"Not all who are buried are dead. Some are only forgotten."
Aarav awoke to silence.No stars. No sky. Only the whisper of wind across a shattered stone path.
He sat up slowly, pain blooming in his chest like an old scar reawakened. The silver crown fragment lay beside him, humming faintly—as if sensing danger.
The air tasted of roses.Old roses. Dried petals and fresh blood.
And then he saw it.
The graveyard stretched endlessly, lined with cracked obsidian mirrors instead of headstones. Each mirror reflected a different sky, a different life—none of them his own.
🪞 A Cemetery of Lives That Never Were
As Aarav stumbled forward, the mirrors began to murmur.
"You forgot her.""You left her again.""You were the one who asked for the curse…"
He turned and saw his own reflection in one of them—except it wasn't him.
It was a version of himself draped in starlight armor, a silver blade strapped to his back.Eyes full of rage.
It whispered:
"I was the one who fought for her. You were the one who forgot."
And then it shattered.
The shards fell inward, revealing a path. At the end—a glowing white mausoleum, its gates carved with moons and locked with a sigil Aarav remembered from a dream.
🌒 The Three Doors of Memory
The mausoleum held three doors, each marked with a word in an ancient script that his soul recognized, though his mind didn't.
"Smaran" – Memory
"Saṃkalpa" – Intention
"Tyāga" – Sacrifice
A voice spoke behind him—familiar and cold.
"You can only choose one."
He turned.
A woman stood there, cloaked in shadows, but her eyes glowed silver.Not Selene. Not her echo.Something... older.
"My name is Noorva. Keeper of the Graveyard.""Every time you chose her in a lifetime, this place expanded.""You've filled an entire graveyard with what you've forgotten."
Aarav's breath trembled.
"Why am I here?""Because in this life… you remembered too early."
🌌 Truth of the Cursed Moon
Noorva walked with him past broken mirrors.
One reflected Aarav on a throne, Selene at his side—his hand bloody, the stars trembling in fear of him.Another showed Selene alone, eyes blind, calling out a name that echoed forever.
"Selene's soul is not only broken—it's splintered across timelines.""Every piece of her you remember attracts the Void Sovereigns.""They do not fear Selene… they fear what you two become together."
She stopped at the Door of Sacrifice.
"You want to save her?""You must give up something that matters more than her."
Aarav clenched his fists.
"I have nothing left to give."
But Noorva only smiled—soft, sad, cruel.
"Then give up your future."
The Silver Bell
Before he could decide, a bell rang deep within the graveyard.
Noorva's face went pale.
"No… they've found this place already."
The mirrors began to vibrate violently.
From the far edges of the graveyard, a wave of inverted fire erupted—dark flames that burned without light, devouring reality.
And from that void stepped a figure—
A man.
Wearing Aarav's face.But older. Hardened. Cold.
"You're not ready to finish the story," the doppelgänger said."So I'm here to rewrite it."
His eyes glowed like dying stars.
And from his chest, a third fragment of Selene's Crown pulsed—already fused into him.
To be continued…