She gripped Ethan's arm even tighter now, fingers digging deeper into his skin.


“No. You aren't taking him,” she hissed.


“I am not here for him,” the figure replied calmly, and somehow comforting, its presence solid and unmoving.

“You have to understand. I am neither good nor evil. I am neither protector nor destroyer; I am above that distinction. I am simply a force of equilibrium. I answer to Destiny itself, tipping the scales when they falter, realigning the path that must be followed.”


“Who are you?” she asked, her voice trembling with fear and a desire to know.


“I am the Balancekeeper,” said the figure, its voice steady, pressing against the eerie stillness of the room. “Amelia, you were never meant to live this life. Your death was written, your time had ended - but somehow you survived. This act of rebellion bent the threads of the universe. This imbalance must be restored, and I am

here to restore it.”


A coldness slipped its way across her skin, and yet she did not recoil. Still, fear lingered within her, entwined with awe, for she understood that this entity was neither ghost nor demon. It was... Inevitability itself - universal, ancient, persistent, eternal, and unavoidable.


Amelia’s head spun. “I... have to die?” Her voice was weak. Each word slipped from her lips with hesitation, as though saying them aloud might seal her fate. The figure tilted its hooded head, with a gleaming pair of eyes peering from under the black veil. Its sinister voice cut through the silence.


“You were born with a hidden defect in your heart - one no doctor could ever detect. Your heart should have stopped days before your wedding, but it didn't. Your soul had just enough hold on life in that split second because of love, the will to see yourself married to your husband. The bond you share with your husband is what has kept you clinging to continued life. The love you two share was so strong it bent the threads of Destiny just enough for you to slip through. But the universe can’t allow mistakes. That’s why I was sent to reclaim you on your wedding day, to restore the continuum. I was there to take you away. I asked you to follow me. I even paused time for you so you could see your loved one... one last time. But once again, your soul defied me, and I had to pull back. And now the scales demand correction. Your path is waiting for you. Every second you spend here is an imbalance, a ripple against the path of what was meant to be. You are the error. You were never supposed to have this life.”


“Why did you wait a year?” Amelia whispered with a cracking voice.


“I waited a year, yes,” the Balancekeeper's voice rolled through the darkness, smooth and focused. “Not in mercy, but to let the threads of the anomaly settle. That soul of yours was not stable, lingering between the life it longed to live, glimpsing beyond the veil every time you saw me. This veil between worlds must not be crossed hastily - too quickly, and you would vanish from your path, upsetting the equilibrium of countless others. Fate answers to no one,” the voice continued, “and I act only when the scales of fate need correction. And now, this moment has come... and there is no turning back,” the entity asserted.


“But... I don't want to leave him,” Amelia murmured, her eyes fixated on where Ethan lay asleep next to her. He was so peaceful, so blissfully unaware, and as she watched him, her heart twisted with unrest. The figure lowered its head as if in sorrow, though the veil covered its face. “Your love binds you to this world, and it is strong. But love does not alter the forces of the universe, nor can it grant exemptions. If you cling to this bond, I will have no choice but to take Ethan too.”