The endless plain remained perfectly silent.
There was no wind.
No birds.
No distant rivers.
Only an ocean of silver grass stretching endlessly beneath a sky where countless stars shimmered in broad daylight. The stars were unlike any Kael had ever seen. Some burned with warm golden light while others glowed silver, blue, crimson, or emerald. They did not remain fixed in the heavens. They drifted slowly across the sky like living memories searching for a place to rest.
Kael stood motionless.
The young man standing several steps away looked exactly like him.
Not merely similar.
Identical.
The same height.
The same face.
The same calm expression.
The only difference rested within his eyes.
Kael's eyes carried uncertainty born from forgotten memories.
The young man's silver eyes carried the quiet peace of someone who had already accepted every answer.
He smiled gently.
"I'm the part of you..."
His voice flowed through the endless plain like the soft ringing of distant bells.
"...that chose to stay behind."
Silence lingered between them.
Kael slowly took a single step forward.
"So..."
He searched for the words that had haunted him since the beginning of his journey.
"...who are you?"
The young man laughed quietly.
"A difficult question."
He slowly sat upon the silver grass.
To Kael's surprise...
The grass immediately bent beneath him like soft cushions before countless tiny white flowers bloomed around where he sat.
The young man gently brushed one of the blossoms with his fingertips.
"Tell me."
He looked back toward Kael.
"When someone plants a tree..."
His fingers continued tracing the delicate petals.
"...which part of the tree is truly the tree?"
Kael frowned.
"The trunk?"
The young man smiled.
"And if the trunk burns?"
"The roots."
"And if the roots sleep beneath the earth?"
Kael remained silent.
The young man nodded.
"You understand."
He slowly looked toward the endless horizon.
"We were never one thing."
The silver stars overhead shimmered softly.
"We were always many."
Kael slowly sat opposite him.
The silver grass felt warm beneath his hands.
"So..."
He hesitated.
"...are you my soul?"
The young man chuckled.
"No."
"My memories?"
"No."
"My true self?"
"Closer."
Another silence settled between them.
The young man finally looked directly into Kael's eyes.
"I am your choice."
The answer confused him.
"My choice?"
"When the Door opened..."
The young man's smile slowly faded.
"...the world broke."
The endless plain trembled gently.
Silver grass swayed around them.
Another memory surfaced.
Not around Kael.
Around the young man.
The silver plain slowly disappeared.
Instead...
They found themselves standing beneath a crimson sky split apart by endless cracks.
The World Tree burned.
Not completely.
Its enormous branches still stretched across the heavens, but rivers of black fire climbed upward through the bark while countless silver leaves fell like rain.
The ancient city below had become chaos.
People fled through collapsing streets.
Children cried.
The bells screamed instead of singing.
The Door...
Stood open.
Not completely.
Only a narrow gap.
Yet from that impossible opening...
Darkness poured endlessly into creation.
The First Son battled creatures formed entirely from broken reality.
Golden light erupted with every strike of his blade.
The Fourth Brother led thousands of frightened civilians toward hidden shelters beneath the Garden.
The Stranger stood atop a collapsing tower, desperately carving new runes into the sky itself while pages tore free from his ancient books and transformed into chains of glowing words.
The Traveler carried wounded children through streets already disappearing into darkness.
Every guardian fought.
Every citizen struggled.
Every bell rang.
Yet...
The young man beside Kael simply watched.
His face held unbearable sorrow.
"I knew."
His quiet voice barely reached above the screams.
"I knew we couldn't stop it."
Kael slowly looked toward him.
"What happened?"
The young man closed his eyes.
"We discovered the truth."
The burning World Tree groaned.
One enormous branch crashed into the city below.
Hundreds of gardeners immediately rushed toward the impact instead of fleeing.
Not to save the tree.
To save one another.
The young man smiled sadly.
"That was always their first instinct."
Kael watched in silence.
The memory continued.
The four brothers eventually gathered beneath the World Tree.
Old Rowan stood with them.
The Traveler arrived last.
His robes had been torn.
Blood stained one sleeve.
Yet he still smiled.
"We evacuated the eastern gardens."
The First Son looked exhausted.
"The western districts are gone."
The Stranger quietly lowered his head.
"I cannot repair the Door."
Silence followed.
No one blamed him.
No one expected miracles.
The young man stepped forward.
"There is one way."
Every guardian looked toward him.
Old Rowan already understood.
"No."
The single word echoed softly beneath the burning branches.
The young man smiled.
"You already know."
"I do."
Old Rowan slowly shook his head.
"I refuse."
The young man gently placed one hand upon the old gardener's shoulder.
"You taught us..."
His voice remained calm despite the collapsing world around them.
"...that every garden survives because someone chooses tomorrow over today."
Old Rowan's eyes filled with tears.
"You are my tomorrow."
The young man smiled.
"And now..."
He looked toward the burning Door.
"...someone else must become yours."
Reality trembled.
The memory shifted.
Kael suddenly stood before the World Tree itself.
Its trunk had split open.
Not from destruction.
From invitation.
An endless chamber of silver light waited inside.
Exactly like the doorway Kael had just entered.
The young man slowly walked toward it.
The First Son grabbed his arm.
"There has to be another answer."
"There isn't."
The Fourth Brother clenched both fists.
"I'll go instead."
"You can't."
The Stranger stepped forward.
"We'll divide the burden."
The young man smiled gently.
"It cannot be divided."
The Traveler lowered his eyes.
"So this is goodbye."
The young man quietly shook his head.
"No."
He looked toward every one of them.
"I'm not leaving."
The ancient chamber illuminated.
Silver roots emerged from within the World Tree.
They wrapped gently around the young man's arms.
His legs.
His chest.
Not imprisoning him.
Welcoming him.
"I'll remain."
His voice echoed softly.
"As long as someone remembers why the Garden exists..."
The roots slowly lifted him into the heart of the World Tree.
"...I'll always be here."
Old Rowan stepped forward one final time.
"What about your name?"
The young man smiled.
"They don't need it."
His silver eyes reflected every person standing beneath the burning branches.
"They only need..."
His gaze drifted beyond the memory.
Toward Kael.
"...another gardener."
The memory shattered.
The endless silver plain returned.
Kael found himself breathing unevenly.
His hands trembled.
The young man remained sitting peacefully before him.
"So..."
Kael finally understood.
"You sealed yourself inside the Tree."
The young man nodded.
"I became the memory that could never be lost."
A long silence followed.
Kael slowly looked toward the stars drifting across the endless sky.
"They've all been waiting..."
"They have."
"For me to replace you."
The young man smiled.
"No."
The answer surprised him.
"I've never wanted a replacement."
He slowly stood.
Silver flowers bloomed beneath his feet.
"I wanted..."
He walked toward Kael until only a single step separated them.
"...to finally come home."
The instant he finished speaking...
The entire silver plain trembled violently.
Not because of the World Tree.
Not because of the Door.
Far away...
Beyond the horizon...
Something enormous roared.
The peaceful expression disappeared from the young man's face.
He slowly turned toward the distant darkness spreading across the endless plain.
For the first time...
Fear appeared in his silver eyes.
"No..."
He whispered.
"It found this place."
The silver stars above them suddenly began going dark.
One after another.
As though an invisible shadow was swallowing the sky itself.
And from beyond the dying horizon...
A familiar voice echoed across the endless plain.
The Watcher had arrived.