The Graveyard of Possibilities

"Some places exist outside of time. Others exist because time gave up on them."

Viraj had seen broken timelines before. He had walked through echoes of the past, glimpsed shattered futures, and even stood at the edge of non-existence.

But this place?

This place wasn’t just a fracture in time.

It was a graveyard.

A graveyard of timelines that should have never existed.

Lucius exhaled slowly. “Well, this is officially in my top three worst places we’ve ever been.”

The city around them—if it could even be called a city—was a tangled mess of conflicting realities. Skyscrapers stretched infinitely upwards before dissolving into dust. Cobbled streets twisted inward, looping back into themselves. Pieces of different eras clashed against one another—futuristic highways suspended over medieval castles, steam-powered trains running through neon-lit alleyways, and doorways that opened into places that shouldn’t exist.

And through it all, the air was thick with whispers.

Not the Timeborne’s whispers. These were different.

Softer.

Lost.

Viraj turned to the figure who had brought them here. It still stood motionless, its form flickering between countless variations of itself.

Viraj steadied himself. “What is this place?”

The figure’s voice was steady. "The remnants of what was never meant to be."

Lucius raised an eyebrow. “Could you be more vague? Because I think we still understand a fraction of what’s going on, and I’d love to get that down to zero.”

The figure didn’t react. It simply gestured—and suddenly, the city moved.

Buildings shifted, their very existence warping as new structures overwrote them. The streets rearranged, as if trying to correct something that could never be fixed.

Viraj clenched his fists. “These are dead timelines.”

The figure inclined its head. "They are mistakes."

Lucius scoffed. “Wow, brutal. A whole city of rejected realities.”

Viraj frowned. “But why show us this?”

The figure finally stepped forward, and for the first time, its form solidified.

And Viraj froze.

Because now, standing before him, was himself.

Not an echo. Not a flickering illusion.

An alternate version of him.

Lucius tensed. “Oh. Okay. That’s new.”

Viraj’s other self met his gaze, eyes calm, unreadable. “You don’t understand what you’re trying to stop.”

Viraj’s mouth went dry. “I understand plenty.”

The alternate Viraj tilted his head. “Then why do you keep breaking the cycle?”

Viraj’s pulse spiked. “What cycle?”

The other Viraj took a slow step forward. “Time is not meant to be saved. It is meant to run its course.”

Lucius groaned. “You know, I am really getting tired of reality itself telling us to stop existing.”

Viraj narrowed his eyes. “And what, you’re here to enforce that?”

The alternate Viraj shook his head. “I am here because I once made the same mistake you did.”

Viraj stiffened.

The words hit harder than they should have.

Because deep down, he already knew what his other self was going to say next.

"You cannot stop the Timeborne. You can only choose how it ends."

Viraj’s breath caught.

Lucius crossed his arms. “Okay, see, I’m gonna need you to start making sense, because that? That is cryptic as hell.”

The alternate Viraj sighed. “You think the Timeborne is the enemy. But the truth is, it was never meant to be fought.”

Viraj swallowed hard. “Then what?”

The other Viraj’s expression darkened.

"It was meant to be released."

Silence.

Lucius blinked. “Okay. Nope. I don’t like that. Can we go back to the part where we were just falling through time?”

Viraj’s mind raced. This didn’t make sense. They had fought so hard to stop the Timeborne, to prevent it from unraveling time itself. But if what his other self was saying was true...

Then they had been fighting the wrong battle all along.

Viraj clenched his fists. “Why should I believe you?”

The other Viraj studied him for a long moment, then stepped aside—revealing something behind him.

Something that made Viraj’s entire body go cold.

Because standing there, frozen in time, was Aditi.

Alive.

Unchanged.

And waiting.

"The worst thing about fighting fate? Sometimes, fate fights back."

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***