The Return of Zyro

 

The Scars of a Broken Rewrite

Scene 1: The Cracks Between Time

The fabric of the Dreamworld shimmered—fractured like glass on the verge of collapse. Shadows moved along the edges of every moment, whispering truths not yet written. Present E stood still at the edge of the fractured realm, staring into a mirror that refused to reflect.

Ellion, standing beside him, murmured, “You feel it, don’t you? Something... returning.”

E closed his eyes. “No, not something. Someone.”

The air grew heavier. The wind, once a soft hum, now carried the distinct echo of clashing metal and the scent of burnt ink. The Chronicle Stones—ancient artifacts that held the rewritten threads of time—began to tremble.

Scene 2: The Sky Burns Red

Suddenly, a tremor ripped through the sky. A burst of black lightning sliced open the heavens. A cloaked figure emerged—his silhouette jagged against the dying light. His armor was cracked, as though time itself had gnawed upon it. A long blade rested across his back, etched with runes that pulsed with stolen fate.

Zyro had returned.

“Did you really think I’d stay gone?” his voice thundered through the plane, distorted—part human, part something far older.

Ellion instinctively drew his twin daggers, the aura around him flickering like stardust. “You’re supposed to be dead.”

“I was,” Zyro said with a grin that didn’t touch his glowing eyes. “And now I carry every death I’ve rewritten.”

Scene 3: Past Collides with Present

Saanvi stepped forward, her voice trembling. “Zyro, we buried you beneath the ink of forgotten pages. Why return now?”

Zyro walked toward them, slow and deliberate. “Because the pen never truly stops. You can hide a truth in silence, but it always screams when the world forgets it.”

Present E’s fists clenched. “You betrayed us—used the Pen of Orin to alter realities, to become a god.”

“I tried to save us all!” Zyro roared. “I tried to undo the first mistake—the child I should’ve never let live. You!”

The ground cracked under the weight of his fury. Trees dissolved into particles. Time bent, folding in on itself. In the sky, past battles replayed—scenes flickering like old film reels. They saw the moment Zyro had fallen. But now, his return came with a new mission: to finish what he started.

Scene 4: The Shattered Decision

Zyro advanced toward Present E. “You were always the anomaly, Eshwik. The story that wouldn’t obey. But now, I know what to do. I don’t need to kill you. I just need to erase why you existed.”

Ellion stepped in front. “Then you’ll go through me.”

Zyro tilted his head. “Ellion... You were once my echo. But now? You're just another broken page.”

They fought.

Steel met stardust. Ellion’s blades shimmered with every strike. Zyro moved like ink through water—fluid, deadly. Saanvi conjured a barrier of rewritten light, shielding E as he collapsed to his knees, overwhelmed by visions from a thousand futures collapsing.

Then—

Scene 5: Dialogue Between E and Zyro

“Why me?” E asked, whispering as reality bent around them. “Why is it always me?”

Zyro’s voice softened. “Because you’re the last rewrite. The original never survived. You’re just the echo... pretending to be the author.”

And in that moment, Present E saw the truth.

He wasn’t the first.

He wasn’t even the tenth.

He was one of many. Versions of himself, created through Zyro’s desperate rewrites, all destroyed when they failed to fix the story.

“I was trying to find the perfect you,” Zyro said, eyes glistening. “But perfection is a paradox. And I finally understand... I don’t need you to be perfect. I just need you gone.”

Scene 6: A Heartbeat of Mercy

Zyro raised his blade—but it didn’t fall.

Ellion’s hand was on his shoulder. “You’ve already destroyed everything trying to control the story, Zyro. Let this page turn without blood.”

Zyro faltered.

But in that moment of hesitation—

An echo of Old E appeared.

A ghost. A memory. A final rewrite.

“Zyro,” Old E whispered, “You were always meant to guard the story, not write it.”

And with that, Zyro dropped his sword.

But time had other plans.

The fragments of the Pen of Orin reassembled in mid-air. It hovered... vibrating with potential. It chose a new wielder.

Scene 7: The Final Silence

Zyro looked to E.

“Take it,” he whispered. “Write a better end... if one exists.”

Present E reached out... but before he could grasp it—

The pen shattered.

The world cracked.

The dream ended.

And from the ashes...

A single voice whispered:

“To be continued... in The Ashes of Rewrite Part 2.”