The camp was quiet when Selene returned from the forest, but inside her, nothing was quiet.
The warning from the silver-eyed man echoed relentlessly: "To master the Heart… one of you must be willing to let go of the other forever."
She slipped beneath the blankets beside Darius, who instantly pulled her close even in sleep. His warmth, his scent, his heartbeat—everything in her screamed never to let go. But what if that was exactly what saving the world required?
Selene lay awake the rest of the night, staring at the stars through the tent's flap, silently praying the choice would never come.
---
At dawn, they continued toward the Black Peaks. The jagged mountains rose like the spines of a sleeping dragon, mist curling around their peaks. The closer they drew, the stranger the world became—time stuttered and fractured. One moment, daylight; the next, a midnight sky littered with stars, only to shift back to dawn seconds later.
Magnus rode up beside Darius. "Alpha," he said grimly, "even the wolves are struggling. Their senses are… confused. The men don't know if we've been traveling hours or days."
Darius's jaw tightened, but he kept his silver eyes on the misted peaks ahead. "We keep moving," he ordered. "Every step we take, we take together."
Selene glanced at him, her chest tightening with love and fear. She wanted to tell him about the warning, but the thought of seeing pain in his eyes stopped her cold. She couldn't bear to plant that fear in him—not yet.
---
By nightfall, they reached the base of the mountains. The Temple of Eternum shimmered high on a distant cliff, its spires twisting into shapes that seemed to defy reality. The seer who guided them dropped to her knees, whispering prayers in the old tongue.
"That place is not bound to our world," she murmured. "Once you cross its threshold, time is… fluid. The temple tests not just strength, but soul."
Selene dismounted, staring up at the temple. A chill wind carried whispers that made her mark pulse. She turned to Darius. "Whatever happens in there," she said softly, "promise me we face it together."
Darius stepped closer, towering over her, his hand gripping her jaw gently but firmly. "I've already died a thousand times by your side," he said, voice low and raw. "Do you think I'd ever face anything without you now?"
Her breath caught as he kissed her, slow and deep, his fingers tangling in her hair. Their bond burned brighter than the moon overhead, a tether no power could sever.
When they finally broke apart, Selene whispered, "Then we go."
---
They entered the temple at dawn, accompanied only by Magnus and the seer. The moment they stepped inside, reality shifted. The floor beneath them shimmered like water; the walls stretched infinitely, and a dozen versions of themselves flickered in the mirrors of time.
Darius stiffened, his wolf bristling within him. "Stay close," he warned, gripping Selene's hand.
As they walked, voices whispered from every direction—memories from their countless past lives. Selene saw flashes of herself dying in his arms, Darius screaming as the beast struck him down, centuries of failure bleeding into one another.
"No," she muttered, clutching his hand tighter. "That's not us anymore."
Suddenly, the corridor split. One path glowed silver; the other, violet.
Magnus frowned. "It wants you to separate," he said uneasily.
Selene's stomach dropped. The silver-eyed man's words flashed in her mind: one of you must let go forever.
Darius growled. "We're not separating."
But before they could move, invisible forcefields slammed between them, hurling Magnus and the seer back toward the entrance. The ground rumbled, and both paths sealed behind walls of light.
Selene reached for Darius, panic clawing at her chest. "Darius!"
He slammed against the barrier, his silver eyes wild with fury and fear. "Selene! Don't move! I'll break it—"
Before he could finish, unseen magic yanked them down separate corridors, tearing their hands apart.
---
Selene hit the ground hard in a violet-lit chamber. When she stood, she found herself face-to-face with… herself.
But this version was twisted—eyes hollow, her body bound in chains of shadow.
"You think you've won," the chained Selene hissed, voice dripping venom. "But breaking the cycle didn't free you. You're still doomed. And soon… you'll doom him too."
Selene shook her head fiercely. "No. We changed fate. We broke the prophecy."
The shadow version laughed bitterly. "Changed it? No. You fed it. The Heart of Time thrives on sacrifice. And you already know the truth."
The words echoed like a knife twisting in her gut. "No…" Selene whispered.
"Yes," the shadow mocked. "To master the Heart, one of you must let the other go forever. Tell me, Selene… will you kill him to save the world, or watch the world burn to keep him?"
Selene's chest constricted. "I will never kill him," she snarled, violet magic flaring around her.
The shadow lunged, chains snapping. "Then you will watch everything you love crumble."
---
Meanwhile, in the silver-lit corridor, Darius faced his own trial.
A figure stepped from the mist—an older version of himself, scarred and broken, eyes dulled of their usual fire.
"You failed her," the older Darius rasped. "Every lifetime, you couldn't save her. And here you are again, leading her into ruin."
Darius's fists clenched. "That's a lie. We've already broken the cycle."
The older self sneered. "Have you? Or have you dragged her into a worse fate? The Heart of Time will demand one of you fall. And when it does…" His broken gaze met Darius's. "…you won't be strong enough to choose her over the world."
Darius roared, shifting halfway, his claws slicing through illusions. "I'll burn the world to keep her!" he snarled.
The older self only laughed darkly. "That is exactly what the Heart wants."
---
Back in Selene's chamber, the battle with her shadow self raged. Magic clashed violently, violet flames scorching the walls as chains whipped like vipers.
Selene gritted her teeth, blocking a strike before shoving her dark twin back with a blast of moonfire. "I won't let fate twist me again!" she shouted. "And I won't lose him—not this time!"
The shadow hissed, its form cracking. "Then embrace the cost."
With a final scream, Selene drove her blade through the shadow, light exploding in a blinding wave. When it cleared, the chamber door dissolved, revealing a spiraling stairwell leading upward.
---
Darius burst through his own trial, his older self crumbling to dust under his fury. He sprinted up a mirrored corridor that twisted into Selene's path.
The moment they saw each other, they ran, crashing into each other's arms. Selene buried her face in his chest, trembling as he held her tight, his heart pounding like a war drum.
"I thought I lost you," she whispered.
"Never," he growled, kissing her hair. "Nothing can take you from me."
Hand in hand, they climbed the final stairs, emerging into the Temple's heart.
---
The Heart of Time floated above a dais, a glowing sphere that pulsed with fractured light, shards of every past and future flickering within it. Its power was overwhelming, distorting reality itself—moments of their lives flashing around them like broken glass.
Selene's mark blazed painfully, and suddenly, the silver-eyed man appeared again, standing by the Heart.
"You've come this far," he said gravely. "But this is where your love will be tested beyond all else. One of you must willingly let the other go, or the Heart will consume you both… and time itself will collapse."
Darius stepped in front of Selene instantly, his voice a deadly growl. "Then it will take me. Not her."
"No!" Selene cried, gripping his arm. Tears streamed down her face. "I won't let you do this. I'd rather die with you than live without you!"
The Heart pulsed brighter, cracks spreading through its surface as though feeding on their desperation.
The silver-eyed man's voice thundered: "Choose now, or lose everything!"
Selene looked into Darius's silver eyes, love and agony twisting in her chest. She remembered every life they'd lost, every time she'd died in his arms, and one truth blazed through her:
She couldn't let it happen again.
With a sob, she whispered, "I love you," and before Darius could stop her, she tore her hand from his and stepped toward the Heart alone.