"The Fractured Roots of Eternity"

Part 2: (Shifting Realities)

Before Lily could respond, a low growl broke the stillness of the jungle. They turned in unison, their eyes landing on a figure stepping out of the shadows. It was Frank, their guide—a man with rough edges, deep scars, and a past tangled up in the legend of the Moon Tears.

"You both need to be careful," Frank warned, his voice gravelly, as though it had been scraped against stone. "The forest is starting to shift. It knows you're close."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "The forest knows?"

Frank's dark eyes locked onto hers. "The Moon Tears. They're not just a plant. They're alive in a way you can't imagine. This jungle—" he gestured around them, "—it's part of it. They control it. And the closer you get, the more you'll start to see things that aren't supposed to be."

Mac's breath hitched. This was what he had been suspecting all along. "Dimensional distortion," he whispered. "That explains the temporal anomalies we've been seeing."

Frank nodded. "It's already begun. I've been... affected by it. I'm not just here and now." He tapped his temple. "I've seen other versions of me, other versions of you both. The Moon Tears exist across dimensions, and they change everything they touch."

Lily felt a chill race down her spine. "Other versions of us?"

Frank took a step closer. "I've seen you die, Lily. In another timeline. And I've seen you... become something else. Something that isn't human."

Mac's hand clenched around his journal. "We need to find it. Before it changes us any further."

With that, they plunged deeper into the jungle, where the trees seemed to twist and shift as though alive. Time warped, stretched. At moments, the trio felt like they had been walking for hours; other times, mere minutes passed between heartbeats. The world around them grew strange—colors bled together, and shadows whispered of things unseen.

As they ventured further, they encountered creatures that seemed to flicker in and out of existence—alien-like beings, humanoid but distorted, with elongated limbs and shimmering eyes that reflected a reality beyond their comprehension. These entities weren't aggressive, but their very presence filled the explorers with dread.

"They're from somewhere else," Mac murmured, watching the creatures vanish into the mist. "Other dimensions, connected by the Moon Tears."