Fragments of eternity

Kael

For a moment, everything seemed calm. The surrounding forest whispered in an ancient language, words that felt like warnings. The wind danced through the trees, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth. But there was something else. Something metallic and sharp, like the smell of fresh blood or burnt iron.

Then, I heard it. A distant sound, like the echo of thunder. But there were no clouds in the golden sky above. After that came the footsteps. Heavy, rhythmic, like the march of a machine, but human enough to send chills down my spine.

I turned slowly, my heart racing. Every instinct in my body screamed for me to run, but my legs felt frozen. And then, he appeared.

"Did you really think you could escape me?"

The voice sliced through the air like a blade, cold and cruel. Thorne emerged from the shadows of the trees, more imposing than ever. His presence was suffocating, a mix of absolute authority and imminent danger. His eyes glowed, but not with the warmth of any living emotion. It was something beyond, something that made me realize he had changed since the last time we met.

"Thorne..." I murmured, feeling my throat dry as I tried to step back.

"You really believed you were in control, Kael?" he asked, his voice laced with disdain. He stepped forward, and the ground seemed to quake under his feet. "You? Controlling the cycle? You’re nothing but a pawn. You always have been. You always will be."

There was something in his words that struck deep. It wasn’t just the threatening tone but the weight of truth behind them. He knew. He understood the cycle, and now I was certain: he was part of it.

"Why are you here? How did you find me?" My voice came out steady, but fear pulsed behind it.

"I am the cycle, Kael," he said, as if the answer was obvious. "I’ve always been here. I always will be. You’re trapped in my game, and there’s no way out."

Those words chilled me to my core. "And Lena? Where is she?"

At the mention of her name, Thorne smiled. It wasn’t an ordinary smile; it was cruel, carrying the promise of destruction.

"Lena…" He said her name slowly, savoring each syllable. "She’s the key. She always has been. And you, Kael? You’re nothing but an obstacle. A temporary distraction."

My anger began to rise, fighting against the fear that paralyzed me. "You haven’t touched her."

Thorne laughed, a sound that echoed through the trees like thunder. "Touched her? I don’t need to. She’s where she’s always been: at the intersection of everything. But you… you still don’t understand what that means, do you?"

Before I could respond, he raised his hand. A burst of dark energy surged toward me like a wave. I jumped aside instinctively, but the impact threw me against a tree. The shock coursed through my body, leaving my limbs tingling.

"You’re so predictable," he said, taking another step toward me. "Always trying to save someone, always trying to be the hero. But this isn’t about heroism, Kael. It’s about destiny. And destiny isn’t something you can simply avoid."

He raised both hands now, and the air around us began to distort. The golden sky darkened, replaced by a heavy, oppressive gray. The trees disappeared, swallowed by a shadow that seemed to consume everything around us.

"Thorne, what are you doing?" my voice echoed, but it didn’t feel strong enough to cut through the pressure around me.

"Taking you to where it all begins and ends," he replied, with a smile that seemed to split the world in two.

The ground trembled violently, and suddenly I felt as though I was falling. I closed my eyes reflexively, bracing for impact. But when I opened them again, we were somewhere else.

Ruined buildings rose like skeletons against a red and blackened sky. The air was thick, as if I were breathing dust and ashes. I knew where we were before I even asked. Earth. But something was wrong.

"Welcome to the future," Thorne said, gesturing to the wreckage around us. "Or perhaps… the past. It’s hard to say."

My chest tightened as I recognized a partially destroyed building. It was a library. Not just any library, but one I used to visit as a child. It looked like it had been abandoned for centuries, but I knew that didn’t make sense.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

"You need to understand, Kael," Thorne began, taking a step forward. "The cycle isn’t just about you and Lena. It’s about everything. Every choice you make resonates throughout existence. And you’ve been making the same mistakes, life after life."

"And you’re the only one who understands this?" I asked, my tone filled with skepticism.

Thorne smiled again, but this time there was something darker in his expression. "I’m the only one who can control it."

Before I could react, I heard a distant sound. A scream. I turned quickly, my heart pounding. In the middle of the ruins, I saw a figure.

"Lena!"

She was on the other side of a destroyed plaza, surrounded by shadows that seemed alive. She turned, her eyes wide as she saw me.

"Kael! Is that you?" she shouted, but before I could answer, the shadows advanced on her.

I ran, ignoring the danger around me, but Thorne raised his hand, blocking my path with an invisible barrier.

"You still don’t understand, Kael," he said, his voice now lower but still laden with power. "The choices you make here will determine everything. But none of them will save you from the inevitable."

"Let her go, Thorne," I demanded, my body trembling with rage and desperation.

"She doesn’t need saving," he replied. "You do."

With a gesture, he disappeared, leaving only his laughter echoing in the air. And as I tried to reach Lena, I felt the true weight of what he had said: we were trapped in something far bigger than I could ever imagine.

The cycle was closing. And this time, there might be no escape.