The earth appeared to hold its breath. Leona stood at the center of the marketplace, a place that used to be filled with people. Stalls that had tumbled with colorful fruits and shimmering silks and fragrant spices sat eerily now, empty. The cobblestone, normally filled with merchants shouting what they sell, was amazingly quiet. And then it happened.
The first crack appeared in the air itself, like a jagged fracture in a pane of glass. It shimmered and pulsed with an unnatural light, casting eerie shadows that danced across the ground.
Leona staggered backward, her heart pounding in her chest. "No… no, no, no."
The robotic voice echoed in her mind, its monotone devoid of urgency but still chilling:
"Structural collapse initiated. Probability of total obliteration: 67%. Realignment required immediately."
A scream tore through the silence. Leona turned to see a woman clutching her child as the ground beneath her began to crumble. A dark void yawned open, consuming the cobblestones and market stalls like a ravenous beast. The woman's terrified gaze locked onto Leona, as if pleading for help.
Leona's instincts took over. She rushed forward, grabbing the woman and her child just as the void expanded, pulling them both to safety.
"Go!" Leona urged, pointing toward the safer edge of the square.
"But what about—" the woman started, her eyes darting toward the growing void.
"I'll handle it!" Leona lied, her voice firm.
The woman hesitated for a heartbeat before running, clutching her child tightly.
Leona turned back to the fissure in the air spreading like veins of frost on a windowpane. In its wake, the void expanded, eating everything in its path.
"This isn't supposed to happen," she said, her voice shaking. "Not yet."
The robot spoke in its cold, lifeless voice: "Incorrect. Deviation has advanced the timeline. Re-alignment is necessary to stabilize it."
Leona clutched her fists, her body surging with helpless rage. "How can I fix this when literally everything is falling apart?!"
"Failure to take action will lead to termination of all life within the construct. Directive: revise character arcs."
Leona did not need the voice to remind her of how grave the situation was. The cracks weren't just physical-they were tearing through the fabric of reality itself.
Her mind raced. She had been trying to fix one thing or another: Cedric's path, the restoration of Vivienne's confidence, and tempering Magnus' wrath. But every action seemed to push them further from where they were originally going.
And now the world was paying for it.
A gust of wind cut through the square, its breeze holding an unnatural chill. Leona turned to see Cedric approaching, pale but resolute.
"Leona!" he called, his voice carrying over the howling wind.
"Cedric!" she shouted back, her chest flooding with relief.
He reached her side, his hand instinctively grabbing hers. "What's happening? The palace… parts of it just vanished. People are missing. What is this?"
Leona hesitated. How could she explain this to him? They were all characters in a story, and the story was falling apart?
Before she could say a word, another figure emerged from the shadows. Elias, the rogue who had become her unlikely ally, strode toward them, for once not wearing his usual smirk, but a grim expression.
"So, this is what collapse looks like," he said, his tone surprisingly calm. "Not as dramatic as I imagined, but still unsettling."
Leona shot a glare at him. "This isn't the time for commentary, Elias. Do you have any idea how to stop it?"
He shrugged, though in a tense manner. "You're the one with the voice in your head. Shouldn't you know?"
Leona gritted her teeth. "It keeps saying I need to realign the characters, but how am I supposed to do that when everything is already so broken?
Cedric frowned, his hand tightening around hers. "Realign? What are you talking about?"
Leona froze. This was it-the moment she either told Cedric the truth or continued to hide it. But with the world literally crumbling around them, did it even matter anymore?
"I don't have time to explain," she said finally, her voice shaking. "But everything happening right now is because the story we're in is falling apart. And if I don't fix it, we'll all disappear."
Cedric stared at her, his brows furrowing. "The story we're in? Leona, you're not making sense."
Elias stepped in, his voice sharp. "She's telling the truth, Your Highness. This isn't just your world—it's a construct. A story. And it's unraveling because people aren't playing their parts."
Cedric's gaze shifted between Leona and Elias, disbelief written across his face. "You're both insane."
Leona seized his arm, turning him to face her. "Cedric, listen to me. I know it sounds crazy, but everything I've done-everything I've said-it's all been to keep this world from collapsing. You have to trust me."
His expression softened somewhat, but the doubt didn't leave his eyes. "If that's true… then why are you telling me this now?
Because we're out of time," Leona said, her voice shaking. "If we don't act now, there won't be anything left to save."
A low rumble shook the ground beneath their feet. Leona looked up to see the void expanding faster now, its edges devouring the buildings at the far end of the square.
"We need to move!" Elias shouted, pulling them both out of their daze.
The three of them ran, dodging their way down narrow streets as the cracks continued to spread. Every corner they turned brought them face-to-face with more destruction—entire sections of the city missing, replaced by endless nothingness.
As they reached the edge of the city, Leona stopped, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.
This isn't sustainable," she said, desperation lacing her tone. "We can't just keep running. We need a plan."
Elias leaned against a crumbling wall, his face pale but determined. "Then figure it out, Leona. You're the one who's supposed to fix this."
Leona closed her eyes, forcing herself to think. What was the core problem? The characters were off course—that much was for sure. But how could she possibly set them back on course when the world was imploding?
The robotic voice came back, its tone as cold as before:
"Directive: prioritize primary character arcs. Return balance to the relationships between the protagonist and the antagonist. Secondary alignments are superfluous."
Leona's eyes snapped open. That was it. She had been trying to fix everything at once—Cedric, Vivienne, Magnus, even the king. But maybe she didn't need to. Maybe she just needed to focus on the key players.
"Cedric," she said, turning to face him. "You have to marry Vivienne."
His expression darkened. "We've already been through this. I won't do it."
"You have to!" Leona said, her voice rising. "Not for me, not for the king, but for the world. If you don't, everything—everyone—will disappear."
Cedric's jaw tightened. "And what about you? What happens to you if I marry her?"
Leona hesitated, her throat tightening. "That doesn't matter. What matters is saving this world."
Before Cedric could answer, another rumble shook the ground. The void was closing in, its edges creeping toward them like a living thing.
Elias cursed under his breath. "We're out of time. Make a choice, Your Highness."
Cedric's gaze locked onto Leona's, his eyes filled with a mix of pain and determination.
"I'll do it," he said finally, his voice barely above a whisper. "But only because you asked me to."
Leona's heart ached, but she forced herself to nod. "Thank you."
As the void loomed closer, Leona knew this was only the beginning. Fixing Cedric and Vivienne's path was just one piece of the puzzle. The king's betrayal, Magnus' redemption, and the cracks in reality itself still needed to be addressed.
But for now, she had bought them a sliver of hope.
And she would do everything in her power to keep that hope alive.