"But that doesn't make any sense! You mean one moment I was just trying to fall asleep in my bed, and the next thing I find myself millions of light-years away in the middle of this cursed forest?"

"I don't know what 'light-years’ means, but wouldn't you agree that distance is meaningless when one can do this?" she asked, while setting her hands apart, and conjuring between them a holograph which projected the tiny guinea pig creatures charging towards Altair.

"Are you trying to show off?" he frowned, clearly not amused at having to review the traumatic encounter.

"Guilty as charged," she chuckled. "I have been all alone for longer than I can remember, so forgive my lack of tact. Truth to be told, none of this was supposed to happen, but Fate can be a cruel mistress."

"And how does Fate come into play here? Or are you speaking metaphorically?" Altair asked, starting to think this woman was crazy.

The old lady threw him a forgiving look, again giving him the disconcerting impression that she was reading his mind.

"Fate, my child is the key to this puzzle. Long story short, several millennia ago, only this version of Arcalis existed. Then, one very brave man fought a hopeless battle to protect humanity and was rewarded for his noble sacrifice by the creation of a haven that would preserve his descendants if the original Arcalis fell." Seeing his doubtful look, she sighed. "It would be easier if I just showed you my memory, but somehow I doubt you are willing to go through that again so soon."

"You got that right."

"You will learn more about these events in the Academy, at least about the official version."

"Wait, how would my Academy cover this?" he asked, thoroughly confused.

"Not your Baignard... I mean our Baignard, a leading magical research institution for gifted children. Of course, history is an important part in the education of any well-rounded mage, so they should still be covering the events leading to the dissolution of the Levantian Empire."

"But that's ridiculous... If what you are saying is true, and my Arcalis is indeed a duplicate of this world created thousands of years ago, then how come everything is still so similar, even though you guys have... magic? How do we even speak the same language after all these years, and most importantly, just how the heck is he here?" Altair asked, pointing at the elephant in the room.

"It all comes down to one thing... Fate. Not as some sort of mystical concept, but as a very real force, connecting all living beings and guiding their path, like a riverbed through which the waters of life flow. Even though the worlds were separated, all lifeforms tend to navigate pre-determined Future Lines. Of course, deviations can occur, or we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place."

"But then... how do you explain this?" he again pointed at the big Altair, who was again sleeping like a rock. There was a little less skepticism in his voice now. "Is he me?".

"Technically no, we call the other selves Spirit Twins. But you both are part of a bigger whole. You see, all living beings have Souls. When the human champion was granted his miraculous wish by Fate, he chose to split the Soul Essences of the human race in two parts, leaving one half here on this Arcalis, and sending the second half to inhabit the human copies on your world. Combined with Fate's tendency for symmetry and synergy, the shared Soul Essence is always striving for re-unification, and the closest it can get to is by following a similar path in life. In fact, I suspect you may find that most people across the two worlds share even more similarities with their counterparts than you two. But we'll discuss the reason for that later."

Altair reflected on what he just heard in silence. In less than a day, his entire worldview had been shattered, crumbled and thrown away, to be replaced by this mystical nonsense.

"So... what now?" he asked, seeing she was giving him the time to process things. "And what was that demon-like thing anyway?"

"Remember what I said about Future Lines? Although Fate is trying to keep everything organized and flowing smoothly, the fact remains that because of the infinite number of variables, different Futures are possible, so it's not like you don't have any free will. Future Lines are just the events most likely to happen. Some people," she cleared her throat, "are able to get a glimpse of these Future Lines."

Altair signaled his understanding with a nod, asking her to continue.

"A certain oracle had a vision of one of these Future Lines... in it, your Spirit Twin was supposed to play a critical role, to thwart the return of an ancient foe of our world. Alas, it did not come to pass, and now his place is vacant."

"What do you mean, it's vacant? Isn't he still here?" Altair asked, puzzled.

"He is, but not for long. He is dying, and no magic in the world that doesn't involve human sacrifice can help him at this point. When I came across him in the forest to seal the hole in Fate, it was already too late. The Chaos energy has cracked his remaining Soul Essence, and without it, no living being can survive."

Despite the urgency of the situation, Altair still had to ask:

"Chaos?"

"Think of it as the bad guys – or somewhat simplified, the opposite force of Fate. Anyways, as you can see, we are in a rush. He is losing Soul Fragments as we speak."

"But you just said there is nothing we can do for him... so what is the rush?"

"That's right. But we can still do much for you. You can inherit his remaining Soul Fragments and take over his place in the Future Line."

"What?! Are you crazy?" Altair stood up indignantly, not bothering with niceties anymore. "I am just a normal guy, barely 15 years old! Until today, my only experience with magic was reading about it in comic books. And yet you want me to take part in stopping some apocalyptic threat?"

"You've got a long road ahead of you. And according to my calculations, about ten years to prepare," the old lady replied nonchalantly.

"Ten years? Just what will happen in ten years?"

"In ten years, those demon-like creatures you saw in the memory will attempt to open a gate to Arcalis and revive their leader."

With every new question he asked, Altair felt that ten new ones popped up.

"But why him or me in the first place? How are we supposed to do anything?"

"I am afraid I can't see everything ahead of us, my child. As you have deducted, I do have the ability to get a glimpse into the Future Lines, and in the only one that mankind survives, your Twin had a pivotal role. So, unless we have you step in...," she stopped the sentence, silence speaking a thousand words.

"The world will end?" Altair was barely able to contain a bout of neurotic laughter. Just yesterday, his biggest concern was asking Ronel out, and today he found himself as the supposed savior of mankind. "So, how accurate is this prediction?"

"Nothing is certain with Future Lines. As I said, there are just too many variables, even for Fate to control. So, it is possible that another champion will rise, or that the demons just decide to become a bunch of peace-loving hippies. But are you willing to bet everything on that possibility? After they are done with this world, the demons will come for your home, who unlike ours, because of lack of mana, is completely unprepared to even put up a semblance of a fight."

Altair inadvertently imagined his father and mother, cowering in terror as armies of these dark giants marched on his hometown, sucking the life from everything in their wake. It sent him shivers.

"Is there really no other way? And do you think I can succeed?"

"I will do my best to help you prepare. Everything else is up to you... and Fate."