The clocks slow.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Aria drops gently to the ground.
The glow fading slightly.
Kael runs to her.
"Are you okay?"
She nods slowly.
But her eyes look older.
Much older.
Jonas tilts his head.
"…you look like someone who read the last page of the book."
Aria whispers.
"I remember all the loops."
Everyone goes silent.
Future Kael asks quietly.
"…even me?"
Aria nods.
"Every version."
Kael looks uneasy.
"And me?"
She smiles faintly.
"You always find me."
The tension softens for a second.
Then Seraphine asks calmly.
"How do we end it?"
Aria looks at the machine.
"The origin engine."
Elias whispers.
"…my greatest mistake."
Aria shakes her head.
"No."
"It's the key."
Commander Veyron steps forward again.
"We destroy it."
Aria turns toward him.
"If you destroy it…"
The clocks all stop.
Completely.
"…time stops too."
Silence.
Heavy.
Because suddenly the choice is worse than anyone expected.