The café had barely stopped shaking when the bell over the door chimed again—weakly, like it was exhausted. Yara tensed instantly, placing herself slightly in front of Milo.
No one stood in the doorway.
At least, not at first.
Then the air folded inward, like someone was stepping through a curtain of water, and the stranger appeared.
Dark coat. Polished shoes. Eyes that saw too much.
Milo recognized him immediately—the same man who'd slipped through the café yesterday without leaving footprints.
Yara inhaled sharply. "You shouldn't be here."
He smiled just enough to be unsettling."And yet… here I am."
The café lights dimmed, then brightened, then dimmed again—like they couldn't decide how to behave in his presence. Milo noticed the jars along the wall trembling harder now, labels rattling against the glass.
"You're upsetting it," Yara said coldly.
The stranger stepped closer to the counter."No. It's already upset. I'm simply the only one acknowledging it."
He turned his gaze to Milo.
"When a place like this loses stability, the world outside begins to fray. You've seen the cracks, haven't you?"
Milo's jaw tightened. He had.
"What are you?" Milo asked.
The stranger tilted his head. "Someone who made a choice many years ago. The same choice the café is now forcing upon you."
Yara stepped forward protectively."You lost your right to speak for the café."
"Did I?" he asked lightly. "Because as far as I can tell… it called me back."
The jars behind him suddenly went still.
Completely still.
Yara's face drained of color.
"Why would it call you?" she whispered.
"Because it remembers me," the stranger said."And because it knows what happens next."
Milo stepped closer. "What does happen next?"
The stranger smiled sadly.
"The café is splitting. If it breaks completely… fate goes with it."
A heavy silence followed.
He continued:
"You have two choices, Milo. Anchor the café by becoming what I once was—Keeper. Or rewrite everything using the drink you were never meant to see."
Milo felt his stomach twist.
Yara's hand tightened around the edge of the counter.
"You told me yesterday you wanted to take the café," Milo said. "Why help me now?"
The stranger's smile faded.
"Because I've seen what happens when no one chooses."
He turned toward the shelves.
"All these jars will shatter. Every thread of fate will spill. Possibilities will unravel. Lives will collapse under choices that were never theirs to make."
He looked at Milo again—tired, almost pleading.
"You may hate both options. But you must pick one."
Before Milo could ask anything else, the stranger flickered like a glitching projection—
—and vanished.
The café went silent.
Yara exhaled shakily. "Milo… It's starting."