Chapter 65 – The Missing Timeline
No one in the inn moved.
The glowing words hung in the air.
**I remember that.**
Then, slowly, the light faded.
The white flower in Evetyl's pocket became quiet again.
The silence that followed felt heavier than before.
---
Noah was the first to speak.
"The First Thing... remembers my world?"
Evetyl nodded slowly.
"It never lies."
Kai crossed his arms.
"If it remembers your timeline, then your world mattered."
Noah laughed bitterly.
"It doesn't matter anymore."
"It disappeared."
Kai looked him in the eyes.
"No."
"There's a difference between disappearing... and being erased."
---
The First Thought stood up.
"I would like to investigate."
The Warden looked surprised.
"You?"
"I possess the highest analytical capability."
Cr-Hook smirked.
"And zero social skills."
The First Thought looked at him.
"Correct."
Everyone laughed.
Even Noah.
The tension became lighter.
---
Kai unfolded his changing map on the table.
The glowing lines shifted across its surface.
Worlds appeared.
Others vanished.
Roads connected places that should never have been connected.
Then...
One corner of the map turned completely black.
Kai's smile disappeared.
"That's not good."
Evetyl leaned closer.
"What is it?"
Kai pointed toward the darkness.
"There should be a timeline here."
"But the map can't find it."
The Eye floated above the table.
"It has been removed from navigation."
The Warden frowned.
"Can someone hide an entire universe?"
Kai answered quietly.
"Only if they know how to hide it from reality itself."
---
Noah stared at the black space.
"That's my home..."
The Forgotten One placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"We'll find it."
Noah looked down.
"You don't even know me."
The Forgotten One smiled.
"I don't have to."
"Everyone deserves to go home."
---
Suddenly...
The map moved on its own.
No one touched it.
The black space began spreading.
Not quickly.
Slowly.
Like ink soaking through paper.
The First Thought immediately spoke.
"The corruption is active."
Kai frowned.
"Corruption?"
The map continued changing.
Another nearby timeline disappeared.
Then another.
Then another.
The glowing roads connecting them snapped one after another.
The cheerful room became silent.
Cr-Hook gripped his hook tightly.
"This isn't normal."
"No," Kai agreed.
"It isn't."
---
The old woman who owned the inn walked over.
She looked at the map only once.
Then sighed.
"So..."
"It finally woke up."
Everyone turned toward her.
Kai looked shocked.
"You know what this is?"
She nodded.
"I hoped I would never see it again."
The Eye asked,
"What is it?"
The old woman closed her book.
For the first time since they had met her...
Her smile disappeared.
"There is a being that doesn't destroy worlds."
"It collects them."
Nobody spoke.
She continued.
"It believes perfect realities should be preserved forever."
"So it steals them."
Evetyl frowned.
"Steals them?"
The woman nodded.
"It removes timelines from existence."
"It locks them away where nothing can change."
"No pain."
"No joy."
"No future."
"No past."
"Only endless stillness."
Noah whispered,
"My world..."
The woman looked at him sadly.
"Yes."
---
Kai clenched his fists.
"The Curator."
The name echoed through the room.
The First Thought searched its memory.
"No record."
"There wouldn't be," the old woman replied.
"The Curator erases every record of itself."
The Forgotten One looked troubled.
"I've heard stories."
"I thought they were myths."
"They're not."
---
Outside...
The sky over Crosshaven suddenly darkened.
Not with clouds.
With missing stars.
One by one...
Lights in the night sky vanished.
People in the streets stopped walking.
Children looked up in confusion.
The musicians stopped playing.
Even the great tree in the center of the city stopped glowing.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
---
Kai rushed outside.
The others followed.
Above Crosshaven...
A piece of the sky simply disappeared.
Not exploded.
Not collapsed.
Gone.
As if someone had cut it out.
Noah stared in horror.
"That's exactly how my world ended."
The black emptiness grew larger.
Then...
A single white door appeared inside it.
Perfectly clean.
Perfectly still.
It slowly opened.
A tall figure stepped out.
It wore elegant white clothes with black gloves.
Its silver hair moved gently in a wind that did not exist.
In one hand it carried a long golden key.
In the other...
An old leather book.
The figure looked around peacefully.
Then smiled.
"Ah..."
"So this is where the last survivor escaped."
Its eyes met Noah's.
"You've made me search for quite a while."
Noah's face turned pale.
He took an unconscious step backward.
Kai moved in front of him.
"Who are you?"
The stranger gave a polite bow.
"My apologies."
"I forgot my manners."
It closed the leather book.
"My name..."
It smiled warmly.
"...is the Curator."
The city fell silent.
Not from fear.
From the strange feeling that this person wasn't evil.
He looked calm.
Kind.
Gentle.
Which somehow made him even more terrifying.
The Curator looked at Noah.
"You've been away from your collection long enough."
He raised the golden key.
"Come home."
And behind him...
Inside the white door...
An entire missing universe could be seen waiting in complete, silent stillness.