Sia's knees buckled, and she reached out, bracing herself against the cold stone wall. The world around her blurred, her vision wavering as the truth began to unravel in her mind.
"How... How can this be? I don't understand!" Her voice trembled with disbelief, the words catching in her throat.
The man—the one who had been haunting her dreams—stepped closer, his gaze never leaving hers. The air between them thickened, charged with an electric tension that made her heart race.
"You've known me in every lifetime, Sia," he murmured, his voice low and filled with an ancient sadness. "I am the one who has watched over you. I've guided you through every twist and turn of your path, though you've never truly known me. Not until now."
Sia's mind reeled. This man—he was both familiar and foreign, like a half-remembered song, a story told in whispers, slipping through her fingers just when she thought she had grasped it. And yet, the weight of his words settled upon her like a heavy cloak. He had been with her all along—through every dream, every memory, every shadow of her existence.
"I don't... I don't remember any of this." She whispered, her voice breaking.
He nodded slowly, his eyes dark and knowing. "You were never meant to. Not until the time was right. And now, the time has come."
"Why didn't you tell me? Why keep me in the dark?" Sia's words were harsh, accusing, though a part of her understood why he had done it. She had never been ready for the truth until now.
"You weren't ready," he answered, his voice a gentle caress against her anguish. "The truth is a burden, Sia. It weighs on the soul, and once it is known, it cannot be undone. I waited for you to come into your power, to learn to see beyond the veil, to see the world as it truly is."
"And now I'm here," Sia said, her voice distant. "But what does it mean? What is my power?"
He stepped forward, his presence overwhelming, as if the entire room had bent around his will. "Your power is not just sight, Sia. It's the ability to change the course of fate. To break the chains that bind time itself."
Anthony, who had remained silent until now, stepped forward, his face pale. "You're saying Sia has the power to... change the future?"
The man turned his gaze to Anthony, his eyes narrowing with a quiet intensity. "More than that. She can rewrite the past, erase what was, and recreate what could have been. She is the bridge between the realms—the keeper of the key that unlocks the door to new worlds, new possibilities."
Sia's heart hammered in her chest, a maelstrom of emotions surging within her. The idea of changing time, of altering the course of her own life and the lives of others, was both intoxicating and terrifying. What did it mean for her? For the people she loved?
"Why me?" Sia asked, her voice barely a whisper. "Why did you choose me?"
The man's expression softened, and for the first time, Sia saw a flicker of emotion—of tenderness—in his eyes. "I didn't choose you, Sia. You chose me. Long ago, when your soul was born into this world. You've always been destined for this role, and I was always meant to guide you."
Sia swallowed hard, her thoughts swirling in a vortex of fear and wonder. "But I don't know what to do with this power. I don't know how to control it."
"You will learn," he said, his voice steady and reassuring. "You must. The time is running out."
"The time for what?" Anthony asked, his voice laced with urgency.
"The time for the reckoning," the man replied. "The time when all the threads of fate will converge. And you, Sia, will have to make a choice. A choice that will decide the fate of this world—and of countless others."
The room seemed to grow darker as the weight of his words settled over them. Sia's heart raced, her mind a whirlwind of confusion and fear. How could she possibly bear the weight of such a decision? How could she choose the fate of the world when she could barely understand her own?
"How do I make this choice?" Sia asked, her voice breaking.
The man's eyes flickered with something like sorrow. "That is something only you can answer. The choice will be yours, and yours alone."
The words hung in the air, and for a moment, all Sia could hear was the echo of her own heartbeat, pounding in her ears.
"Is there no way to escape it?" she asked quietly.
The man shook his head slowly. "Fate is not something you can escape, Sia. It is written in the stars, in the very fabric of existence. But how you walk through it... that is something you can change. The power is yours to wield, if you dare."
Sia's breath hitched as the weight of his words pressed down on her. She was at the crossroads of destiny, and every step she took from here would carry consequences that rippled across the fabric of time itself.
And the worst part? She didn't know if she was ready. She didn't know if she could make the right choice.
The man's form began to fade, as if he were dissolving into the shadows. "You will find your answers, Sia," he said, his voice a whisper in the wind. "But remember: the truth will only come when you are ready to face it."
And with that, he was gone.
Sia stood there, alone with Anthony, the weight of what had just been revealed pressing heavily upon her. She could feel her pulse racing, her mind in a whirlwind of confusion. Everything had changed in the blink of an eye, and she was no longer sure of what was real or what was illusion.
"Anthony," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "What do we do now?"
He stepped forward, his hand reaching for hers. "We move forward, Sia. Together."
And with that, they turned and left the room, the echoes of the past and the future swirling in their wake. The road ahead was uncertain, the choices unclear. But one thing was certain: they would face whatever came next—together.