The man stepped fully into the dim light of the ruined tower.
Liya's breath caught in her throat.
It was Ethan.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Same voice.
But something about him felt… different.
Older.
Not physically older.
But heavier.
Like someone who had lived through far more than a single day.
He looked at Liya quietly.
"…Hi."
Liya couldn't move.
"Ethan…?"
The motorcycle girl immediately stepped forward, blocking Liya slightly.
Her hand slowly moved toward the small device at her belt.
"Don't come any closer."
The man tilted his head slightly.
"You always were cautious."
That made her freeze.
"…How do you know that?"
He smirked faintly.
"Because we've met."
She narrowed her eyes.
"No we haven't."
He sighed.
"Not yet for you."
The engineer looked between all of them, completely lost.
"Okay I officially have no idea what's happening."
The man ignored him.
His eyes stayed on Liya.
"You shouldn't be here this early."
Her voice trembled.
"…Early?"
"Yes."
"You're supposed to arrive in three days."
Liya felt the ground shift under her.
"You know me?"
He nodded slowly.
"Very well."
The motorcycle girl stepped closer.
"Enough."
"Identify yourself."
The man looked at her calmly.
"You already know."
"No."
"Yes."
Her eyes sharpened.
"…Prove it."
The man looked directly at her.
"You're from Chronal Division Unit 7."
"You broke protocol to enter the loop."
"You've tried to fix the fracture twelve times."
Her face went pale.
"How—"
"And every time," he continued quietly,
"…you fail."
Silence crushed the air.
The engineer whispered,
"…Okay that's terrifying."
The girl stepped back slightly.
"You're not supposed to remember those attempts."
"I remember everything."
Liya's voice shook.
"Everything…?"
The man finally looked at her again.
"Yes."
"Every loop."
"Every reset."
"Every version of this timeline."
Her heart pounded.
"…How many?"
He thought for a moment.
Then answered.
"Six hundred and three."
The number hit the room like a bomb.
The engineer nearly dropped his flashlight.
"Six hundred— WHAT?!"
The girl stared at him in disbelief.
"That's impossible."
"No."
"It's exhausting."
Liya stepped forward slowly.
"…You're Ethan."
"Yes."
"But not the Ethan from today."
He nodded.
"Correct."
The girl's voice turned sharp.
"You're a loop survivor."
He shook his head.
"Something worse."
"What?"
His eyes darkened slightly.
"I'm the one who started it."
The wind howled through the broken tower.
Liya whispered,
"…You created the loop?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
He looked directly at her.
"Because in the original timeline…"
"…you died."
Silence.
Liya felt her entire world tilt.
"…What?"
"You died in the tower collapse."
Her breath shook.
"That's not possible."
"It already happened."
The engineer whispered nervously,
"Wait… in the original timeline… we all died."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
"That was the first timeline."
The girl's voice dropped.
"You reset the day to save her."
"Yes."
"But the reset didn't work."
"It worked."
He looked at Liya again.
"You survived."
"But something else broke."
The girl finished the thought quietly.
"…The timeline."
Ethan nodded.
"Every reset made the fracture worse."
Liya's voice trembled.
"…Then why keep doing it?"
He looked tired.
Really tired.
"Because every time I stop resetting…"
"…you die again."
Tears filled Liya's eyes.
"Ethan…"
The motorcycle girl stepped forward.
"You created a temporal paradox loop."
"Yes."
"That's illegal on every timeline."
He laughed softly.
"I stopped caring about laws around loop number two hundred."
The girl shook her head.
"You destroyed reality."
"No."
He pointed at Liya gently.
"I protected her."
The chronal device on the girl's wrist suddenly screamed with alarms.
She looked down.
Her face drained of color.
Liya felt her stomach drop.
"What is it?"
The girl slowly turned the screen toward them.
A massive warning message flashed.
PRIMARY TIMELINE COLLAPSE INITIATED
The countdown appeared beneath it.
00:05:12
The engineer whispered,
"…Five minutes?"
The girl looked up at Ethan.
"This is your fault."
He nodded calmly.
"I know."
Liya grabbed his arm.
"Then fix it!"
He looked at her sadly.
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because the only way to repair the timeline…"
He hesitated.
For the first time since appearing.
"…is to let you die." ⏳