The village slowly disappeared behind them. Arjun walked along the narrow road with Nox beside him. Eli and Elias followed quietly. For the first time in years, nobody was chasing them. There was no enemy waiting around the next corner. No countdown was ticking inside Arjun's mind. No voice was telling him what had to happen next. Yet Arjun couldn't stop thinking about the little girl. Lena. He looked back once. The village was still visible in the distance. “She felt something,” Nox said. Arjun looked at him. “What?” “Like she knew us.” Arjun nodded. “I felt it too.” “Was it a memory?” “Maybe.” Nox thought for a moment. “Then whose?” Arjun didn't answer. Elias finally spoke. “It may not belong to anyone.” Arjun looked back. “What do you mean?” “After what happened to the Original Universe, memories were no longer tied to a single place.” Elias walked beside them. “They can survive as fragments. Feelings. Images. Connections.” “But not instructions,” Arjun

The river carried the boat farther from the village. Arjun sat quietly at the front while Nox rested against his shoulder. For the first time in a long time, there was nowhere they needed to be. No mission. No deadline. No enemy. Just a river moving toward an unknown destination. Eli watched the passing trees. “This is strange.” Arjun looked back. “What?” “Traveling without knowing where we're going.” Nox opened one eye. “Dad does that all the time.” Arjun laughed. “Not by choice.” Elias smiled. “Perhaps that is the difference.” The river widened. The trees slowly became shorter. The air changed. A faint smell of salt reached them. Nox suddenly sat upright. “Is that it?” Arjun looked ahead. Beyond the distant trees, something blue stretched across the horizon. He smiled. “The ocean.” Nox stood immediately. “Really?” “Yes.” Nox stared. He had imagined it many times. But imagination had never prepared him for something so large. The river finally opened

Morning arrived quietly. Sunlight entered through the broken window and fell across the wooden floor. Arjun opened his eyes. For a few seconds, he didn't remember where he was. Then he heard something fall in the kitchen. “Dad!” Arjun sat up immediately. “Nox?” “I'm fine!” Arjun hurried downstairs. Nox was standing beside the table. A bowl had fallen onto the floor. Eli was laughing. “It attacked him.” Nox pointed at the bowl. “It slipped.” “Of course.” Arjun shook his head. Elias entered carrying a toolbox. “The window is repaired.” Arjun looked toward it. The broken glass had been replaced. Sunlight filled the room. It was such a small thing. Yet Arjun felt strangely proud. He had repaired a window. Not a universe. Not reality. Just a window. Nox picked up the bowl. “What are we doing today?” Arjun thought about it. “Nothing.” Nox stared at him. “Nothing?” “Yes.” “But we need plans.” “Why?” “So we know what happens next.” Arjun smiled. “We don'

The bookstore was only a few streets away from the house.Nox kept talking about the ocean book as they walked.“I'll buy it.”Arjun smiled.“You don't have enough money yet.”“I'll earn it.”“Doing what?”Nox thought carefully.“I don't know.”“That sounds like a problem.”“No.”Nox looked at him.“It sounds like a choice.”Arjun laughed.“You're learning quickly.”They reached the house before sunset.Eli was sitting outside, repairing an old wooden chair.Elias was planting another row of vegetables beside the garden.Nox looked at him.“What are you doing?”“Making the garden useful.”Nox smiled.“Can I help?”Elias handed him a small shovel.“Of course.”Arjun watched them for a moment.Then he noticed something on the road.A young woman was standing near the gate.She looked uncertain.Arjun walked toward her.“Can I help you?”She looked at the house.“Is this your home?”Arjun nodded.“Yes.”“I was told someone here might help me.”Arjun waited.“What do you need?”The woman

Arjun woke to the sound of Nox shouting outside.“Dad! Come here!”He sat up, glanced at the clock, and sighed.His new life had lasted several days.Apparently, peace had an expiration time.He hurried downstairs and stepped into the garden.Nox was kneeling beside the little plant they had planted together. Eli stood nearby, holding a watering can. Elias watched from the doorway.“What happened?” Arjun asked.Nox pointed at the ground.“Look.”The plant had grown taller overnight.That wasn't unusual.But beside its thin green stem, a second shoot had emerged.Its leaves were pale gold.Arjun crouched.He didn't touch it.“Did you put anything here?”Nox shook his head.“No.”Eli examined the soil.“Maybe another seed was mixed in.”“Possible,” Arjun said.Elias remained silent.Arjun noticed.“What?”Elias stepped into the garden.“Nothing.”“Elias.”The older man crouched beside them. His expression was thoughtful, but not frightened.“I've seen plants grow in unusual soil before,