Alden looked at the reflection in the golden lake and felt his chest tighten.
The dark elves were still searching for him, but his comrades weren't there. He had come to this place alone.
If he went back now, those dark elves would kill him without question.
That's when he noticed something at his ankle.
A thin black thread, dark as those hands that had grabbed and dragged him here. It pulsed slightly and moved like it was alive.
In this beautiful place where everything glowed gold, red, silver, and white—where the air felt warm and gentle—this thread was completely out of place.
Alden stayed quiet about it.
He didn't mention it. Whatever had brought him here—that shadow thing—could ruin everything.
If Aurenya saw it and tried to send him back, he would die.
So he smiled and acted normal, keeping the secret to himself. For now.
He had no intention of hiding it forever—just until the pursuers were gone, and he was ready to return.
He had been in Antithesis for a full day now.
The only person he'd met was Aurenya.
Her beauty was overwhelming. It actually hurt to look at her for too long.
Her wings moved like slow flames, her hair drifted even when there was no wind, and her eyes made it hard for him to breathe properly.
Alden had to constantly focus and keep himself under control. He would clench his jaw or pinch his arm to stay sane, because if he didn't, he felt like he might lose his mind completely.
Instead of staring at her, he talked. He told her about Earth—about kingdoms, kings, empires, steel weapons, horses, ships, and skies without golden light.
About men and women, wars and rain. Things she'd never even imagined.
And she asked him endless questions.
She would lean in close, her golden eyelashes fluttering as she listened with complete curiosity.
"What is a sword?"
"Why do your people burn so easily?"
"Is love the same as making a promise?"
He'd never seen anyone so alive with wonder.
Her wings would twitch in fear when he told her about thunder.
Her eyes would brighten when he described music.
When he showed her his compass, she gasped and thought it was some kind of mythical item.
As things were going, Alden almost wished he could stay in this place forever, with her.
Until Kaelira and Syralis returned.
---
The air changed before he saw them. Two figures stepped into the clearing—one surrounded by blue-white frost, the other by golden red flames.
Kaelira and Syralis. Aurenya's kin.
And they saw it immediately.
They saw the black thread at his ankle.
The evil thing that didn't belong in Antithesis.
They stood across the golden clearing. Syralis's frost crackled through the grass, leaving ice crystals behind. Kaelira's flames flickered like a volcano.
Neither of them spoke.
Kaelira raised her hand to cast a spell.
But before she could complete it, Aurenya jumped between them.
"No!" she cried out.
Her wings spread wide, light bursting around her.
Her voice was desperate in a way Antithesis had never heard before.
"He's not like that!"
Syralis narrowed her eyes, her hand frozen in the air.
Aurenya's voice shook as she continued,
"He's not part of the chaos. He's not like the others."
Kaelira's expression hardened.
"You haven't seen any others."
Aurenya's heart was pounding.
"I know. He's the only outsider I've ever seen or talked to. But I've heard about the chaos... I've seen what it does—how it destroys light and twists people's minds, even us."
She looked back at Alden.
He sat completely still, listening.
"He's not like that," she whispered. "He's my first friend."
The silence that followed felt endless.
Kaelira slowly lowered her hand, torn between anger and love for her sister.
Syralis said nothing but stared hard at Alden with complete disbelief.
Finally, Kaelira spoke in a firm voice.
"And yet he brought such a vile thing here? Isn't he just tricking you?"
Aurenya flinched.
Kaelira continued,
"He must be eradicated."
"Please, no," Aurenya sobbed.
Alden looked down at the black thread, which seemed to shiver from all the magic around them.
He clenched his hands into fists but said nothing.
All around them, the golden woods were completely silent. Hundreds of gold-winged Saelari watched from afar—those born from the other Trees, not frost or flame.
None of them moved to attack.
They all loved Aurenya in their own way, even Kaelira and Syralis.
They couldn't hurt Alden while she stood in front of him like a shield, her eyes pleading with them.
