The vortex yawns before them, a maelstrom of shadows and ethereal light. The air trembles with tension as the Dreaming Gods' whispers rise to a fevered pitch, beckoning, taunting, demanding. The city feels distant now, its reality fading beneath the overwhelming pull of the gods' domain. All four stand on the precipice, knowing that what lies ahead is more than just a choice it is a reckoning.
Astraea steps closer to the vortex's edge, her gaze unyielding. She tightens her grip on the sword, once a symbol of her kingdom, now a reminder of what the Dreaming Gods stole from her. She had been led here by promises of redemption, of recovering her shattered past, but the gods' games had twisted that hope into something unrecognizable.
A low growl of frustration escapes her. "If we step into this, there's no turning back."
Orion watches her from a few paces behind, his eyes sharp, yet thoughtful. "We haven't had a choice for a long time. Everything has led us here every lie, every fight, every false hope. The only way to break free is to step through."
Astraea clenches her jaw. "And you're so sure freedom is on the other side?"
Orion gives a bitter laugh. "No. But I'm done playing their game."
Selene, standing quietly to the side, feels the weight of futures upon her. Every step they take reverberates through her mind, showing her not one path, but many some filled with triumph, others with ruin. But each one carries the same thread of uncertainty, a thread woven by the gods themselves.
The Dreaming Gods had always been inscrutable, bending time and space to their will, pulling at the lives of mortals like marionettes. But this? This was different. The vortex was no mere illusion it was a doorway, a breach between realms, where the gods' influence became tangible, dangerous. They had been drawn together, not by accident, but by the gods' design.
"They're watching us," Selene says softly, her eyes distant, as though seeing something beyond the rift. "We're pieces on their board, but something has changed. They don't know what we'll choose. For once, they don't know."
Ikaros steps forward, his mind racing with calculations. The vortex pulses, its energy chaotic and unstable. He had spent his life trying to understand the mysteries of time, bending it, breaking it, always searching for the key to escape the trap he had been born into. And now, standing here, he could feel the raw potential of the rift a place where the rules of time and space no longer applied.
"This isn't just a doorway," he murmurs, staring into the swirling depths. "It's a fracture a place where their control weakens. If we go through… we might be able to rewrite more than just our fate."
Astraea turns to him, her eyes narrowing. "Rewrite it how?"
Ikaros meets her gaze. "Think about it. The gods manipulate time, bend reality to their will. But if we step through this, we're not just stepping into their world we're stepping outside of ours. Time won't work the same. We could change everything."
Orion's expression hardens as he takes in Ikaros' words. He had always known the Dreaming Gods were manipulating them, steering them toward some grand, unknowable end. But the idea of stepping into a place where time and fate could be altered? Where they could fight back against the gods on their own terms? It was as dangerous as it was tempting.
But there was a cost. There always was.
He glances at Selene, who had seen more futures than any of them. Her silence speaks volumes, her eyes dark with the weight of her visions.
"What happens if we don't go in?" Orion asks her.
Selene hesitates, her hands trembling at her sides. "If we stay here, the gods will continue their games. We'll keep fighting, keep running, but the end will be the same. We'll lose."
Astraea's breath catches in her throat. "But if we go through…"
Selene's gaze flickers to the vortex, the swirling light reflecting in her eyes. "We change the rules. But it's not a guarantee. We could win or we could lose everything. The gods will fight back. And if we fail… it will be worse than anything we've faced so far."
The words hang heavy in the air. The gods' whispers seem to press in closer, the vortex pulsing with anticipation. They are being watched, measured, weighed. The Dreaming Gods, for all their power, cannot force them through the rift. But they are waiting, hungry for what comes next.
Astraea steps closer to the edge, her heart hammering in her chest. She could feel it now the pull of destiny, the threads of fate stretching taut around them. Everything she had fought for, everything she had lost, led her here. And yet, she had never felt so uncertain. To step through was to risk everything to leave behind the remnants of the world she knew and face the unknown.
But to stay? To remain in the gods' grip? That was a death of another kind.
"We don't have much time," Orion says, his voice low, a tremor of urgency in his words. "They're pushing us to choose. We can either wait for them to tighten the noose, or we can take control."
Ikaros looks to the others, his mind racing, his hands twitching with the need to act. The vortex thrums with energy, a chaotic symphony of possibilities. He could see it in his mind the timelines, the fractures, the choices that branched out from this moment. It was the kind of chance he had dreamed of his entire life.
But the cost… The cost was beyond calculation.
"If we're going to do this," he says, his voice steady but strained, "we need to be ready. Once we step through, there's no going back."
Astraea's eyes harden. "I've already lost too much to let them win. If this is our only chance to break free, then I'll take it."
Orion nods, his gaze flickering to the vortex. "Then let's finish this."
Selene swallows hard, her eyes still distant, seeing futures only she could comprehend. "I can't see beyond the rift," she whispers. "The gods can't either. But that's the point. If we go through, we're writing our own story."
The four of them stand on the precipice, the vortex swirling before them, the Dreaming Gods watching, waiting. The choice is theirs and theirs alone.
Without another word, Astraea steps forward, her sword in hand, and plunges into the rift.
One by one, the others follow, disappearing into the swirling darkness.
And the world, both theirs and the gods', begins to unravel.
End of Chapter 7