The city kept moving like nothing was wrong.
Cars passed.
People rushed to work.
Morning sunlight bounced off the glass towers.
But for Ethan, Liya, Mira, and the chronal officer…
The world had just shrunk to twelve chances.
Twelve loops.
Twelve attempts to fix a future that hadn't happened yet.
The officer's device hovered between them.
MAXIMUM LOOPS REMAINING: 12
Liya stared at the number.
"…That's not a lot."
Ethan gave a dry laugh.
"Considering I already burned through six hundred…"
"Yeah."
"That's terrifying."
Mira leaned on her motorcycle.
"Different game now."
"How?"
"Before, you were reacting to the disaster."
She pointed at the skyline.
"The tower collapse."
"But now you know the real target."
Liya nodded slowly.
"My aneurysm."
The word felt heavy.
Too heavy.
Ethan immediately shook his head.
"No."
"Don't say it like that."
"Like what?"
"Like it's inevitable."
The officer interrupted.
"Medically speaking…"
She pulled up a data screen.
"Brain aneurysms don't appear instantly."
"They develop over time."
Liya frowned.
"So there must be warning signs."
"Exactly."
"Scans."
"Symptoms."
"Medical history."
Mira smirked.
"Good news."
"You're literally a neurologist."
Liya blinked.
"…Right."
Ethan pointed at her.
"Which means you have access to your own medical records."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"…I never checked."
"Why would you?"
"You didn't know."
The officer tapped her device.
"I can run a predictive scan model."
"How accurate?"
"Seventy percent."
Mira laughed.
"That's adorable."
She pulled out another device.
"I've got black-market temporal diagnostics."
Ethan sighed.
"Of course you do."
"Accuracy?"
"Ninety-three percent."
The officer glared at her.
"That tech is illegal in three timelines."
"Relax."
"Only got arrested twice."
Liya raised her hands.
"Focus, please."
Ethan nodded.
"Right."
He looked at her carefully.
"…We check your brain today."
She hesitated.
"Today?"
"Yes."
"If we find the aneurysm early…"
"…we can treat it."
"And the original timeline disappears."
Mira nodded.
"Which means no reason to break time."
The officer added,
"And the loop ends naturally."
Liya took a deep breath.
"…Okay."
"Let's do it."
Ethan smiled faintly.
"That was easier than expected."
Mira shrugged.
"Facing your own brain exploding tends to motivate people."
"Comforting."
The officer suddenly raised her device again.
A new alert appeared.
TEMPORAL INSTABILITY RISING
Ethan frowned.
"…Already?"
"That's fast."
Mira looked toward the skyline again.
"…Not surprising."
"Why?"
"Because the universe knows what you're trying to do."
Liya blinked.
"The universe knows?"
Mira nodded.
"Think of it like gravity."
"You're trying to change a fixed future."
"So reality pushes back."
Ethan crossed his arms.
"So what's the pushback this time?"
The officer checked the projection system.
A new event appeared.
POTENTIAL CONTAINMENT EVENT
LOCATION: RIVERSIDE TOWER
Liya groaned.
"Again with that tower."
Mira chuckled.
"The universe loves dramatic symbolism."
Ethan sighed.
"Let me guess."
"Something bad happens there today."
The officer nodded slowly.
"Very bad."
She turned the screen toward them.
The projection displayed a structural diagram.
Then a timestamp.
EVENT PREDICTION
RIVERSIDE TOWER COLLAPSE — 6:43 PM
Liya's eyes widened.
"…Tonight?"
Mira nodded.
"Same containment method."
"Reset point."
Ethan looked at the clock.
7:31 AM
"…So we've got eleven hours."
The officer corrected him.
"Ten."
"Why?"
"Because the instability is accelerating."
The device recalculated.
The collapse time changed.
UPDATED EVENT
RIVERSIDE TOWER COLLAPSE — 5:12 PM
Liya whispered,
"…The universe is rushing the disaster."
Mira nodded.
"It wants the loop to reset."
Ethan cracked his knuckles.
"Too bad."
He looked at Liya.
"Hospital first."
"Brain scan."
Then he looked at the tower in the distance.
"And if the universe still wants to collapse that building…"
His voice turned determined.
"…then we stop that too."
The officer smirked slightly.
"Bold strategy."
Mira grinned.
"Risky."
Liya grabbed Ethan's hand.
"…But we only have twelve chances."
Ethan squeezed her hand gently.
"Then we better make this one count."
Above them—
Far beyond the sky—
The fabric of time trembled slightly.
And somewhere deep in the timeline system…
A new calculation appeared.
UNEXPECTED VARIABLE DETECTED
SOURCE: LIYA HAN
The probability meter shifted again.
STABLE FUTURE — 5% → 6% ⏳