"No," Galen whispered, his voice small and broken as time unraveled around him. "I... I didn't mean for this to happen. I was trying to save them!" He watched in horror as the once-vibrant village of Heartwood crumbled to dust, the smiling faces of its inhabitants replaced by grinning skulls and bleached bones. The laughter that had filled the streets for countless cycles gave way to an eerie, deafening silence.

He fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face as he reached out with trembling hands to touch the remnants of his shattered world. The weight of countless lives, of an entire village that had existed only through his unwitting magic, pressed down on his young shoulders.

Gertrude rushed to his side, her own eyes wide with shock and sorrow. She gathered Galen into her arms, rocking him gently as he sobbed. "It's not your fault," she murmured, her voice thick with emotion. "You couldn't have known..."

Elden stood nearby, his mind reeling from the memory they had witnessed. The massive, shadowy hand tearing at the fabric of reality, the shard of pure magic embedding itself in Galen's chest, the desperate act that had trapped an entire village in a temporal prison. It was almost too much to comprehend.

"The Shattering," Elden murmured, his eyes meeting Gertrude's. "We just saw the moment it happened. But that hand..." He trailed off, unable to put into words the cosmic horror they had glimpsed.

Equinox stepped forward, her face a mask of concern. "We need to calm him down," she said, nodding towards Galen. "His emotional state could trigger another temporal event."

As Equinox reached out, her hands glowing with a soft, pulsing light, Elden felt a twinge of unease. Something in her tone, a barely perceptible edge, set his instincts on high alert. But before he could voice his concerns, Equinox had already begun weaving her emotion magic.

Gossamer strands of golden light emerged from her fingertips, reaching for Galen's temples. For a moment, the boy's sobs quieted, his eyes glazing over with an unnatural calm. But then, without warning, Galen let out a blood-curdling scream.

"No! No, no, no!" he wailed, his body contorting as if in the grips of an invisible assailant. "The hand! It's coming back! Make it stop!"

The ethereal wisps, usually a soft golden hue, now pulsed an angry red as they wrapped around the boy. Fractured images flickered into existence around them – shadowy hands reaching from the sky, meteors suspended mid-fall, villagers frozen in silent screams.

"Councillor Equinox, stop this at once!" Gertrude commanded, alarm etched on her face as she moved to intervene.

But Equinox's eyes had taken on a strange, feverish gleam. "I've got it under control," she hissed, her fingers weaving more complex patterns as the red wisps intensified.

Gertrude's hands moved in a blur, golden threads of her own emotion magic intertwining with Equinox's red strands. The air crackled with tension as the two Empaths engaged in a silent battle of wills, their powers clashing in a dazzling display of light and color.

Elden, realizing the danger, reached deep into his Wellspring. He summoned his chrono magic, creating a bubble of slowed time around Galen. The boy's agonized cries stretched and distorted, giving Elden precious seconds to act.

With a swift motion, he severed the connection between Equinox and Galen, his chrono-enhanced reflexes allowing him to slice through the magical tethers with precision. The backlash sent both Empaths staggering backward, their concentration broken.

Galen collapsed into Elden's arms, his small body wracked with tremors. The fractured images around them flickered and faded, leaving behind only the desolate ruins of Heartwood.

"What in the name of the First Law were you thinking?" Gertrude demanded, rounding on Equinox with fury in her eyes. "You could have shattered his mind!"

Equinox straightened, smoothing her robes with an air of forced calm. "I was merely trying to stabilize him," she said, her voice cool and collected once more. "The boy is dangerous, Gertrude. Surely you can see that."

"The only danger I see," Gertrude retorted, "is from those who would exploit a child's pain for their own ends."

As the two Empaths faced off, tension crackling between them, Elden focused on Galen. The boy's eyes fluttered open, unfocused and filled with tears.

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"I... I remember everything now," Galen whispered, his voice hoarse from screaming. "All those years, all those repeated days. They were real to me, but... but they never really happened, did they?"

Elden's heart ached at the pain in Galen's voice. "They happened for you," he said gently. "Your experiences, your growth, your love for this place and its people – those were all real."

Galen nodded slowly, his gaze drifting to the ruins around them. "But now they're gone. Because of me."

