I didn't understand it at first.
I just stood there, my hand still half-raised from where I had caught her, my heart racing, my mind trying to catch up.
I saved her.
That was the right choice.
It had to be.
The girl steadied herself, still shaken, gripping the railing tightly. "Thank you," she said again, her voice trembling.
Around us, people kept talking, their thoughts crashing into me.
That was so close…
He reacted fast…
She could've died…
I should've felt relief.
Instead, my chest felt tight.
Because of the message.
The second loss is coming.
I looked down at my phone again, hoping—stupidly—that the message would disappear.
It didn't.
"Who?" I whispered under my breath. "What do you mean second loss?"
Kai didn't answer immediately.
That alone made my stomach drop.
Slowly, I turned to her. "Say something."
Her gaze moved past me.
Not at me.
Past me.
Like she was already looking at what was about to happen.
"That wasn't the moment," she said quietly.
My heart skipped. "What?"
"The choice," she continued, "wasn't about saving her."
A cold chill spread through me.
"Then what was it about?"
Silence.
Then—
"Timing," she said.
I frowned. "That doesn't make any sense."
"It will," she replied.
I clenched my fists. "Stop saying things like that and actually explain—"
A sharp scream cut through the air.
Closer this time.
Too close.
My entire body froze.
That sound—
I knew that voice.
No.
No, no, no—
I turned.
Fast.
Too fast.
My eyes scanned the crowd.
Students were moving, panicking, turning toward the source of the noise.
Thoughts exploded in my head.
What happened now?
Did someone fall?
Is it another accident?
My heart started pounding harder.
Because I recognized that voice.
I pushed through the crowd.
Rough. Urgent.
"Move—" I forced my way forward again, ignoring the noise, ignoring everything except the growing dread in my chest.
"Let me through—"
And then—
I saw him.
My entire world stopped.
"Kunle…?"
He was standing.
Not on the ground.
Not injured.
Standing.
But—
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
He was at the bottom of the staircase, surrounded by people, one hand gripping his head tightly like he was in pain.
His breathing was uneven.
His eyes—
They weren't focused.
"They said you were in the hospital…" someone nearby said.
"I—I was," Kunle stammered. "I don't know, I just—I felt like I needed to come back—"
His thoughts hit me.
Loud.
Chaotic.
Broken.
My head—why does it hurt—something's wrong—something's wrong—
I froze.
That wasn't normal.
Even for him.
"Kunle," I said, stepping closer, "you shouldn't be here—"
His head snapped toward me.
Our eyes met.
And for a split second—
Everything went silent.
Not like with Kai.
Not empty.
Not calm.
This silence felt—
Wrong.
Like something had been cut off.
Then—
It came back.
Louder.
Distorted.
Noah…? Why does it hurt when I look at you—what did you do—
I stumbled back slightly.
"What…?" I whispered.
"That's new," Kai's voice came quietly from behind me.
I didn't take my eyes off Kunle.
"What's happening to him?" I asked.
"You changed the sequence," she replied.
My chest tightened. "Speak clearly."
"In the original outcome," she said, "he stayed in the hospital."
I swallowed hard.
"But now," she continued, "he came back."
My heart pounded.
"And because of that…" she paused.
"…the consequence moved."
The consequence.
My grip tightened.
"You said second loss," I whispered. "What does that mean?"
Kai didn't answer.
Instead—
Kunle took a step toward me.
Unsteady.
Strained.
"Noah…" he said, his voice shaking.
Something about it made my chest tighten even more.
"You—" he started, then stopped, clutching his head harder.
"I can't—think—"
His thoughts crashed into me again.
Too loud—too loud—make it stop—why is it so loud—
My breath caught.
Too loud?
That didn't make sense.
Unless—
"No…" I whispered.
"No," I said louder.
Kai's gaze shifted to me.
"You feel it, don't you?" she said quietly.
I shook my head.
"I didn't do anything," I said quickly.
But even as I said it—
I knew.
When I grabbed the girl—
When I changed that moment—
Something shifted.
Something connected.
Something—
Spread.
Kunle dropped to his knees.
A cry tore from his throat.
Students panicked around him.
"What's wrong with him?!"
"Call someone!"
"Is he having a seizure?!"
But I couldn't move.
Because I could hear it.
Not just his thoughts.
All of them.
Every single person around us.
All at once.
Louder than ever before.
Overlapping.
Crashing.
Breaking.
And Kunle—
He was at the center of it.
Make it stop—please—make it stop—
My chest tightened painfully.
"He can hear them," I whispered.
Kai didn't deny it.
"He wasn't supposed to," she said.
My heart dropped.
"What…?"
"He wasn't supposed to have your ability," she continued.
My mind went blank.
"That's not possible," I said.
But it didn't matter.
Because I could see it.
Feel it.
Hear it.
Kunle looked up at me, eyes wide, filled with panic.
"Get it out!" he shouted. "Get it out of my head!"
My entire body went cold.
"I don't know how!" I said, my voice breaking.
"You gave it to him," Kai said.
I turned to her sharply. "I didn't give anything!"
"You interfered," she replied.
"And now the outcome is adjusting."
Adjusting.
Like this was normal.
Like this was expected.
Kunle screamed again, louder this time, clutching his head like it was about to split open.
"I can't—it's too much—please—"
My chest felt like it was being crushed.
"Do something!" I shouted at Kai.
Her expression didn't change.
That made it worse.
"I can't," she said.
Rage surged through me.
"Then what good are you?!" I snapped.
Silence.
Heavy.
Unforgiving.
Then—
My phone buzzed.
I didn't want to look.
But I did.
Unknown: This is the second loss.
My vision blurred.
Me: How do I fix it?
The reply came instantly.
Unknown: You don't.
My hands trembled.
Me: Tell me how to stop it.
A pause.
Then—
Unknown: You were never meant to.
My chest tightened.
"That's not an answer," I whispered.
But deep down—
I understood.
This wasn't something I could undo.
This wasn't something I could fix.
This—
Was the cost.
Kunle's screams grew weaker.
His body trembling.
Breaking.
And as I stood there—
Listening—
Helpless—
I realized the truth.
The future wasn't trying to control me.
It was trying to limit the damage.
And I had just made it worse.
Much worse.
I looked at Kai, my voice barely steady.
"What happens to him now?"
She held my gaze.
And for the first time—
There was no distance in her answer.
No mystery.
No avoidance.
Just truth.
"He survives," she said quietly.
My chest loosened slightly—
Until she continued.
"But not as your friend."
My breath caught.
And just like that—
I understood what I had lost.
Not his life.
Something worse.
Him.