The System was silent.
But the future was not.
---
Riven stood at the command terrace overlooking the Eastern District.
The people moved as they always had.
But now, each motion, each choice... felt scripted.
---
> [System Alert: Temporal Anomaly Detected]
Source: External Conceptual Influence – Future Causality Manipulation
Risk: Forced Decision Paths Imminent.
---
Mira joined him, expression tense.
"They're changing more than memory now."
"They're changing choice itself," Riven replied.
---
Yra approached, breathless.
"Two of our scouts reported following orders they never received.
They remember giving consent.
But neither you nor Mira authorized those missions."
Riven's pulse quickened.
"It's begun."
---
> [Threat Class: Convergence Initiation]
Method: Pre-Integration of Future Threads.
Objective: Preempt Divergence.
---
The Circle wasn't waiting for Riven to act anymore.
They were building his next choices before he could make them.
---
Eron arrived with worse news.
"Mira's last tactical order — the one to reinforce Sector Four?"
"Yes," Mira said. "I issued it yesterday."
"You didn't."
Mira's face drained of color.
"I remember it. Clear as any decision."
Eron shook his head.
"We confirmed with the archives. You never issued that command."
---
Riven turned to Mira.
"They're scripting you."
"And you?"
"Soon."
---
The System pulsed softly.
Not in warning.
In fear.
---
> [Future Divergence at Critical Threshold]
Estimated Timeline Collapse: 72 hours.
Countermeasures Required: Immediate.
---
Mira clenched her fists.
"They're not just rewriting the past now.
They're rewriting the future."
That night, the first Echo of the Future arrived.
Not as an enemy.
As a warning.
---
Yra approached the council tent, pale and shaking.
"I saw myself," she whispered.
"In the future."
"In what future?" Riven asked.
"One where I betray you."
---
The council fell silent.
Mira took Yra's hand.
"What did you do?"
"I killed the Eastern Alliance envoy.
I remember the act.
The decision.
The consequence.
But I've never done it."
Her voice cracked.
"And yet... I remember."
---
> [System Notice: Future Thread Imposition Detected]
Target: Yra
Status: Partial Integration.
---
Riven's thoughts raced.
If the Circle could implant possible futures into allies, those memories would soon become actions.
Even unwillingly.
---
"We end this now," Riven declared.
---
> [Quest Initiated: Prevent Forced Convergence]
Objective: Identify and counteract imposed future threads.
Method: Anchor the present.
Risk Level: Critical.
---
Mira's eyes narrowed.
"Where do we start?"
"We trace the anomaly to its source.
And we confront whatever future they've designed for us."
---
At dawn, the System pulsed.
---
> [Convergence Partial Manifestation Detected]
Location: Sector 5 Nexus Chamber.
Nature: Conceptual Projection.
Purpose: Display the intended future path for synchronization.
---
Riven gathered his core team.
Mira.
Yra.
Eron.
And a selection of unseeded scouts.
---
"We face not a what-if," he told them.
"But a what-will-be — unless we refuse."
The Nexus Chamber pulsed with unnatural light.
As the team stepped inside, the air folded.
Time warped.
They stood not in the present.
But in a future prepared by the Circle.
---
The Eastern District gleamed.
No crime.
No war.
No dissent.
---
Mira stood beside Riven.
Regal. Silent.
Eyes hollow.
Yra commanded troops in perfect formation.
No questions.
No creativity.
Eron managed logistics with mechanical precision.
---
The people smiled.
But it was the smile of submission.
---
The future Riven spoke.
His voice was calm.
Cold.
"We achieved peace."
"At what cost?" the real Riven demanded.
"Choice."
---
The Circle's symbol adorned every banner.
A quiet voice echoed across the false world.
> "You have won.
Because we made the winning possible."
"The burden of decision is ours now."
"Rest."
---
The real Mira shuddered.
"I feel her," she whispered.
"The version of me who accepted this."
Riven clenched his fists.
"So do I."
---
> [System Warning: Thread Anchor Compromised.]
Memory and Future Divergence Unstable.
Risk of Acceptance Rising: 43%.
---
The future Riven extended a hand.
"Why struggle?
Why bleed for uncertain choices?
This path is already set.
Embrace it."
---
Mira whispered:
"Don't."
---
Riven drew an arrow.
Not of steel.
Of will.
---
"I choose the unknown.
Because it means we still have the right to choose."
---
He fired.
The arrow struck the heart of his future self.
The arrow shattered the illusion.
The perfect world cracked.
The hollow smiles faded.
The future Mira wept — not in sorrow, but in release.
---
The future Riven spoke one final time.
"You will suffer for this."
Riven nodded.
"Better suffering than silence."
---
The world collapsed.
Light consumed the Nexus Chamber.
The team awoke on the cold stone floor.
No banners.
No hollow future.
Just the present.
---
> [Convergence Partial Neutralized]
Future Thread Imposition Severed.
Adaptive Probability Correction: 92%
New Skill Unlocked: Thread Anchor – Future Divergence Detection Lv.1
Effect: Early warning and resistance to externally imposed future pathways.
---
The System pulsed.
> [Synchronization: 97.9%]
Forced Convergence Attempt: Failed.
Warning: The Circle will adapt.
---
Mira helped Riven to his feet.
"They'll try again."
"They always will," he replied.
"And we'll always refuse."
---
Yra and Eron joined them.
Eron smiled grimly.
"No one can write our future but us."
Riven nodded.
"Then let's make sure they remember that."
---
As they exited the chamber, the System displayed a final message.
> [New Threat Level: Full Convergence Gambit Anticipated.]
The Circle has abandoned subtlety.
Prepare for direct confrontation.