Darkness.
No beginning.No end.
Just an endless—
void.
Kairi couldn't feel his body.
No pain.No cold.
Just… existence.
Then—
something appeared.
A circle.
Glowing.
Floating in the void.
It rotated.
Slowly.Steadily.
As if—
it had always been there.
Its light did not spread.
It was contained.
Compressed.Refined.Perfect.
Kairi looked at it.
And this time—
he understood.
This was not an object.
It was—
time itself.
…
A voice echoed.
From nowhere.From everywhere.
Without origin.Without emotion.
"Time does not flow."
A pause.
"It repeats."
Fragments flickered.
People being born.Growing.Dying.
Wars erupting.Empires collapsing.
Everything—
happening exactly as it was meant to.
"No one knows when it began."
"And no one realizes it."
A brief silence.
"History continues."
"Everything operates with perfect precision."
"As if it had already been written."
The circle's light tightened.
Sharper.
"But that perfection—"
"is a curse."
The space trembled.
Not physically.
But—
perceptibly.
"A timeline that never changes cannot exist forever."
A wheel appeared.
Spinning.
Endlessly.
"It stretches."
"It thins."
"It tightens."
A crack.
Barely visible.
"And eventually—"
"it will break."
Silence.
…
"To prevent that—"
"the world creates deviations."
The circle pulsed faintly.
"Twelve individuals."
"Twelve who exist outside the flow of time."
The light shifted.
"Time Breakers."
No emphasis.
No explanation.
Just fact.
"Their souls do not belong to the loop."
"They are anchored to a fixed point."
A pulling sensation—
then restraint.
"Allowing them to return."
"To retain memory."
"To try again."
Once.
Then again.
And again.
"Geniuses."
"Those who achieve beyond reason."
"Not all—"
"but some… have lived more than one life."
A pause.
"But this power is not a gift."
The light flickered faintly.
"Every choice carries consequence."
"Every action alters the future."
"In ways that cannot be predicted."
The circle continued to rotate.
Unchanging.
"And more importantly—"
A beat.
"they are not alone."
The air grew heavier.
"There are always twelve."
No more.No less.
"No one can prevent their existence."
"No one can break the rules that govern them."
"Any attempt to resist—"
"will only be bent into another outcome."
Silence lingered.
"And if one of them falls—"
A pause.
"another will take their place."
No emotion.
No mercy.
"An ordinary human—"
"may claim that position."
A faint sensation—
brushed past Kairi.
"Along with the memories."
"Along with the death."
Silence.
…
"To know the truth—"
"is a curse."
The light trembled slightly.
"From the moment you realize—"
"you become prey."
A beat.
"Or the hunter."
Nothing followed.
But—
it was enough.
…
The circle slowed.
For the first time.
Not stopping.
But—
different.
"Access granted."
A pause.
"Please select an anchor point."
Space warped.
Fragments appeared.
Distorted.Broken.Unstable.
Like torn memories.
An ordinary day.A street.An office.
They passed too quickly—
to grasp.
Then—
one scene slowed.
And stopped.
An office.
White lights.A computer screen.
A voice echoed—
familiar.
"Why don't you try this?"
Links Star.
…
Kairi froze.
Briefly.
But clearly.
This was—
the beginning.
Of everything.
His gaze lingered.
Longer.
If he chose this point—
everything would begin again from here.
Everything.
Including—
his mistakes.
Silence.
No guidance.
No limit.
Only a choice.
…
"…from the start…"
The thought surfaced.
Not fear.
But—
consideration.
A brief pause.
Then—
decision.
"…fine."
His eyes did not leave the scene.
"…this one."
The circle stopped.
For a fleeting moment.
The light condensed.
Focused.
"Anchor point established."
A beat.
"The cycle will continue."
The light flared.
Swallowing everything.
Darkness—
shattered.