The wind howled through the broken tower.
Dust drifted through the shattered beams like slow snowfall.
No one moved.
"The only way to repair the timeline… is to let you die."
Liya felt the words hit like ice in her chest.
"…No."
Ethan didn't argue.
He just stood there quietly.
The motorcycle girl stepped forward.
"So the great mastermind finally admits it."
Her voice was sharp.
"You broke reality to save one person."
"Yes."
"And now the timeline is collapsing."
"Yes."
"Five minutes left."
He nodded again.
"Yes."
The engineer rubbed his face nervously.
"Okay this conversation is way above my pay grade."
Liya grabbed Ethan's jacket.
Her hands were shaking.
"You reset time six hundred times… for me?"
Ethan's tired eyes softened.
"I tried different ways."
"Different ways?"
"To save everyone."
"And?"
"They all failed."
Liya's voice cracked.
"So you chose me."
"I chose the person who mattered most."
The girl's voice cut through the moment.
"And now billions of lives are about to disappear."
Her device beeped again.
00:04:38
Reality around them flickered.
The sky above the broken tower glitched.
The moon distorted like a cracked mirror.
The engineer whispered,
"…Is the sky supposed to do that?"
The girl shook her head.
"No."
"That's the collapse starting."
Liya felt panic rising.
"There has to be another way."
Ethan looked at her.
"I searched every loop."
"All 603."
"And?"
"There isn't."
The girl pointed at him.
"You're wrong."
He looked at her.
"You have proof?"
"No."
"But we haven't tried everything."
He shook his head.
"You haven't."
"I have."
The countdown dropped again.
00:03:57
The ground trembled slightly.
A nearby beam snapped and crashed to the floor.
Liya stepped back.
"Three minutes…"
Her heart pounded.
She looked at Ethan.
"You're saying the only way to fix this…"
"…is for me to die in the tower collapse."
"Yes."
"And if I die…"
"The timeline resets back to the original path."
"And the loop ends?"
"Yes."
The girl crossed her arms.
"And Ethan stops existing."
Silence.
Liya turned slowly.
"…What?"
The girl looked at Ethan.
"You didn't tell her?"
Ethan didn't answer.
Which was answer enough.
The girl continued.
"When the timeline stabilizes…"
"The loop disappears."
"So does the version of Ethan who created it."
Liya's breath shook.
"You mean…"
She looked at him.
"…you die too."
Ethan gave a small smile.
"Technically I stop existing."
"That's the same thing!"
"Pretty close."
The countdown continued.
00:03:11
Reality cracked again.
A bright line of light ripped across the sky.
The engineer whispered,
"Okay the universe is literally breaking."
Liya's eyes filled with tears.
"You were going to sacrifice yourself…"
"…and never tell me."
Ethan shrugged lightly.
"Didn't want to ruin the mood."
"Ethan!"
He looked at her gently.
"Every loop I watched you die."
"Sometimes in the collapse."
"Sometimes later."
"Sometimes because the fracture destroyed the world."
Her voice trembled.
"…And you kept resetting."
"Yes."
"Even knowing this would happen?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
His answer was simple.
"Because I love you."
The words hung in the cold air.
Liya felt tears fall down her face.
The girl checked her device again.
00:02:42
"We're running out of time."
The engineer looked between them desperately.
"So what do we do?!"
No one answered immediately.
Then Liya wiped her tears.
And stepped forward.
Her voice became steady.
"…Okay."
Ethan frowned.
"Okay what?"
She looked at the ruined tower above them.
"The collapse happens in this timeline too, right?"
"Yes."
"In a few minutes."
She nodded.
"Then we let it happen."
Ethan's eyes widened.
"No."
She looked at him calmly.
"You said the only way to fix the timeline…"
"…is for me to die."
"Yes but—"
"Then that's the choice."
He grabbed her shoulders.
"No."
"I didn't come back six hundred times for that."
"You came back to save me."
"Yes!"
"And now I'm choosing to save you."
His voice cracked.
"That's not how this works."
The girl's device screamed another warning.
00:01:58
The sky above them shattered into glowing cracks.
The engineer whispered,
"…We have less than two minutes."
Liya looked at Ethan.
Her voice soft but firm.
"You saved me six hundred times."
He shook his head.
"Not like this."
"Now it's my turn."
The ground shook harder.
Metal screamed above them.
The tower was about to collapse again.
Liya stepped back toward the center of the structure.
Ethan reached for her.
"Liya—"
She looked at him one last time.
And smiled through her tears.
"Thank you… for loving me this much."
The countdown dropped again.
00:01:12
And high above them—
The first massive beam finally snapped. ⏳