In his previous timeline, Sokram had always harbored an undeniable prejudice against Lucille due to her past as a courtesan and Mistress of the Purple Pavilion.

However, after the fall of Eversnow, she revealed herself to be far more than he had ever imagined.

She was the first person to teach Sokram never to judge a book by its cover.

Once he had earned her Devotion, she transcended her role as a lover or concubine, becoming one of Sokram’s most valued allies and confidants. Yet, her end was one of sacrifice, giving her life for the sake of his main wives out of love for him.

But that was a future he was determined to prevent from repeating.

It was also part of the reason why Sokram freely shared his knowledge with those he wished to protect.

He believed that strengthening them was the best way to ensure not only their safety but also the survival of Eversnow.

As sleep eluded him, Sokram continued to meditate on the differences between this timeline and his previous one.

The anxiety of seeing Lucille again gnawed at him, but his thoughts soon drifted elsewhere.

A self-loathing voice echoed in his mind, mocking him: "Hahaha, are you proud of yourself, Lord Sokram? Manipulating young and old indiscriminately, and for what? What absolute good are you aiming to bring? An ancient existence that still has a curfew, you're laughable."

Sokram quickly closed his eyes and immersed himself in his soul realm.

What once resembled a small room had transformed into an expansive reinterpretation of Eversnow Academy's library, a vast hall lined with nearly a hundred shelves stacked high with books.

The air was thick with the scent of aged parchment, and the soft glow of enchanted lanterns cast flickering shadows across the towering shelves. The silence was profound, broken only by the faint rustle of pages as if the books themselves were whispering secrets to one another.

Standing there, he saw a figure, his old self, the King of the Realm of Kings, who was once the strongest existence in the entire multi-dimensional plane.

The figure smirked as he spoke, "You came running, boy."

“I’m not a boy,” Sokram retorted, settling down beside the entity using the image of his elder counterpart. “And you’re not truly me either, though I suppose that spell did have its consequences after all.”

“Heh, be it as it may,” the older Sokram said, stroking his stubble-covered chin as he stared menacingly at the younger version of himself. “You know what I truly am, a heart demon. One, your manipulations and underhanded tactics continue to empower within yourself, straying from the Path of Evolution in favor of your singular goal.”

“Heh,” Sokram scoffed, meeting the gaze of his older self without flinching. “So you’re my abyss, staring back at me because I do what must be done? Please… We decimated entire planets, galaxies, and even dimensions teeming with beings who merely wanted to live. Their only sin? They didn’t seek evolution. And yet, we, no, I, exterminated them all. Guardians like Nhiria begged for mercy at my feet as I forced them to watch their children die, only to behead them moments later. Do you honestly think pushing a few kids away from the path of death is enough to mess with my head?! Do you forget who I am? Do you forget I know exactly who you are? Fate, my friend.”

The older Sokram’s body shimmered and shifted, transforming into a radiant blond woman with golden eyes.

Her form was so perfect that no living being could look away, draped in a gossamer dress seemingly woven from sunlight and gold.

She smiled charmingly at him.

“You’re still the same,” she mused, glancing around the library-like space. “But this place is much smaller now.”

“What are you doing here, Fate?” Sokram asked impatiently, his tone clipped as he stared at the woman whose presence exuded charm and mystery.

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“At first, when you were born, or should I say reborn, I wondered: Who is this child whose fate is so grand that it alters the course of history I so meticulously crafted? Your existence defied every calculation, surpassing even the fates of entire galaxies. No matter how many times I recalculated, you always seemed an existence greater than mine.”

Her smile widened as she traced a finger along his cheek, trying to redesign or age his features.

“But then I did something I’ve always feared, I..."

Sokram interrupted her, his voice calm but firm. "...You looked at your own future and were surprised by how many mirrors you could see. You lost yourself in the mirror of the Supra-Dimension and wandered inside its shadow. There, you found your old self, the one from my previous timeline. The two of you fused into one, becoming your new self."

As he finished speaking, Sokram noticed something flickering in her eyes: confusion, then surprise, and finally realization.

He could count on one hand the number of times in all his previous existence that he had seen Fate display any expression other than her usual knowing and confident smile.