Before Elden could respond, Equinox's voice cut through the air like a whip. "This is precisely why the boy needs proper guidance," she declared. "His power is too great, too unstable. He must be taken to the Empatheum for study and training."

Gertrude stepped between Equinox and Galen, her stance protective. "You will do no such thing," she growled. "Galen needs healing and understanding, not to be treated like some lab specimen."

Equinox's eyes narrowed, a cold smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "Oh, Gertrude," she said, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "Always so sentimental. But the will of the Council is clear. The boy comes with me."

With a gesture, Equinox summoned a shimmering portal. Through it, Elden could see the gleaming spires of the Empatheum, the heart of Empyrean power. A group of masked guards emerged, their weapons humming with barely contained energy.

"Seize the boy," Equinox commanded, her voice hard and unyielding. Elden and Gertrude moved as one, placing themselves between Galen and the advancing guards. Magic crackled around them – Elden's chrono energy swirling like a storm, Gertrude's emotional aura pulsing with protective fury.

As Equinox's guards advanced, Elden's hands crackled with magic energy, ready to defend Galen at all costs. But before he could act, Gertrude's hand on his arm stopped him.

"Wait," she said, her voice low and filled with barely contained fury. "We can't fight them, not here, not now."

Elden stared at her in disbelief. "But Gertrude, we can't just let them take Galen!"

Gertrude's eyes blazed with a fierce intelligence. "Trust me, Elden. This isn't a battle we can win with magic." She turned to face Equinox, her posture straight and regal. "You're making a grave mistake, Equinox. The Council will hear of this."

Equinox's lips curled into a cold smile. "Oh? And what exactly will they hear, Gertrude? That you interfered with an official Council investigation? That you harbored a dangerous temporal anomaly?"

"They'll hear the truth," Gertrude retorted, her voice carrying the weight of her position. "That a fellow Elder abused her power, traumatized a child, and violated our most sacred principles. This isn't over, Equinox. Not by a long shot."

For a moment, the two Empaths locked eyes, the air between them charged with unspoken threats and promises. Then Equinox laughed, the sound sharp and mirthless.

"We shall see, old friend. We shall see." She gestured to her guards. "Take the boy. Carefully."

Elden watched, his fists clenched in helpless rage, as the guards lifted Galen's unconscious form. The boy looked small and vulnerable in their arms, his face pale and streaked with tears.

"Gertrude," Elden hissed, "we can't just—"

"We must," Gertrude cut him off, her voice filled with pain and determination. "For now. But this isn't the end."

As Galen was carried through the shimmering portal, Equinox paused at the threshold. She turned back, her eyes glinting with a mixture of triumph and something almost like regret.

"You know, Gertrude," she said softly, "there was a time when we would have stood together on this. When we both understood the sacrifices necessary for the greater good."

Gertrude's face hardened. "That time is long past, Equinox. And if this is your idea of the greater good, then you're even more lost than I feared."

Equinox shook her head, a sad smile playing at her lips. "We shall see who history judges more harshly, old friend. The one who acted, or the one who stood idle in the face of necessity."

With those cryptic words hanging in the air, Equinox stepped through the portal. It winked out of existence, leaving Elden and Gertrude alone in the ruins of Heartwood.

For a long moment, neither spoke. Then Elden turned to Gertrude, his eyes blazing with a mixture of anger and confusion. "How could you let them take him? We could have fought, we could have—"

"And then what?" Gertrude interrupted, her voice sharp. "We'd be fugitives, unable to help Galen or anyone else. No, Elden. This battle won't be won with magic or fists. It will be won in the Council chambers, with words and laws and the very principles that Equinox has betrayed."

Elden's shoulders slumped, the fight draining out of him. "But what about Galen? Who knows what they'll do to him while we argue semantics?"

Gertrude's expression softened, and she placed a comforting hand on Elden's shoulder. "I know it's hard, but we have to trust that Galen is stronger than Equinox realizes. And we won't abandon him."

She gazed at the spot where the portal had been, her eyes hardening with determination. "Equinox thinks she's won, but she's gravely mistaken. She's just sparked a conflict that will shake the very foundations of Empyrea. And when the dust settles, she'll learn the true meaning of justice." As the sun began to set over the ruins of Heartwood, Elden and Gertrude stood side by side, their resolve burning in their chests.