THE HIDDEN COST

The golden mist around them pulsed, flickering like a dying star. The visions of Earth and Natuka wavered, unstable—fragments of futures overlapping like ripples in time.

Kieran clenched his fists, his visions growing chaotic. He could no longer see a single path forward—only spiraling, contradicting fates. **Something was wrong.**

Elara stepped closer to the portal, her fingers twitching as if she could feel its instability. "The Reckoning wasn't supposed to be like this, was it?" she murmured. "It was supposed to be a choice between two worlds. But now…"

Rebel's golden eyes darkened as he turned to the entity. "What aren't you telling us?"

For the first time, the entity hesitated. Then, its voice echoed through the ruins.

**"The Reckoning has fractured."**

A low, unnatural hum filled the temple, and suddenly, the mist **tore apart**.

From the darkness, something **else** began to emerge.

A second portal—**cracked, unstable, and wrong**—manifested behind the first. Its light was a deep, unnatural red, swirling with chaotic energy. But what made Kieran's breath catch in his throat was what lay **beyond it**.

Natuka was there, but it wasn't the world they knew. It was **something else entirely.** The landscape was twisted, contorted into impossible shapes. The sky churned with unnatural colors, and in the distance, **shadows moved**—watching, waiting.

The realization hit Kieran like a dagger to the chest.

"There's a third option," he whispered.

The entity's voice was grave.

**"No. There is an anomaly. A consequence of interference."**

Rebel's expression hardened. "Interference? From who?"

The answer came not from the entity—but from the shifting shadows within the **red portal**.

A voice—**familiar, yet distant**—echoed through the chamber.

**"You did this."**

Kieran's breath caught.

Elara's face paled. "No… That's not possible."

Because stepping forward from the red portal—**was a version of them**.

Their own reflections, but not as they were now. These figures were **altered**—marked by the same darkness that had infected the alternate Natuka. Kieran's other self had eyes like voids, his visions replaced with something twisted. Elara's doppelgänger shifted endlessly, unable to hold a single form. And Rebel's counterpart…

Rebel's other self was **completely golden**, his body glowing with unchecked power, as if he had embraced something **far beyond his control**.

This was the unknown consequence of the Reckoning.

It had created **a third future**—one that was unraveling everything.

And now, the choice was more impossible than ever.

—