But now, she was frowning at him, her face contorting in anger in a way he had never seen before.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?!" Fate quaked with rage, her eyes shone as if a thousand raging suns burned through them, and her voice distorted as if the voices of every soul he erased screamed through her.

"HOW MANY SOULS YOU ERASED?! HOW MANY DIMENSIONS WILL NEVER BE BORN AGAIN?! HOW MANY LIVES COULD EXIST BUT WILL NOT?! AND BESIDES ALL THAT, YOU EVEN BROUGHT YISH BACK TO LIFE!! TO WHAT END, TO SEE HER SELF-DESTRUCT AGAIN?!”

But even then, Sokram remained calm and smiled at the raging woman before him. “No, now we, no, I, can save her from herself.”

Fate’s eyes widened in shock at his words, but Sokram pressed on. “Every regret you’ve ever held, every life you’ve mourned, each of your siblings you resented me for killing, they can all be saved. All you need to do is something simple…”

His tone grew cold and menacing, reminding her that beneath the guise of a happy, mischievous teenage boy lay a force she, Fate herself, feared. “…Keep them out of my way this time.”

“Besides,” his tone softened, a warm smile returning to his face, “every soul fated to exist will exist. Those who aren’t can be brought into being, you remember each and every one of them, don’t you?”

Fate’s gaze turned distant, her expression dazed.

“You knew… How is it possible? No. No! How? How did you know I would find my way here?”

“First, because I chose to bring you back with me,” Sokram explained calmly. “But that was only possible because that timeline being completely erased was always its fate, a fate you helped me build. I warned all of you more times than I could count: If I couldn't get them back with your help, if Magnolia, Vitally, Auria, Eva, Aethria, Nethria, or even you, Fate, couldn't help me, if Nhiria or any other of the guardians couldn't help me, I would do whatever it took to get back here and rewrite my own history. And as you can see... here we are."

Fate trembled under the weight of his presence.

A mere teenager who had barely Awakened at the True Level of Existence, and yet, she felt fear coursing through her veins.

His following words sent that fear skyrocketing.

"I fulfilled that promise, didn't I? So here's a new promise: If you, any of your sisters, or any other so-called Ancient tries to get in my way, except to help me as you did today, making everything work out perfectly, I will destroy everything. And even if I love you as much as I do, my friend, you will have to be content to live with me alone in the void for eternity."

“You’re insane,” Fate whispered incredulously, shaking her head.

Then, her gaze softened, pleading with him. “I won’t interfere with you or those who are yours. Perhaps I’ll nudge them toward you sooner rather than later, but please, please help me save her, too?”

Sokram smiled gently, caressing her face before leaning in to kiss her softly on the lips.

When he pulled away, he nodded, “Of course, I'll save her. After all, Yish, the Lady in the Void, is one of my loved ones, too."

Fate nodded, standing up to leave.

Before she vanished, Sokram called out, “Do me one favor, though?”

Fate turned back, a knowing smile playing on her lips. “Zen?”

But Sokram shook his head. "No, sooner or later, our paths will cross, as will my path with the others. What I need is for you to delay the war from happening for another four years. My family may be strong enough, but Eversnow is far from ready."

Fate smiled mischievously at him. "That will cost you, a favor for a favor."

Sokram looked at her, confused. "Even after I brought you back to the past?"

Fate thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "Alright, that is a feat great enough for you to earn five favors from me, as long as you don't ask me to stop someone from being born or to kill someone. But after these five favors run out..."

She met his eyes, her smile widening as if she were staring into the depths of his soul. "A favor for a favor."

Sokram frowned slightly, still confused. “Why don’t you ask for what you need instead of playing games?”

Fate giggled playfully. “Because it’s more fun this way, silly. Why else? See you around. Ah, by the way, you only have four favors left; the war has been postponed.”

With a final mischievous smile, Fate vanished, leaving Sokram alone in his soul realm.

He sat there in deep thought.

To him, casual chats with the entities that ruled over creation had been a regular occurrence in his previous timeline.

But seeing Fate so soon only solidified his belief that he couldn't trust the future as he knew it, or the past he had once lived.

Before the future changed too much, if it hadn't already, he needed to be ready to face an unknown future once again.

But deep down, a nagging doubt lingered: What if the future he was trying to rewrite was already slipping through his fingers?