Jari woke up at night to an eerie silence. The clock on the wall had stopped. He got out of bed and carefully stepped into the living room. The television was on, although he didn’t remember leaving it on. The screen was static, but a figure began to form in the center.
Just then, Veijo called. “I had a dream… Or maybe it wasn’t a dream. We need to meet right away.” Jari nodded to himself and quickly dressed.
Outside, it was foggy. The streets were empty. As Jari drove to Veijo’s, he noticed a figure by the roadside that disappeared when he looked directly at it.
“This isn’t over,” Veijo said when Jari arrived. “We need to find what was left unfinished.”
They returned to the place where the time loop had started. The gate was still there, but shadows now hovered around it. One shadow spoke:
“You cannot change the past without consequences.”
Jari and Veijo stepped through the gate. They ended up in a world like their own, but small details were wrong. There were no clocks. People looked at them like strangers.
“We need to find the book,” Veijo reminded him. The book where the Shadow Scribe had trapped them.
They found the book in an old library. When Jari opened it, his name was already written. Veijo turned to the last page and saw his own name. But the last line was blank.
“We have a chance,” Veijo whispered.
“But who will sacrifice themselves?” Jari asked.
A voice from the shadows replied: “Time will choose for you.”
Fog filled the room. When it cleared, Jari stood alone. He looked at the book: Veijo’s name was gone.
“No!” Jari shouted. Then Veijo appeared on the TV screen. “I stayed, but you can go on.”
Jari closed his eyes and heard Veijo’s voice one last time: “Remember, the story never ends.”
The room went dark. When Jari opened his eyes, he was back in his bed.
But now he knew everything was just beginning.