The countdown kept ticking.
00:17:12
The red numbers on the chronal device pulsed like a heartbeat.
Liya stared at it.
"Seventeen minutes…"
Ethan exhaled slowly.
"Alright."
"So the new strategy is: break time itself."
The motorcycle girl smirked.
"Finally catching up."
The man with the device stepped forward sharply.
"This is reckless."
She shot back immediately.
"No."
"What's reckless is resetting a human being's death forever."
The man's jaw tightened.
"That loop saved millions."
"Did it?"
Her voice turned colder.
"Or did it just delay something worse?"
The air between them felt like it might snap.
Ethan raised his hands.
"Okay, team."
"Debate club later."
"Reality collapse first."
Liya nodded quickly.
"She's right."
"We need to move."
The man looked at the countdown again.
00:16:40
His grip on the device tightened.
Then he made a decision.
"…Fine."
The girl raised an eyebrow.
"You're joining us?"
"For now."
"Wow."
"Time police learning teamwork."
He ignored the jab.
"If the fracture spreads, the collapse radius could expand beyond the city."
Liya blinked.
"…Beyond?"
"Yes."
Ethan whistled quietly.
"Cool cool cool."
"Global extinction pressure."
The girl swung her leg over the motorcycle.
"Less talking."
"More driving."
She looked at Ethan.
"You ride with me."
Then she tossed a second helmet toward Liya.
"You too."
Liya caught it awkwardly.
"Wait—three people on one bike?"
Ethan looked at the machine.
"That thing doesn't look like it passed safety regulations."
The girl grinned.
"It's not a normal bike."
She pressed a small button near the handlebar.
The motorcycle suddenly shifted.
Panels slid outward.
The frame widened.
A second seat unfolded behind the first.
Ethan blinked.
"…Okay that's cool."
The man checked his device again.
00:15:58
"Move."
They climbed onto the motorcycle quickly.
The girl in front.
Ethan behind her.
Liya holding onto Ethan.
The man stepped back slightly.
"You two go."
Liya looked at him.
"You're not coming?"
"I'll follow."
"With what?"
He gestured toward the black sedan behind him.
Ethan laughed.
"Time cop drives a sedan."
"Respectfully boring."
The girl revved the engine.
The bike roared to life.
A deep mechanical growl echoed through the empty street.
Then something strange happened.
Blue light began glowing along the sides of the motorcycle.
Ethan leaned forward slightly.
"…That's new."
The girl smiled.
"Temporal engine."
Liya blinked.
"Temporal WHAT?"
"Hold tight."
The countdown continued.
00:15:20
The man shouted one last warning.
"If we reach the origin point…"
"…there's no guarantee the timeline survives."
Ethan looked back at him.
"There's no guarantee it survives anyway."
Then the motorcycle exploded forward.
The acceleration slammed them back into their seats.
Wind roared past them.
The city blurred.
Streetlights stretched into glowing streaks.
Liya tightened her grip around Ethan.
"THIS IS INSANE!"
The girl laughed over the engine.
"Welcome to timeline repair!"
Behind them…
The man jumped into the sedan and sped after them.
But something was wrong.
The city around them was changing.
Buildings flickered.
Roads warped.
A bus appeared in the middle of the street…
Then vanished.
Fragments of different timelines were colliding.
Ethan looked around nervously.
"Okay this is officially the weirdest Uber ride of my life."
The girl leaned forward slightly.
Her eyes locked on the distant ruins of the Riverside Tower.
The place where everything began.
"Five kilometers."
The countdown dropped lower.
00:13:44
Liya's heart pounded.
"Are we going to make it?"
The girl didn't answer immediately.
Then she said something unsettling.
"We have another problem."
Ethan frowned.
"…Define problem."
She pointed ahead.
In the middle of the highway…
Reality ripped open.
A massive crack of glowing white light split the road.
Cars froze in place.
Time around them slowed.
The fracture stretched across the highway like a scar in reality.
Ethan's eyes widened.
"Oh that's definitely not on Google Maps."
The girl tightened her grip on the handlebars.
"…The timeline is collapsing faster than predicted."
The countdown dropped again.
00:12:31
Liya whispered nervously.
"What do we do?"
The girl smiled slightly.
Then twisted the throttle.
"Simple."
"We jump through it." ⏳