Back at Mystic Manor Zone, Brains and Brawn were already down, their bodies bound in chains forged from Shadow’s creeping fog. They reached out to Pace even as the darkness dragged them further in, calling his name—pleading—but their voices couldn’t break through. Chef Sauté had it worse. The entity had torn through him without hesitation, its hunger unending.

Inside Pace’s mind, the world fell silent. In that moment he wasn’t running, wasn’t fighting—just standing still, clutching at fragments of memory. Rosy’s smile flickered in his head, a memory of warmth swallowed by the cold void Shadow left behind. Darkness filled the rest.

And with it, the land began to smother under a black sun.

......

…but not yet.

You didn’t want this ending, did you? As the darkness crawls across the horizon, you tighten your grip around something small but powerful—one of the Time Stones you’d grabbed before Shadow could reach you. Maybe this timeline doesn’t have to end here. Maybe you can still change something.

12:14 AM

Pace was running again. Always running. His breath ragged, his feet heavy, the cape clinging to his shoulders like a weight. Running had saved him before, but now it only reminded him of what he’d lost. His friends—Brains, Brawn, Chef Sauté—were gone. He was the only one left.

Then, in the middle of the woods, on an old stump: a book. A story about ancient artifacts called the Chaos Emeralds, their dormant power waiting to be awakened. The book whispered of heroes who had risen before, and of power enough to face monsters like Shadow. Power enough to be the hero Pace wished he was.

He closed it with trembling hands. Then he ran again—faster than he ever had—toward the castle where the Emeralds lay. He didn’t know Shadow had already beaten him there. Didn’t know the entity had taken what he needed before he even had a chance.

Inside Mystic Manor, Pace tried to keep himself together. Adjusting his cape, forcing his breath steady, muttering to himself like a mantra:

“I-I’m… I’m g-gonna be o-okay…”

But the fog had already begun to seep in. Shadow’s voice echoed through the halls, and through his mind. Half his face now blackened, a jagged grin of white teeth splitting across where his eye should be.

“You and I can be one. I can make you stronger. There is no use fighting. Let me have you. Let me make you better.”

Pace staggered back

“N-No! I can’t give up now! They need me—they need me to be a hero!”

From the shadows, you watch. You’ve been here before, seen this moment end in ruin. But now you’re holding the Time Stone. This is your chance to change everything.