Darkness.
Not the darkness of night.
Nor the darkness of a room without light.
It was absolute.
Emrah slowly opened his eyes.
For a brief moment, he couldn't remember where he was.
The warehouse...
The gunfire...
The police...
That blinding beam of white light...
His body tensed.
"...Where am I?"
His voice echoed into the endless void.
Then the darkness dissolved.
One by one, colossal thrones emerged from the emptiness, forming a perfect circle around him. They stretched so high that their peaks disappeared into the heavens themselves. Each throne radiated an overwhelming aura that seemed to bend reality.
One burned like a star.
Another shimmered like an endless ocean.
One was carved from living crystal.
Another was forged from eternal storms.
A throne of black flames consumed the surrounding light.
A throne of blooming flowers radiated boundless life.
Upon every throne sat a god.
Emrah couldn't make out their faces.
Their forms were concealed behind divine light too brilliant for mortal eyes to comprehend.
Yet he could feel their eyes upon him.
Every one of them was watching.
A crushing pressure descended onto his shoulders.
It felt as though the weight of the universe itself had settled upon him.
His legs trembled.
The marble beneath his feet cracked.
A thin trail of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
Still...
He refused to kneel.
His emerald eyes swept across the divine council.
"...Where am I?"
Silence answered him.
Then one figure slowly rose.
Unlike the others, his aura was calm.
Behind him floated countless clocks whose hands spun at different speeds. Rivers of golden sand flowed upward while fragments of the past and future drifted around him like broken mirrors.
When he spoke, his voice echoed through eternity itself.
"You stand within the Realm of the Gods."
Emrah narrowed his eyes.
"So... there is more than one god."
"There always have been."
"Then why have you brought me here?"
The God of Time looked directly at him.
"You have been summoned to answer for your crime."
Emrah frowned.
"My crime?"
"I haven't done anything."
A murmur spread throughout the council.
"He denies it."
"A mortal who dares play god."
"Unacceptable."
The God of Time raised a hand.
The whispers ceased.
"Tell me, Emrah Aybeyli."
"Did you not create a means through which ordinary humans could awaken supernatural powers?"
Emrah hesitated.
Then nodded.
"...I did."
The God of Time slowly closed his eyes.
"That..."
"...is your crime."
Emrah's expression hardened.
"I don't understand."
"When I chose you as my champion..."
"...I believed you would preserve the balance between mortals and the divine."
"The gods choose their own champions."
"They alone decide who shall wield extraordinary power."
"But you..."
His voice became heavier.
"...played the role of a god."
"You created a chocolate capable of awakening supernatural abilities."
"And worse..."
"...those who consumed it awakened Systems."
A ripple of unrest spread throughout the council.
"The chocolate you created contains a divine essence."
He paused.
"An essence unknown even to this council."
For the first time...
Several gods reacted.
"Impossible."
"Unknown to us?"
"No such power should exist."
The God of Time continued.
"You unknowingly fused the essence of an unknown god into your creation."
"No one in this council knows how."
"No one knows which god it belongs to."
"But because of that..."
"...every mortal who consumes your chocolate gains far more than power."
"They gain potential beyond what the gods intended."
"You have interfered with the balance established long before humanity learned to write its own history."
The divine pressure intensified.
The air itself became unbearably heavy.
Yet Emrah remained standing.
"You have angered nearly every god seated before you."
He wiped the blood from his lips.
Then asked,
"If that is true..."
"...why aren't you angry?"
"And who is the other god?"
For the first time...
The God of Time smiled.
"Because I trust your judgment."
"I have observed countless futures."
"In many of them..."
"...your choices save more lives than they destroy."
"I also admire the future you wish to build."
He became serious once more.
"As for the other god..."
"He is not here."
"But he knows about you."
"And sooner or later..."
"...he will visit you."
Emrah frowned.
"When?"
"In your dreams..."
The God of Time paused.
"...or perhaps..."
"...your nightmares."
A chill ran through Emrah's body.
"The truth is..."
"I have tried to convince this council that your actions serve a greater purpose."
"I told them your vision extends far beyond personal ambition."
"But they remain unconvinced."
"They believe you are becoming a danger to the balance of the universe."
"That is why you stand before us."
"Convince them."
Silence filled the heavenly hall.
Every divine gaze settled upon Emrah.
He slowly inhaled.
Then his voice echoed throughout the Realm of the Gods.
"You are gods."
"You should understand better than anyone why I did what I did."
"I never created that chocolate out of greed."
"I never created it for power."
"I created it because I refuse to leave humanity's future to chance."
His eyes burned with unwavering determination.
"I want to protect my family."
"My city."
"My country."
"My world."
"And one day..."
"...my universe."
"I know the dangers."
"I know that power can corrupt."
"But leaving humanity powerless while greater threats continue to emerge..."
"...is a far greater danger."
"I accept responsibility for every life changed by my creation."
"If anyone abuses that power..."
"...I will stop them."
"If they lose their way..."
