Erevan stepped from the shadows like a phantom.
White hair glowing faintly.
Red eyes like dying suns.
A calm smile that could break nations.
Kael shielded Lyra with his body. "Stay away from her."
Erevan raised a brow. "You still cling to sentiment. Cute."
"I'm warning you—"
"Kael…" Erevan cut him off gently. "Do you know why this is the Final Timeline?"
Kael didn't answer.
Erevan gestured around them.
"The world is collapsing. Every forced regression tears reality. Every change fractures cause and effect."
He took a step closer.
"You saw the Timeline Library, didn't you? You must have noticed the patterns."
Kael clenched his fists.
Erevan smiled thinly.
"Lyra Voss—your little friend—appears in none of the timelines. Do you know why?"
Kael didn't speak.
Erevan whispered:
"Because she existed before regression corrupted the world."
Kael's heart stopped.
Erevan continued:
"She is the World Anchor. The original soul of this timeline. The only constant that predates the loops."
Lyra trembled behind Kael.
Her eyes were wide and wet.
"I… I'm not…"
Erevan approached her, ignoring Kael completely.
"You are the root and the end. And I need you."
Kael moved instantly—
—but Erevan flicked his fingers.
Time stopped.
Kael's body froze mid-step.
Erevan gently touched Lyra's cheek.
"You will awaken soon. And when you do… the world will bow."
He vanished with a soft ripple.
Time resumed.
Kael collapsed forward, gasping.
Lyra whispered, voice shaking:
"Kael… I'm scared."
Kael pulled her close.
"I won't let him take you. Not now, not ever."
But inside, he was terrified too.
Because Erevan didn't need to kidnap her—
He needed her to awaken.
And Kael didn't know how to stop that.