The girl who looked just like Luana was shoved to the ground, mocked and humiliated by the very guests she'd welcomed into her home.
Leo guided Luana into the alternate universe she had seen in her dreams. There, the same scene unfolded — but this time, she was only a spectator. The version of herself in that world was thrown down, ridiculed, and dismissed by the others.
"I'm not like her," Luana murmured, watching quietly. "I may like solitude, but I'd never let anyone treat me like that."
"Now look at him," Leo said, gesturing toward his own alternate self — standing there, witnessing it all, pretending he hadn't seen a thing until it was over.
"That doesn't look like something you'd do," she replied softly.
She didn't know Leo very well, but in her time at the Observatory, he had been her only companion. Reserved as he was, he always helped her when needed.
"There are infinite universes," he explained, watching the illusion as the false Leonardo offered his sister a hand with an empty smile. "And in each of them, infinite versions of every person. But we… we're different. You and I are singular. There's only one version of us in the entire multiverse. That's what makes us eligible to become Guardians — if we're willing to pay the price."
"The others may look like us, speak like us… but they're just echoes. Hollow pieces of existence."
"Then… does that mean I can bring my brother back? Or… you back?" she asked, finally accepting the truth — he was her brother.
"I'm not your brother anymore," he said flatly, turning back toward the Observatory. "Once someone becomes a Guardian, they slowly lose all memories of their former life — even their own name. Over time, they stop being who they were. That's the price."
He didn't meet her eyes. Something in his tone betrayed a reluctance — as if he didn't fully agree with this fate, but had no choice in following it. And Luana still didn't understand why.
"And before you… Leo, who was the Guardian?"
He stayed silent. But she already suspected the answer.
Later, the books confirmed it.
In the beginning, Luana had been the first — and only — true Guardian of Time.