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Maria and her family followed the Granite Person into a vast temple carved from hard stone, adorned with cactuses, palms, and intricate glasswork.
Inside, they found a monument holding a bowl filled with sand.
"The Sands of Time trembled for a moment," the chief said. "It means someone who defies fate has appeared."
"You."
"Ah..." Maria felt surprised but uncertain where this was leading.
The Granite Person introduced themselves as Stalactite, a "Future Seer" who could glimpse the future through these sands.
They had a mission: to tell Maria what they had seen.
"You saw...?"
"The worlds of the tower were being devoured, vanishing. That is the fact of the future. But you, a defier of fate, stand against it."
"I see..."
"You haven't altered the future yet. That will only become clear when the time arrives..."
"Sands of Time... what is this place exactly?"
"This is a grain of sand. I told you before, Maria."
"Come again? A grain of sand? What?"
