---
The wind carried a strange sound as they moved through the wastelands—neither song nor scream, but something in between. Chirag, Siya, and Kael walked silently. Behind them, the temple of Veyrion was already fading into mist, as if it had never existed.
But the mark on Chirag's chest was proof. Cold and calm, it pulsed quietly under his skin—a gift from a god who had chosen to trust him.
"The last Forgotten God," Siya said, breaking the silence. "Do we know who it is?"
Kael pulled out Lunara's scroll again. "The scroll says only this: 'The One Who Watches.' No name. No place. Just that he hides between moments and time. Whatever that means."
Chirag frowned. "It means he doesn't want to be found."
"But we'll find him anyway," Siya said firmly. "We have to. If we face the gods with only half the strength, we won't stand a chance."
Chirag looked at her. Her eyes were steady, full of fire—but beneath it, he could feel her fear. He squeezed her hand.
"We'll make it," he whispered.
And then the ground trembled beneath their feet.
---
The tremor wasn't natural.
It came in steady, slow pulses—as if something large was walking underground. The earth cracked open in places, glowing with violet light. Ahead, a massive field of broken clocks and shattered statues stretched as far as the eye could see.
"Time ruins," Kael said softly. "I've read about this place. It was where time broke during the first war between gods."
"Looks like we're close," Chirag said.
But as they stepped into the ruins, the world began to change.
The light dimmed—not into night, but into something stranger. Like time itself was slowing down. Their footsteps echoed longer than they should have. The air was thick, heavy with forgotten voices.
And then it happened.
The world froze.
Siya stopped mid-step. Kael was stuck, mouth open in the middle of a sentence. Only Chirag moved.
"What is this…?"
And then, from the air around him, a voice answered.
"You walk in the moments between seconds, Chirag."
The voice was neither male nor female. It was old. Gentle. Watching.
A figure appeared across from him.
A tall being dressed in a cloak made of stardust, with a face that seemed to shift like glass—never the same for more than a second.
"You have come seeking me," the being said. "The Watcher. The Keeper of What Was."
"You're the last," Chirag said. "I need your help. The gods—"
"—Are afraid," the Watcher interrupted. "Afraid of what you are. Of what you might become. I have seen it. In every version of time. You burn like a star, but stars… collapse too."
"I won't collapse," Chirag said. "I'm not alone."
"And yet, all flames flicker when the wind is strong."
The Watcher lifted a hand, and suddenly visions appeared around Chirag—hundreds of versions of himself. In some, he died alone. In others, he became a tyrant. In some, Siya was gone, and he lost himself to rage.
"You're showing me failure," Chirag said, anger rising. "But I don't care about those versions. I only care about this one."
"You are certain?" the Watcher asked.
"Yes."
The being tilted its head. "Then I will test you. Not with power. But with choice."
And suddenly—
Chirag was back.
But not in the ruins.
He was in the village where he had been born.
His mother and father stood before him. Alive. Younger. They smiled at him.
"Chirag," his mother said gently. "Come home. You don't need to fight anymore."
Siya was nowhere to be seen.
Chirag felt it immediately. It wasn't real. But it felt real.
"This is what you want, isn't it?" his father asked. "A life without war. A life of peace."
Chirag's hands shook.
For a moment, he wanted to say yes.
But then he remembered Siya's hand in his. The battles. The sacrifices.
"No," he whispered.
The illusion shattered.
The Watcher appeared again. "You passed."
And then, slowly, the Watcher removed its mask.
Behind it was no face at all—just stars and light. Infinite. Watching.
"Then take my gift," it said. "The gift of memory. Of all that was, and all that could be."
The light poured into Chirag's mind. Suddenly, he saw time like a river, with him standing at its fork.
And just like that, time moved again.
Siya gasped and blinked. "What happened?"
Kael stumbled. "Did I… fall asleep?"
"No," Chirag said softly. "I just met the last one."
He turned to them, a new mark glowing over his temple.
"We have them all now," he said. "The gifts of the forgotten. The flame, the silence, the stillness… and now, time."
Kael stared. "You… you're not just Chirag anymore."
Chirag looked at his hands.
"No," he said. "I'm the one the gods tried to erase."
Siya stepped beside him. "And now we finish what they started."
---
Far above, in the realm of the gods, a meeting had begun.
Seven thrones floated in a circle of light. The gods, cloaked in divinity and pride, watched a burning thread hover in the air.
It was Chirag's flame.
"It grows stronger," one god hissed. "Too strong."
Another god, the tallest of them all, nodded. "Then it is time."
A golden hammer struck a divine bell.
"The war begins."
---