There was no door.
Only a shimmer in the sky — a ripple in reality that tugged at the shard Dee now wore around his neck. The moment they stepped through, the world fractured.
1. Entry
They fell.
Not downward, but sideways. Through memories that weren't theirs, yet almost were.
Hiro hit the ground first, or rather, it caught him gently — a field of silver grass waving beneath a kaleidoscope sky.
Dee landed next, standing gracefully like he'd done it before.
Vampher stumbled out last, cloak flaring, already muttering, "This smells like paradox."
"Welcome to the Fractured Vale," Dee said, looking around. "Where time is tired of pretending it's linear."
In the distance, towers floated upside-down. Rivers ran backward. Trees grew sideways. A flock of birds sang old lullabies in reverse.
2. The First Splinter: What If Hiro Ran
They walked until the land bent into a soft dip, and there it was — a twisted reflection of Hiro's childhood farm.
But in this world, the crops were aflame. The farmhouse was whole but empty.
A younger Hiro crouched behind a barrel, trembling, as the Nightmare Devil descended.
He never fought back.
He ran.
"It's me," Hiro whispered. "But not."
"An echo," Dee said. "One of many."
"I hate this," Hiro muttered.
"But do you understand it?"
"I do. And I don't want it to define me."
He stepped forward — and the scene collapsed into butterflies.
3. The Second Splinter: What If Dee Accepted the Throne
Further on, they found a throne carved from woven light. Around it knelt an entire kingdom — silent, glass-eyed, waiting.
Atop it sat Dee — robed in divine silk, expression cold.
He was alone.
"Ah," said the real Dee. "So this is the path I refused."
The false-Dee stood, raised a hand — and the crowd disappeared.
Not turned away. Not fled.
Erased.
"Absolute knowledge," Dee said. "But without love, it burns."
"I like you more not sitting on thrones," Hiro offered.
Vampher smirked. "You'd just use it as a bookshelf anyway."
The throne cracked.
4. The Third Splinter: What If Vampher Chose to Rule
A city of night — perfect, eternal twilight. Streets paved with onyx. Statues of Vampher loomed over every alley.
He stood at the center, cape billowing, fangs bared.
The people bowed in silence.
"I didn't ask for this," real-Vampher said. "Did I?"
Echoes rose:
"You gave them peace."
"You gave them fear."
"You gave them you."
He stepped into his own statue's shadow.
It crumbled instantly.
"I don't want to be worshipped."
"Too late," Dee muttered. "The bard guild already made coins with your face."
"Those I keep."
5. The Heart of the Vale
At the center of the Vale was a cracked crystal spire, flickering with all timelines.
Every choice. Every regret. Every "almost."
A girl sat at its base.
She looked up — eyes swirling galaxies.
"You came," she said. "You're real."
"You're the one Echo mentioned," Dee said. "The riddle-seer?"
She nodded. "My name is Myla. I am the witness."
"To what?"
She pointed upward.
"To the futures you flee.
To the selves you might be."
She touched the spire — and visions poured out.
6. What Could Be
Hiro, consumed by the Nightmare's curse, becomes the very monster he once slew.
Dee, driven by loss, weaves time into a noose and strangles the world by accident.
Vampher, abandoned and grieving, embraces his hunger — becomes King of Silence.
But there were brighter ones, too:
Hiro, laughing atop a cliff, children running behind him.
Dee, teaching a village of young weavers by starlight.
Vampher, playing a lute at a tavern — drunk, grinning, happy.
"The Vale shows all," Myla said. "But it cannot choose. That is yours alone."
7. The Second Seal
Myla stood.
"The Second Seal is not a place. It is a decision. The timeline you walk from here locks the path ahead."
Dee frowned. "Wait. So... if we choose wrong—"
"—you'll lose the chance to undo what you saw in the mirror," Myla said softly.
The image of a burning world. Vampher shouting: "I can fix this. Give me a chance!"
Silence.
Then Vampher stepped forward and placed a hand on the spire.
"I don't want to rule. I don't want to run. I just want to protect what's left."
The spire flared — and shattered.
8. Aftermath
Light rushed through the Vale, folding it like paper.
When the world reassembled, they stood on solid ground again — at the base of a mountain shaped like a sword plunged into the earth.
The shard around Dee's neck now glowed brighter.
Two Seals broken.
"Do you think we made the right choice?" Hiro asked.
"No," Vampher said. "But I think we made our choice."
Dee nodded. "That's what matters."
9. Elsewhere...
A thread-walker whispered into an ancient loom.
"They've chosen."
And something stirred in the dark places beneath time.
"Then the third will break itself."