"...I will guide them back."
He looked directly at the council.
"I understand your concerns."
"And I give every one of you my word."
"The chocolate will never be released to the public."
"I will ensure it remains under my control."
"It will never be mass-produced."
"It will never become a commodity."
"It will only be entrusted to those whose character I have complete faith in."
"I do not seek chaos."
"I seek peace."
"I do not seek domination."
"I seek a future where humanity no longer fears extinction."
"If protecting those I love..."
"...makes me guilty..."
"...then I accept that guilt."
Silence.
The gods remained motionless.
Then another deity rose.
His voice shook creation itself.
"You speak sincerely."
"But sincerity does not change fate."
The God of Time lifted his hand.
"Show him."
Space rippled.
A vision unfolded before Emrah.
He saw Earth.
Years had passed.
The world had changed.
Towering cities lay in ruins.
Entire nations burned.
The oceans boiled.
Storms unlike anything in history swallowed continents.
Millions of people fought in the skies.
Supernatural abilities illuminated the heavens like endless fireworks.
Yet every flash represented another death.
Another city destroyed.
Another family erased.
Emrah's breathing became shallow.
"...What is this?"
"The darkest future."
The visions shifted.
A familiar face appeared.
Adem Yesari.
Older.
Colder.
His eyes were devoid of mercy.
He stood inside an enormous factory.
Conveyor belts stretched for miles.
Upon them...
Millions of chocolates.
Identical to Emrah's creation.
Workers packed them into crates.
Cargo planes waited outside.
Ships departed from massive harbors.
Trucks crossed every border.
The chocolate spread across the globe.
Within weeks...
Humanity awakened.
Not thousands.
Not millions.
Billions.
Systems appeared before every person's eyes.
Power became ordinary.
Governments collapsed.
Wars erupted.
Civilizations destroyed themselves.
The vision continued.
Mountains crumbled.
The seas turned crimson.
The sky itself fractured.
Emrah stared in horror.
"...Adem..."
The God of Time nodded.
"In countless futures..."
"...your greatest enemy succeeds."
"He replicates your creation."
"He releases it to the world."
"He promises humanity freedom."
"But he delivers only chaos."
"He transforms your greatest achievement..."
"...into humanity's greatest curse."
The vision vanished.
The Realm of the Gods fell silent once more.
The God of Time stepped forward.
"Now you understand."
"This council did not summon you merely to judge you."
"We summoned you because there is still hope."
He looked directly into Emrah's eyes.
"The future is not fixed."
"It bends."
"It changes."
"It can still be saved."
"You possess the greatest chance of preventing this catastrophe."
He paused.
Then spoke the words that echoed across eternity.
"Your mission is simple."
"Stop Adem Yesari."
"No matter the cost."
"Prevent the chocolate from ever reaching the public."
"For if you fail..."
He looked toward the empty void where the vision had appeared.
"...the age of humanity will come to an end."
---
Elsewhere...
Inside the Pocket Domain...
"...Emrah?"
Yusuf's voice echoed through the endless corridor.
No answer came.
The portal had vanished.
The four companions had entered safely.
But Emrah had never followed.
An uneasy silence settled over them.
"Where is he?" Efsane asked, her usual confidence gone.
"I don't know," Aslan admitted.
Efsun stared down the endless hallway.
"We can't stay here forever."
The corridor stretched infinitely in both directions.
Thousands...
Perhaps millions...
Of identical doors lined its walls.
Each bore a different symbol.
Each concealed another reality.
Yusuf cautiously opened one.
Beyond it stood a forest unlike anything on Earth.
Trees rose beyond the clouds beneath crimson skies while rivers of light flowed through their roots.
He quietly shut the door.
Another revealed mountains made entirely of gold.
Another contained oceans of crystal.
Another led to a world consumed by hurricanes.
Another revealed a land of endless volcanoes.
Every room concealed another impossible world.
Every door whispered another mystery.
Time lost all meaning.
Finally...
Efsun stopped.
One door stood slightly open.
Unlike every other door...
It seemed like Someone had left this one purposefully open.
Blue light spilled into the corridor.
The four carefully approached.
Beyond the doorway stood a sprawling city unlike anything they had ever imagined.
Towering skyscrapers pierced the heavens.
Flying vehicles raced through the air.
Mechanical drones patrolled the skies.
Gigantic holographic advertisements illuminated streets filled with countless people.
The city pulsed with technology.
With life.
With a future centuries beyond their own.
No one spoke.
Efsane finally whispered,
"What... is that place?"
"I don't know," Aslan answered.
Yusuf instinctively stepped toward the doorway.
Before he could enter...
Efsun stopped him.
"No."
She slowly closed the door.
"We have no idea where that world is."
She looked back down the endless corridor.
"We wait for Emrah."
The others silently nodded.
None of them noticed...
That just before the door completely shut...
A lone figure standing atop one of the distant skyscrapers had been watching them.
The door closed.
And the corridor fell silent once more.