The air in the underground tunnels felt increasingly heavy. The group moved forward cautiously, knowing that their encounter with the Oblivion Guardians was only the beginning of a much larger conflict. Akihiko looked at Orpheus with a mixture of determination and distrust.
"If they've been protecting the secret of The Key for centuries, that means they know where it is," Akihiko said quietly. "Do you have any clues about its whereabouts?"
Orpheus stopped and closed his eyes for a moment, letting his Fate Resonance trigger the echoes of the past in his mind. "It's not far… but it's not close either. The Key is trapped at the edge of history, in a place where time itself crumbles."
Kael frowned as he examined his device. "I could be in some kind of temporal vortex. There are records of energy anomalies in certain areas where the Tree of Eden has influenced the flow of time."
Aria crossed her arms. "Then we have to move fast. Viktor isn't going to stop, and if the Order or the Guardians find us before then, we could lose our only chance."
The Spectral City
The coordinates led them to a place not shown on current maps: an ancient ruined city, hidden among fog-shrouded mountains. The buildings were partially collapsed, covered in vines that seemed frozen in time. As they advanced, the feeling of being watched grew stronger.
Isabella scanned the abandoned structures. "This place... it feels like time has frozen here."
Helena moved forward cautiously, noticing strange inscriptions on the stone walls. "They're similar to the ones we found at the Order's refuge. But these... they're incomplete. As if someone tried to erase them."
"It wasn't someone," Orpheus murmured. "It was time itself. This place has been altered, its history fragmented. It's not a normal place… it's a reflection of what once was."
Suddenly, a gust of cold wind swept through the city, and a series of spectral figures began to appear around it. Their silhouettes were translucent, echoes of people who had once walked those streets. In the distance, scenes from a blurred past could be seen: a man kneeling before an altar, a group of hooded figures performing a ritual, and most disturbingly… a solitary silhouette standing in front of a tree whose roots seemed to envelop the city.
"They're memories trapped in the flow of time," Orpheus said softly. "They won't harm us… unless we try to change their fate."
The Threshold of the Lost Past
As they made their way through the city, the apparitions became more frequent. They saw scenes of everyday life, secret meetings, and even forgotten wars. Akihiko felt a chill when one of the figures turned in his direction, as if it could see him.
"They're watching us," he muttered.
Kael checked his device, but the energy interference was too strong to get accurate readings. "Something in this place is interfering with reality. If The Key is here, we could be walking inside its own memory."
Orpheus approached a stone fountain in the center of the city and touched its surface. A flash of blue light enveloped him for a moment, and his expression hardened.
"There's no doubt now," he said. "This place was the last bastion of the Children of the First Sin. And here… the fate of the Key was sealed."
Akihiko felt his heart beat faster. "So we're close. How do we find what we're looking for?"
Orpheus closed his eyes for a moment. "We're not the only ones who've come this far. They're waiting for us."
The Guardian of the Threshold
A figure emerged from the ruins, wrapped in a dark cloak with faintly glowing golden inscriptions. Her face was hidden beneath an ancient mask, and in her hand she held a scepter carved with symbols that radiated an ominous energy.
"You've crossed a forbidden threshold," he said in a deep, resonant voice. "You cannot defy time without paying a price."
Helena stiffened her posture. "We're not looking to upset anything. We just want answers."
The Guardian bowed his head slightly. "Then I'll answer with another question. Are you willing to sacrifice who you are to know the truth?"
The silence fell heavy. Akihiko felt the weight of those words, but he didn't hesitate. He took a step forward. "Whatever it takes."
The Guardian raised his scepter and slammed it against the ground. Immediately, reality around the group began to fragment like a broken mirror. The ruins faded, and the sky became a void of distorted lights. Suddenly, each of them found themselves separated from the rest, immersed in a fog of alien memories.
Isabella looked around and saw images from her childhood she never remembered experiencing. Helena heard voices of people she'd never met. Kael saw an uncertain future, where he himself didn't exist. And Akihiko...
Akihiko felt his own memory begin to crumble. He blinked, and for a moment, he saw a man with the same katana as him, standing in front of the Tree of Eden. But when he tried to get closer, the image dissipated.
The Guardian's voice echoed in the void.
"To obtain the truth, you must face what you have forgotten. The judgment of the past has begun."