The Oracle's last words echoed through the clearing like a curse.
"The girl you once were is not gone. She is returning."
Aira felt cold all over. "I… don't understand. Why would my past self come back?"
The Oracle tilted her head. "Because she must finish what she began."
Kael stepped forward sharply. "That's enough. She doesn't need more fear."
But Aira shook her head. "No. I want answers."
Her voice quivered, but she forced herself to stand tall. "Tell me everything. Now."
The Oracle's expression softened with pity—too much pity.
"Aira… you are not merely someone who died in this world."
She traced a glowing symbol in the air, and pages formed—floating, flickering like the book she had found in the library.
"You were a written existence. A destined character in the Book of Paths."
Aira's breath caught.
A character?
Not a real person?
Kael's face darkened. "Oracle—don't twist her understanding."
"I twist nothing," the Oracle replied. "The truth is cruel on its own."
She waved her hand again, and the floating pages turned.
Aira saw a girl who looked exactly like her—same eyes, same scars, same quiet determination—standing at the center of a burning kingdom.
"She was meant to die," the Oracle whispered.
"Her death was written. A sacrifice to reset the fate lines."
Aira staggered backward.
"I—I was supposed to die?"
Her heart pounded painfully.
The silver-eyed man tried to steady her, his touch trembling. "Aira… listen to me—"
But she stepped away from him, needing space to breathe. "Tell me the rest."
The Oracle nodded slowly.
"When you vanished seven years ago—when you died—your story ended. The book sealed itself. Your fate completed."
Aira swallowed hard. "Then why am I here again?"
Kael answered this time, his voice tight with worry.
"Because you weren't meant to return. Your presence now… breaks the story. The book will try to correct itself."
Aira felt the world dim for a moment.
"You mean…"
She barely found the strength to speak.
"…I'm going to die again?"
Silence fell.
The silver-eyed man looked away, jaw clenched so tight it quivered.
Kael's hands balled into fists. "No. I won't let that happen."
But the Oracle's voice cut through them both—soft, apologetic, and final.
"The book follows its ending, Aira. And its ending is your death."
She stepped closer, her blind eyes filled with sorrow.
"In this timeline… your death is written to occur within thirty days."
Aira felt her entire body go numb.
Thirty days.
A month.
Kael shook his head, fury burning in his eyes. "We change it. We rewrite the path."
The silver-eyed man stepped closer, his gaze desperate. "Aira, stay with me. I'll protect you. I swear—"
But Aira barely heard them.
She stared at her trembling hands.
Thirty days.
Thirty days before the world tried to kill her again.
Thirty days before her past self—or fate—came to claim her.
The Oracle spoke again, voice quieter than falling dust.
"There is one more thing."
Aira forced herself to look at her.
"The reason your death was written…
was because the original Aira destroyed a god."
The forest exhaled all at once.
Aira's pulse roared in her ears.
She killed a god.
And now the world wants her back to finish the story.
Her legs buckled.
Kael caught her immediately, pulling her against his chest.
"Aira," he whispered, voice rough, "I'll fight every fate line for you."
The silver-eyed man knelt beside her, his hand covering hers gently.
"And I'll fight every god."
Tears burned behind Aira's eyes.
Because no matter what they said…
…thirty days suddenly felt unbearably short.