Ryan couldn't sleep after that conversation.
If Demo is the mistake…
Then the world might reset because she exists.
The thought felt wrong.
But the more he thought about it, the more it made a terrible kind of sense.
Demo had no timer.
Demo remembered previous timelines.
Demo had the power in the last timeline.
And now the world was counting down again.
Ryan sat on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
"…If the world resets when Demo disappears," he whispered, "then saving her might destroy the world… and letting her disappear might save it."
There was no right answer.
Only choices.
And every choice had a price.
The next day at school, Ryan noticed something new.
Some timers had changed again.
Not by minutes.
By days.
One student who had 12 days yesterday now had 9 days.
Another went from 20 days to 15 days.
Ryan found Shaan immediately.
"The timers are dropping faster," Ryan said.
Shaan frowned. "That means Day 0 is coming sooner?"
Ryan nodded. "Or something is accelerating it."
They went to find Demo.
They found her in the library, sitting in the corner like always, reading a book.
"We have a problem," Ryan said.
Demo closed the book. "The timers dropped, didn't they?"
Ryan frowned. "You already know?"
Demo nodded. "It happened in the last timeline too. When people got too close to the truth, the countdown sped up."
Shaan sighed. "So the world doesn't like being investigated. Great. We're in a horror movie."
Ryan ignored him. "Demo, I need to know something."
Demo looked at him. "What?"
"In the last timeline," Ryan said, "did anyone try to save you?"
Demo went quiet.
That silence was enough to answer the question.
"…Yes," she said.
Ryan swallowed. "What happened?"
Demo looked down at the table.
"He disappeared," she said quietly.
Ryan's chest tightened.
"The timer appeared above his head," Demo continued. "Just like Skye said. He became part of the system."
Ryan asked quietly, "Was he… important to you?"
Demo didn't answer immediately.
Then she said:
"Yes."
Ryan didn't ask anything else.
Because he understood.
That evening, something happened that changed everything again.
Ryan was walking home alone.
Shaan had gone somewhere. Skye had club activities. Demo had gone home early.
Ryan was walking across Noctis Bridge when he saw a crowd gathered ahead.
People were whispering.
Some were filming with their phones.
Some looked scared.
Ryan felt a bad feeling and walked faster.
Then he saw what everyone was looking at.
A girl was standing on the other side of the bridge railing.
On the outside.
Looking down at the river.
Ryan's heart stopped.
"…Skye," he whispered.
She was standing on the edge, the wind blowing her hair, the city lights reflecting in the water far below.
Ryan ran toward her.
"Skye!" he shouted.
She turned her head slightly.
She didn't look surprised to see him.
"You're early," she said.
Ryan stopped a few meters away from her, breathing heavily.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
Skye looked down at the river again.
"I'm testing something," she said.
Ryan's heart was pounding. "Testing what?!"
Skye spoke calmly.
"I want to see if I'm a fixed death… or if I can choose my own ending."
Ryan felt fear like he had never felt before.
He looked up at her timer.
18:22:11
"Your timer is not zero!" Ryan said. "You're not supposed to disappear today!"
Skye nodded. "Exactly."
Then she said something that made Ryan's blood run cold.
"So if I die today… and the world resets anyway…"
She looked at him.
"Then we'll know the world reset is not because of me."
Ryan felt like everything was collapsing.
"…You're insane," he said.
"Maybe," Skye replied. "But we're running out of time, Ryan. We need answers."
Ryan took a step closer. "This is not the way to get answers."
Skye looked at him.
"You said you wanted to save everyone," she said. "Then sometimes… someone has to take the risk."
Ryan realized what she was doing.
She was ready to die for the answer.
Ryan shook his head. "No. Not like this. Not you."
Skye smiled a little.
"That's why it has to be me," she said.
Then she closed her eyes…
And stepped forward.
"SKYE!" Ryan screamed and ran.
He grabbed her arm at the last second and pulled her back over the railing. They both fell hard onto the bridge floor.
Ryan was breathing heavily, still holding her arm tightly like she would disappear if he let go.
"You idiot!" he shouted. "Do you want to die?!"
Skye looked at him quietly.
Then she said:
"…Look at the timer."
Ryan froze.
Slowly…
He looked up.
At the red numbers above her head.
His eyes widened.
The timer had changed.
Not by minutes.
Not by hours.
By days.
18 days… became 12 days.
Ryan felt his hands go cold.
"…It dropped," he whispered.
Skye nodded slowly.
"Yes," she said.
Her voice was shaking slightly now.
"I think we just proved something," she said.
Ryan looked at her.
"What?" he asked.
Skye answered quietly:
"I'm a fixed death."