The rain had softened into a light drizzle.
Streetlights reflected across the wet pavement as Liya and Ethan walked side by side toward the night market.
For the first time in dozens of loops…
They weren't running.
No panic.
No checking the sky for falling cranes.
No watching every truck that passed by.
Just walking.
It felt strangely peaceful.
Ethan stretched his arms slightly.
"You know," he said casually, "this might be the most normal moment we've had."
Liya glanced at him.
"That's because you don't remember the other twenty-seven disasters."
"Fair point."
The night market appeared ahead of them.
Bright lanterns hung above the crowded street.
Food stalls filled the air with the smell of grilled meat, spices, and sweet desserts.
People laughed.
Music played somewhere in the distance.
Life continued normally.
Liya slowed slightly.
"This place is usually where one of the accidents happens."
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"In loop fourteen, a delivery truck crashed into the dumpling stand."
"That sounds messy."
"In loop seventeen, a gas tank exploded."
"…Okay that's worse."
"But tonight we're not interfering."
"Right."
They stepped into the busy market street.
Vendors shouted to customers.
Children ran between stalls.
A musician played a guitar near the corner.
Everything looked completely normal.
Almost too normal.
Ethan stopped at a street food stall.
"What's good here?"
Liya pointed.
"Fried noodles."
"Sold."
The vendor quickly handed them two plates.
Ethan tasted the food and nodded.
"Okay, this is amazing."
"See? I know the good places."
"You've had a lot of practice."
They sat on a small bench near the lantern-lit street.
For a while…
They just ate.
No talk about fate.
No discussion about the loop.
Just quiet conversation about random things.
Travel.
Favorite books.
Childhood memories.
Liya slowly realized something strange.
Even without the danger…
Ethan was still exactly the same person she had come to know.
Funny.
Calm.
Curious about everything.
It made her chest feel warm.
Ethan finished his noodles and leaned back slightly.
"So."
"So?"
"What's the weirdest way I died?"
Liya sighed.
"You really want to know?"
"Of course."
She thought for a moment.
"Loop eleven."
"What happened?"
"A piano fell from a crane."
He blinked.
"…A piano?"
"Yes."
"That's absurd."
"Welcome to fate."
Ethan laughed.
"Honestly, if I'm going to die…"
"…that's a pretty dramatic way to go."
"Don't say that."
"Relax."
He looked around the market.
"Nothing dangerous so far."
Liya checked the clock tower visible above the distant buildings.
7:48 PM.
Still hours before midnight.
Maybe the experiment was working.
Maybe fate really was changing.
Or maybe…
It was waiting.
As they stood up to continue walking through the market—
Someone suddenly bumped into Ethan from behind.
Hard.
"Sorry!" the stranger said quickly, rushing away.
Ethan stumbled slightly.
Liya grabbed his arm to steady him.
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
He checked his pocket instinctively.
Then froze.
"…That's strange."
"What?"
"My wallet's gone."
Liya frowned.
"Pickpocket?"
"Looks like it."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Ethan slowly smiled.
"Well."
"What?"
"That's new."
Liya's eyes widened slightly.
Because in twenty-seven loops…
No one had ever stolen Ethan's wallet.
Not once.
Which meant something important.
The timeline wasn't just shifting.
It was evolving.
And if small events were changing now…
Then the rest of the night might unfold in ways they had never seen before. ⏳