The dawn broke quietly over Glimmertide, the first rays of light creeping through the remnants of the broken tower. Jonah stood by the riverbank, the soft flow of water soothing his restless mind. The air was fresh, carrying with it a sense of renewal. Yet something inside him felt different—he felt different.
Evelyne stood beside him, her presence a calm reassurance. They hadn't spoken much since Jonah had fixed the rift in time, but there was an understanding between them, a shared silence that said more than words ever could. The world had been healed, but the cost had been high. Jonah had given so much of himself—he was still a part of time, tangled within it, and no matter what he did, he would never truly escape it.
"I thought it would feel different," Jonah murmured, staring out over the water.
Evelyne's voice was soft. "What did you think it would feel like?"
Jonah turned to her, his expression lost in thought. "I don't know. Peace, I guess. Some kind of end. But all I feel is… uncertain."
She nodded, understanding. "The world's been stitched back together, Jonah. But it's not the same as before. You're not the same as before."
Jonah looked down at his hands, fingers trembling slightly. "I don't know if I ever was the same. I think I've been changed in ways I can't even begin to understand."
"It's okay," Evelyne said gently. "You don't have to understand it all right now. You've done something extraordinary. You chose to fight for something greater than yourself. That's what matters."
Jonah smiled faintly, though there was sadness in his eyes. "But that choice came with a price. The second I returned isn't just gone. It's inside me. A part of me."
"And that's why you'll never be forgotten," Evelyne replied. "Not by anyone who truly knows you."
Jonah's gaze drifted back to the horizon, the sky shifting from the pale blue of dawn to a deeper, richer color. The world felt new again, but it wasn't the same. The rift had healed, but time would never be the same as it had been before Jonah's intervention.
Thorne approached, his footsteps soft but deliberate. He, too, had watched as the world had righted itself. There was a certain finality in his expression, though it was mixed with a quiet satisfaction.
"You've done it," Thorne said, his voice heavy with approval. "The timeline is stable. The second has been returned. But your place in time has changed. You're a part of it now, Jonah."
Jonah nodded, the weight of Thorne's words settling on his shoulders. "I know. I'm not sure if that's something to be proud of or something to mourn."
Thorne studied him for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Time isn't something to fear. It's a tool. A river that flows, and we're all part of it. You've just learned to swim with it."
Jonah thought about that, feeling the current of time all around him. It was overwhelming, but also comforting. He didn't have control over it, but perhaps that was okay. Time would continue to move, whether he resisted it or not. But now, he could choose how he moved with it.
"What happens now?" Jonah asked, his voice filled with uncertainty.
Thorne looked toward the horizon, the light beginning to catch on the edges of the town. "Now, you live. The world continues, and you, Jonah, continue with it. You'll carry your place in time, but you also have the power to change the course of your future. Time isn't your enemy—it's just a part of you. A part you can work with."
Jonah felt a stirring deep inside him. He had feared that being tied to time meant being lost in it. But now, he saw it differently. Time was his ally. It wasn't something to be controlled—it was something to be understood, something to move through.
"Maybe I don't need all the answers," Jonah said, a sense of peace beginning to settle over him. "Maybe I just need to live."
Evelyne smiled, her eyes shining with quiet pride. "That's all anyone can do."
The three of them stood there for a long time, watching as the town of Glimmertide began to wake up. The air was thick with possibilities, the day ahead full of unknowns. Jonah had chosen to fix time, but in doing so, he had found his own place within it. He had stitched himself into the fabric of the world, not as an outsider, but as someone who had finally learned to belong.
Time, like everything else, was a cycle. And Jonah had just begun to understand the rhythm.
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The End.
Or perhaps, just the begining.