Ethan had tried to save his world by forcing order—making choices for others, believing freedom caused suffering.
And he had failed.
The world collapsed anyway.
Ethan staggered back. "I'd never do that."
She met his gaze. "You already did. Once."
The scene shifted again. Another world. Another Ethan. Another ending—some heroic, some tragic.
"How many lives…?" Ethan whispered.
"Enough for the Eclipsed Order to fear you," she replied.
The vision faded, returning them to the quiet platform.
Lyria's voice echoed from afar. "Ethan!"
The girl stepped back. "My name is Talia. I was created to remember what you forgot."
Ethan reached out. "Wait—"
But she was already fading, her voice lingering like an echo.
"When the time comes, you must choose… not just between worlds… but between who you were and who you will become."
The night returned to silence.
Lyria ran up to him, breathless. "You disappeared. Are you hurt?"
Ethan shook his head slowly. "No… but I've been warned."
Selara approached, her eyes sharp. "You saw her too, didn't you?"
Ethan looked up. "You know her?"
Selara nodded. "A memory-bearer. The Eclipsed Order uses the past as a weapon."
Kael frowned. "So now they're inside your head?"
Ethan touched the Fate Mark, now steady and calm. "They can show me my past… but they don't control my future."
He looked at his friends, determination hardening in his eyes.
"I am not the man I was in those worlds," he said. "And I won't become their version of balance."
High above, unseen eyes watched silently.
The Eclipsed Order had begun its true attack—not with blades or shadows…
…but with memory.