Chapter 27: The Paradox Garden
The portal from Nocthera opened into a sprawling realm where paradoxes bloomed like flowers. Floating bridges twisted into themselves, and rivers flowed backward into the sky. Arin stepped out first, his mind still echoing with the Fragment's revelations.
"This is the Convergence Nexus," Maeryn whispered. "The place where discarded timelines converge before fading into entropy."
Here, the laws of reality flickered. Time ran sideways. Possibilities sprouted into temporary truths. They had arrived to meet the next Sovereign—Lunaiya, Keeper of the Paradox Garden.
She was waiting. Draped in a cloak of starlight and crowned with twin moons, Lunaiya's smile revealed countless teeth, each etched with a different future.
"Arin Chronos," she said, "you carry both Collapse and Origin. But can you wield Potential?"
To prove himself, Arin was cast into the Garden's core: the Test of Infinite Branches.
Each branch he touched showed him a version of himself:
As a tyrant.
As a martyr.
As a forgotten footnote.
As a father.
As a god.
Arin wept. He raged. He learned.
By the end, he stood before Lunaiya again—not stronger, but clearer.
> Bond with Lunaiya established. Affinity Unlocked: Temporal Weaving Skill Gained: Chrono-Tether (Link events across timelines for strategic manipulation)
The Garden shimmered.
And then cracked.
---
Chapter 28: The Tribunal's Judgment
The Sovereigns were watching.
Above the Cradle of Chronos, the Tribunal of Fracture—a trio of ancient beings who once governed the balance of space-time—assembled to judge Arin's right to continue.
Each bore a title:
Voktar, the Weight of All Ends.
Myel, the Mirror Without Past.
Oran, the Decision That Never Was.
Their domain was the Citadel of Last Possibility, a reality where only one truth could survive. Here, Arin's every achievement was tested.
"You wield too much," Voktar said.
"You've changed too much," Myel added.
"You must lose something," Oran whispered.
A final trial was declared: Arin had to relive his death—his original death on Earth—but retain awareness. To experience it with all he'd become.
He did.
He watched his past self cry. Beg. Break.
And then, he reached back—not to erase it, but to forgive it.
> Trial Passed. Chrono-Sync Achieved: All past selves acknowledged.
But the Tribunal left a warning:
> Three timelines still resist. One holds your betrayer. One holds your salvation. One holds the true origin of the System.
As the Tribunal faded, a pulse echoed across dimensions.
A new entity stirred. Watching. Calculating.
Its name was whispered in collapsing tongues:
"Entropy's Architect."