The world hadn't settled.
After the confrontation, peace did not return. Only a denser silence, as if something —or someone— was listening, measuring every breath we dared to take.
We walked aimlessly until we reached a hidden pond tangled among twisted roots. The water was black as ink, yet it reflected... scenes.
Not from our present, nor from our recent past.
But from other possibilities.
Versions we had never lived.
In one, I held a different hand. In another, Sera burned a village to protect a child we'd never met. In another, we were enemies.
"We shouldn't be seeing this," Sera whispered, looking away.
But I couldn't.
There was one version where I gave up. Another where my laughter was more sincere. And one more… where I died alone in a cave, forgotten even by the system.
"Are these echoes part of the Shadowless Man?" I asked quietly.
"Not exactly," Sera replied, sitting beside me. "I think they're... remnants of the rewritten world. Traces that still insist on staying."
"What if one of these versions is the real one?" I asked.
She fell silent for a moment. Then, without looking at me, she said:
"Then this one —ours— will be the one we choose to make worth living."
Her voice didn't tremble.
But mine did.
"I saw a version where you died… protecting me."
"I saw one where you let me die."
The words hurt more than I expected. But Sera turned to me with soft, resigned eyes.
"It doesn't matter how many times we failed in other timelines, Ryouhei. The only thing that matters is that we're still here."
---
We spent the night beside the pond, not speaking much more. Each reflection reminded us of decisions we never made. Some were absurd. Others, painfully plausible.
One echo showed me abandoning Sera out of fear. Another showed me facing the Shadowless Man… alone… and losing.
And still, here we were.
---
By morning, the pond had dried. As if its purpose was fulfilled.
Carved into the stone, with letters belonging to no known language, a message appeared:
> "The weight of echoes defines the shape of the next decision."
We didn't fully understand it. But Sera touched it with her fingers and whispered:
"He's close. The true one. The one who walks without shadow…"
And for the first time, I felt we weren't just facing a villain.
But a consequence.
One still being written.