For a long moment, Aurenya was quiet, sobbing.
Then she slowly spoke, though she looked fragile.
"Isn't there a way we can send him back? Alive... He will then destroy that thing. Just give him some time."
She paused, then looked up at Kaelira and Syralis, then back to Alden.
"Let him return. If the Trees allow it, we'll still be able to talk to each other. He'll be able to hear me. That's possible, isn't it?"
There was something hopeful but breakable in her voice. She really believed everything would work out fine.
Even though she couldn't talk to the Trees herself—no matter how hard she tried—she had faith they would listen this time.
For him. For her first friend.
Kaelira looked tired and conflicted. She closed her eyes and reached out to connect with the flame Tree called Virelya.
The entire golden forest seemed to hold its breath.
Then she got an answer.
Kaelira opened her eyes, her voice softer now.
"Virelya has agreed."
She turned to Alden, who looked both relieved and anxious.
"You will receive the Tree's blessing," Kaelira said. "It's not control or protection. Just a connection."
Then, without anyone touching him, something went through Alden's chest.
It didn't hurt—it just felt like a new presence.
A thin, blood‑red thread, finer than hair, went through his heart and glowed faintly.
He could feel it stretching toward Aurenya like an invisible rope.
Aurenya blinked in amazement and smiled with wonder.
"Now we can talk to each other," she said quietly, happy that her wish was fulfilled.
Syralis closed her eyes, as if listening to something only she could hear. Then she opened her mouth, her voice calm and clear.
"Before he goes back, he must tell us how he got here. The Trees need to know for the safety of our realm."
Kaelira nodded.
"That is a must. Tell us honestly, outsider. How did you get here?"
Alden hesitated. The black thread at his ankle was still pulsing.
But with Aurenya's eyes on him, believing in him, he couldn't lie.
Also, according to his calculation, this was the best way to stay alive.
So, he told them everything.
How he fell from his horse.
How black hands dragged him through what felt like a swamp of shadows.
How he felt like he was being ripped out of his world.
And finally, the dark thread that he had no idea how had attached itself to him.
When he finished, neither Kaelira nor Syralis spoke.
They stood in heavy silence, thinking deeply.
Then the three frost and flame children moved to a place away from Alden to talk privately.
---
Finally, Kaelira said quietly,
"This is a problem."
Syralis nodded.
"It means something from outside can break into Antithesis now. That's never happened before. That thread doesn't belong here. If it was strong enough to pull someone into Antithesis, it could open a way for others."
Aurenya clutched her arms.
"Then... can't we just cut it off? Destroy it before it spreads?"
Syralis shook her head.
"Not here. It's bound to the world he came from. If we try to burn it here, it may react—snap open the way it entered and make a permanent tear... or something worse."
Kaelira added,
"We can't purify what we don't understand. Antithesis is sealed for a reason."
A long silence followed.
Then Kaelira's voice dropped, cold and final:
"If we sever his connection and send him back, the thread will consume him on its own. That was our first plan. Eradicate the threat by letting it destroy itself."
Aurenya's eyes widened.
"You were going to let it kill him?"
Syralis met her gaze.
"It wouldn't be us killing him, Aurenya. It would be balance restoring itself."
"But he had no bad intention..." she whispered.
"That remains to be seen," Syralis frowned.
Kaelira closed her eyes, reaching for Virelya.
"We can't stop him from returning. But if the Tree allows a thread—a link—we give him the choice to destroy it himself."
Syralis added softly,
"That will tell us who he truly is."
---
Then the three returned.
Syralis turned to Alden, her gaze freezing him in place.
"Whatever that thread is, you must destroy it when you return. Burn it. Freeze it. Make sure it's completely gone."
Alden nodded slowly, making the promise—with his memory of Antithesis as the price.
If he failed to burn and freeze it for a week, he would forget everything about Antithesis—and, of course, Aurenya.
He looked at Aurenya one more time. Her golden eyelashes lowered sadly.