The world returned all at once.
Cold air.
Hard ground.
And the sound of wind rushing through broken steel.
Liya gasped as she hit the pavement.
Her vision blurred for a moment before slowly clearing.
She pushed herself up.
Dust filled the air.
Twisted metal beams surrounded her.
Chunks of shattered concrete lay everywhere.
The ruins of Riverside Tower.
"We made it…" she whispered.
But something felt wrong.
Too quiet.
She quickly looked around.
"Ethan?!"
No answer.
Her heart started pounding.
"ETHAN!"
Still nothing.
The wind howled through the destroyed structure.
For a moment she thought she was completely alone.
Then she heard footsteps.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Liya turned quickly.
The motorcycle girl walked out from behind a fallen support beam, brushing dust from her jacket.
"Well."
"That landing could've been worse."
Liya rushed toward her.
"Where's Ethan?"
The girl frowned slightly.
"…Not with you?"
Liya's stomach dropped.
"No."
They both looked around the ruins again.
Nothing.
No movement.
No voice.
Just silence.
The girl exhaled slowly.
"The timeline stream separated us."
"Separated us where?"
"Different entry points."
Liya grabbed her arm.
"You said this place started the loop."
"It did."
"Then Ethan has to be here somewhere!"
The girl didn't look convinced.
"Not necessarily."
Liya's chest tightened.
"What do you mean?"
The girl glanced toward the shattered tower skeleton rising above them.
"The stream doesn't just move people through space."
"It moves them through time too."
Liya froze.
"…Time?"
Before the girl could answer—
A deep rumble echoed through the ruins.
Both of them looked up.
Metal beams groaned.
Dust fell from above.
The structure wasn't stable.
Liya backed up slightly.
"Please tell me the building isn't collapsing again."
The girl checked a small device on her wrist.
Then her eyes widened.
"That's not the building."
"What?"
She turned the screen toward Liya.
A timestamp flashed across it.
11:32 PM
Liya frowned.
"That's the time we left."
The girl shook her head slowly.
"No."
"That's the time here."
Liya blinked.
"…What?"
"Time didn't move forward."
"Then what happened?"
The girl looked toward the dark skyline beyond the ruins.
Her voice turned quiet.
"We moved backward."
Liya felt the blood drain from her face.
"How far?"
The girl zoomed the device screen.
Another date appeared.
Liya stared at it in disbelief.
Seven days earlier.
The night the tower originally collapsed.
Her voice trembled.
"We're in the past…"
"Yes."
Liya's hands shook.
"Then Ethan…"
The girl nodded slowly.
"He could be anywhere in the timeline now."
Silence filled the broken structure.
Then suddenly—
A voice echoed through the ruins.
"Hello?"
Liya's heart jumped.
She turned toward the sound.
A man stepped carefully through the debris.
Holding a flashlight.
A construction helmet sat on his head.
He looked confused.
"Is someone there?"
Liya whispered nervously.
"…Who is that?"
The girl stared at the man.
Her expression changed instantly.
Shock.
Real shock.
"That's impossible."
Liya looked at her.
"What?"
The girl pointed at the man walking through the ruins.
"That's the engineer who died in the original collapse."
Liya's stomach dropped.
"What?!"
The man stepped closer, shining the flashlight toward them.
"Hey!"
"Are you two supposed to be here?"
The girl whispered urgently.
"He shouldn't be alive."
Liya looked between them.
"Then why is he here?"
The girl slowly realized the truth.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Because the timeline already changed."
At that exact moment—
The engineer's flashlight beam landed on Liya's face.
And his expression froze.
He stared at her like he had just seen a ghost.
Then he whispered something that made her heart stop.
"…Liya?"
She stepped back in shock.
"You know me?"
The man's face had gone pale.
"Yes."
He pointed at her with a trembling hand.
"You were the last person Ethan called before he died." ⏳