"Sometimes the greatest enemy is the version of you who gave up."
The sky cracked above the Mirror Graveyard.
Time rippled as Aarav stared into the eyes of the man who looked like him—but older, colder, carved from battle and regret. His cloak shimmered with cosmic threads. A fractured crown piece floated behind his back like a second moon.
Noorva whispered urgently behind him.
"That's not just a version of you. That's a future you've already forgotten.""And if he kills you here… that future becomes real."
🩸 A Duel of Selves
Aarav clenched the crown shard in his palm.
"Who are you?""I'm the Aarav who lost her," the man replied."Because I waited too long to remember."
Aarav lunged—but the future self moved with inhuman precision, summoning chains of starlight that wrapped around Aarav's limbs mid-air.
"You don't know how fragile she is yet," the future self said, voice bitter."You still believe you can save her without sacrifice."
Every strike Aarav attempted was countered with painful familiarity. It was like fighting a mirror that knew every move.
"Why are you trying to stop me?""Because if you unlock the mausoleum now… Selene dies in this timeline."
The words froze Aarav's heart.
🌓 The Locked Memory
The doors of the mausoleum behind them glowed, reacting to the chaos.
From within, a soft voice echoed—
"Aarav…?"
It was Selene.
But it was a younger version. Her voice held no power, no echo. Just fear.
Noorva gasped.
"It's not a door. It's a seal. One of her broken memories is caged inside."
Aarav turned, torn between the fight and the voice that made his heartbeat.
"She's trapped in there?""Yes. But unlocking it now will make the crown unstable. The Void will come."
"I don't care."
He pulled the silver notebook from his pocket. It glowed in sync with the crown shard.
"If this is my story—I'll write the risk."
He reached out—
But his future self screamed:
"DON'T. I ALREADY DID. IT COST EVERYTHING."
Aarav's fingers touched the Door of Memory—
And it opened.
🌌 The Memory Inside
Suddenly, Aarav stood inside a starlit temple.Selene sat at the center, a child, scribbling in the same notebook he held.
"They say I was never born," she whispered."Just summoned. Do you think the moon ever wanted me?"
She turned—and her silver eyes widened.
"Aarav… you're back."
He stepped toward her, heart aching.
"I never left."
But the moment he spoke, the world shook violently.A crack split the memory, and a shadow clawed its way in.
Abyssal. Formless. Endless.
The Void Sovereigns had found them.
The Clock Strikes Null
In the real world, time stopped.The mirrors cracked. Noorva screamed.
The older Aarav dropped to one knee, blood pouring from his chest.
"You've opened the door… now there's no way back."
In Aarav's hand, the pocket watch began ticking backward.Each tick unraveling a thread of reality.
And then, a voice whispered inside his mind:
"The moon cannot fall in love. It can only watch."
A shard of the moon fell from the sky like a meteor—headed straight for Selene's memory temple.
To be continued…