Some versions of you are not dead.
They are just waiting… for your permission to return.
The air between them shimmered like memory in firelight.
Serenya stared at the girl before her—herself, yet not.
This version wore battle-worn armor etched in runes, her hair braided with bloodred thread, and her eyes—those eyes—glowed gold with the weight of unshed centuries.
"You're… me?" Serenya whispered.
The girl tilted her head, smirking. "The part they locked away. The one that burned kingdoms. The one that loved without rules."
A pause.
"I am the Serenya before mercy."
The Hollow Room
They stood inside a space with no walls, no sky. Just mist swirling underfoot and a single silver mirror, cracked clean down the center.
It reflected neither of them.
"Why did they seal you away?" Serenya asked.
The ancient self—Prime Serenya—stepped closer.
"Because I remembered who I was… and chose not to obey."
Serenya stepped back. "What did you do?"
"I broke the thread. I spoke a name I wasn't meant to."
Serenya's breath caught. "To save him."
Prime nodded. "And I'd do it again."
A Choice Revisited
"I'm not like you," Serenya whispered. "I don't want to destroy fate. I want to fix what I broke."
Prime's smile faded. "That's the lie they fed you."
She reached out—and in her palm appeared a memory, glowing like a shard of starlight.
"Look."
Serenya hesitated.
The moment she touched it—
She saw it.
Flashback – The True Moment of Rebellion
Not a battlefield.
A garden.
Twilight. Two souls standing hand-in-hand. Hers and—
Caelum.
But… not Caelum as she knew him.
He wore silver robes. A golden circlet on his head. And fear in his eyes.
"I don't want to go," he whispered.
"You'll die if you stay," she answered.
"They'll erase you."
He nodded. "Then let them."
She shook her head.
Then whispered his true name.
And the world cracked.
Back in the Hollow
Serenya gasped, stumbling back. The memory burned.
"That was his name," she breathed.
Prime Serenya nodded. "You gave it form. You pulled him back from the edge of oblivion. And in doing so—you shattered the balance."
"Why did I forget?"
"Because the Celestial Tribunal made sure you would. They erased you… and me… to protect their order."
A pause.
"But now, you've remembered. And I'm free."
The Mirror Cracks Further
The broken mirror shimmered.
Suddenly—it began to show something.
A battlefield. Black skies. Souls raining like ash.
In the center—Prime Serenya, wielding a blade made of thread and flame.
And before her—
The Soulkeeper, kneeling.
Crying.
Whispering: "Please… don't make me remember."
Serenya stepped back.
"That… hasn't happened yet."
"It's a possible future," Prime said softly. "One where we take back what was stolen. One where we win."
Serenya's hands shook. "And the cost?"
"Everything."
The Choice
Prime extended her hand.
"Merge with me," she said. "You'll become whole again. You'll remember every thread, every life, every truth. No more doubt."
Serenya looked down at her trembling fingers.
"No more kindness?" she asked.
Prime blinked. "Kindness can remain. But mercy…"
A pause.
"…mercy is the luxury of those who've never been betrayed."
Serenya closed her eyes.
Inside her—thread by thread—every life she had lived flickered like flame.
Some gentle. Some monstrous.
But all—hers.
And for the first time, she didn't feel afraid.
She took the hand.
Golden light burst between them.
Pain. Fire. Echoes. Thousands of names spoken in one breath.
The mirror shattered.
And when the light faded—
Only one Serenya stood.
Her eyes now held galaxies. Her fingers glowed with threadlight.
But her heart…
Still beat with both rage and hope.
Outside the realm
The mist parted.
And Caelum saw her step through.
No longer broken.
No longer forgotten.
A storm made flesh.
Caelum fell to his knees.
"Anaya?"
She shook her head softly.
"Not anymore."
He looked up. "Then who are you?"
A pause.
A smile that broke worlds.
"I am Serenya.
The one who remembers.
The one who burned for love."