The blinding light faded, revealing a warped landscape where time itself seemed fractured — shards of past and future flickering like fractured glass.
Kael stumbled, the searing heat from his flames still buzzing beneath his skin. Beside him, Aeris gasped, eyes wide as she scanned the horizon where echoes of forgotten memories and future possibilities tangled in the air.
But something was wrong.
The Architect stood unmoved, her calm gaze now chillingly distant. Around her, shadows whispered secrets — some familiar, others horrifyingly new.
"Why... why aren't you fading?" Aeris demanded, stepping forward, the amulet's glow flickering uncertainly.
The Architect's lips curled into a smirk. "I've become more than fate's puppet. I am the weaver of threads now."
Suddenly, from the fractured space emerged a figure — someone Kael and Aeris never expected to see again. His eyes, once full of warmth, now glinted with betrayal.
"Kael," the figure said, voice low and cold, "it's time you learned the truth."
Shock froze Kael in place. Aeris tightened her grip on his arm, sensing the storm about to break — one that could tear them apart from within.
In this shattered reality, trust was a fragile illusion. Loyalties would be tested, and the very foundation of their alliance threatened to crumble.
As the Rift pulsed with unstable energy, Kael realized the greatest battle might not be against the Architect — but against those they once called friends.