There was no door.
Only a shimmer in the sky — a ripple in reality that tugged at the shard Dee now wore around his neck. The moment they stepped through, the world fractured.
1. Entry
They fell.
Not downward, but sideways. Through memories that weren't theirs, yet almost were. The air shimmered with echoes — voices layered over each other, histories bleeding into each footstep.
Hiro hit the ground first, or rather, it caught him gently — a field of silver grass waving beneath a kaleidoscope sky. The moment his body touched the strange earth, he felt his skin tingle like it was remembering something old and almost forgotten.
"This... feels like a dream I don't remember having," he muttered, blinking up at the twisting clouds.
Dee landed next, standing gracefully like he'd done it before. He adjusted the shard on his neck, his eyes scanning the horizon with something between awe and resignation.
Vampher stumbled out last, cloak flaring, already muttering, "This smells like paradox."
They looked around.
Towers floated upside-down in the distance, their reflections rippling through empty air. Rivers ran backward, looping in and out of reality like threads being unpicked. Trees grew sideways and birds sang lullabies in reverse.
"Welcome to the Fractured Vale," Dee said. His voice was calm, but his fingers drummed nervously against his thigh. "Where time is tired of pretending it's linear."
2. The First Splinter: What If Hiro Ran
They walked until the land bent into a soft dip, and there it was — a twisted reflection of Hiro's childhood farm. But something was wrong.
The crops were aflame, flames licking the sky but emitting no heat. The farmhouse stood whole, not the charred husk Hiro remembered, but eerily empty. Not abandoned — untouched.
A younger Hiro crouched behind a barrel, trembling, eyes wide and wet as the Nightmare Devil descended from above like a storm of shadows.
He never fought back.
He ran.
"It's me," Hiro whispered. "But not."
"An echo," Dee said. "One of many."
"I hate this," Hiro muttered, swallowing hard. He could feel the same fear pulse through his chest as if he were there again.
"But do you understand it?" Dee asked.
"I do," Hiro said. Then, more softly, "And I don't want it to define me."
He stepped forward, his shadow stretching long over the memory of his younger self.
The scene collapsed into butterflies — silver and blue — fluttering skyward with a sound like a sigh.
3. The Second Splinter: What If Dee Accepted the Throne
Further on, they found a throne carved from woven light. It pulsed with ancient magic, its threads winding into the air like veins.
Around it knelt an entire kingdom — silent, glass-eyed, waiting.
Atop it sat Dee — robed in divine silk, expression unreadable. He wore a circlet of stars and held a scepter made of broken clocks.
He was alone.
"Ah," said the real Dee. His voice was too quiet. "So this is the path I refused."
The false-Dee stood, raised a hand — and the crowd vanished.
Not turned away. Not fled.
Erased.
"Absolute knowledge," Dee said. "But without love, it burns."
Hiro stepped closer, trying to meet Dee's eyes. "I like you more not sitting on thrones."
Vampher smirked. "You'd just use it as a bookshelf anyway."
The throne cracked down the middle with a sound like splintering ice.
4. The Third Splinter: What If Vampher Chose to Rule
A city of night — perfect, eternal twilight. The streets were paved with onyx, polished to reflect the stars above.
Statues of Vampher loomed over every alley and courtyard. Each one different — one smiling, one snarling, one serene. They formed a pantheon of himself.
He stood at the center, cape billowing, fangs bared. His crown was forged from promises broken and remade.
The people bowed in silence, their eyes glowing faintly with devotion.
"I didn't ask for this," real-Vampher said. "Did I?"
Echoes rose:
"You gave them peace."
"You gave them fear."
"You gave them you."
He stepped into his own statue's shadow.
It crumbled instantly.
"I don't want to be worshipped."
"Too late," Dee muttered. "The bard guild already made coins with your face."
"Those I keep," Vampher said, almost proudly.
5. The Heart of the Vale
At the center of the Vale was a cracked crystal spire, flickering with all timelines — a living monument of what could be.
Every choice. Every regret. Every "almost."
A girl sat at its base.
She looked up as they approached, her eyes swirling galaxies, hair drifting as if underwater.
"You came," she said. "You're real."
"You're the one Echo mentioned," Dee said. He tilted his head. "The riddle-seer?"
She nodded. "My name is Myla. I am the witness."
"To what?" Hiro asked.
She pointed upward.
"To the futures you flee.
To the selves you might be."
She touched the spire — and visions poured out.
6. What Could Be
Hiro — consumed by the Nightmare's curse, his hands black with fire — becomes the very monster he once slew. He walks through burning cities with empty eyes.
Dee — driven by loss, weaves time into a noose, and strangles the world by accident. Time bends, breaks, and bleeds in his wake.
Vampher — abandoned and grieving, embraces his hunger and becomes the King of Silence. All who hear his name forget their own.
But there were brighter visions, too:
Hiro — laughing atop a cliff, children running behind him. He lifts one into the air, spins, and laughs like someone who forgave himself.
Dee — sitting cross-legged under starlight, teaching a village of young weavers how to bind time into stories.
Vampher — in a smoky tavern, playing a lute terribly but joyfully. Drunk, grinning, one fang chipped, singing to people who don't fear him.
Myla smiled sadly. "The Vale shows all," she said. "But it cannot choose. That is yours alone."
7. The Third Seal
Myla stood slowly, her steps echoing in every direction.
"The third Seal is not a place," she said. "It is a decision. The timeline you walk from here locks the path ahead."
Dee frowned. "Wait. So... if we choose wrong—"
"—you'll lose the chance to undo what you saw in the mirror," Myla said softly.
For a moment, none of them spoke. They remembered:
The image of a burning world. Vampher shouting: "I can fix this. Give me a chance!"
Vampher stepped forward. His voice, when it came, was low and steady.
"I don't want to rule. I don't want to run. I just want to protect what's left."
He placed his hand on the spire.
It flared — brilliant white — and shattered.
8. Aftermath
Light rushed through the Vale, folding it like paper.
The world spun — colors reversed, sound unwound, and then snapped back.
When the world reassembled, they stood on solid ground again — at the base of a mountain shaped like a sword plunged into the earth.
The shard around Dee's neck now glowed brighter, casting soft pulses.
Two Seals broken.
Hiro let out a slow breath. "Do you think we made the right choice?"
"No," Vampher said honestly. "But I think we made our choice."
Dee nodded, eyes distant. "That's what matters."
9. Elsewhere…
In a room outside time, a thread-walker whispered into an ancient loom.
"They've chosen."
And something stirred in the dark places beneath time.
"Then the fourth will break itself."
Threads snapped.
A storm began.