The world slammed back into existence with a violent jolt. My knees hit cracked asphalt, and before my vision even stabilized, I rolled instinctively behind a row of rusted dumpsters.
I didn't know where I'd jumped.
Didn't have a destination set...
I'd just hit the emergency trigger to escape V-0's voice in the dark.
The divergence generator buzzed weakly in my hand, overheating. A faint wisp of smoke drifted from one of its vents.
"Great…" I muttered. "One more jump like that and you're toast."
I forced myself to breathe, letting the disorientation fade. Slowly, the surroundings came into focus.
Broken streetlamps.
Caution tape fluttering in the wind.
A collapsed building fenced off with metal barriers.
Recognition hit me like a punch to the ribs.
This was the remains of the research facility.
The one where Aren-14 died.
My death site.
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
"Fine," I whispered. "If the truth starts here… let's see it."
I slipped through a gap in the fence and climbed over a chunk of fallen concrete. Dust swirled under my feet. The moon hovered behind clouds, casting the area in a faint ghostly glow.
The building wasn't just damaged – it was gutted.
Steel beams twisted upward like broken ribs. Glass crunched beneath my boots, each shard catching the dim light like a thousand watching eyes.
And it hit me again:
In this world… I never walked out of here.
I swallowed hard and moved deeper into the ruins.
Pieces of scorched equipment littered the floor – some I recognized from my home timeline, others unfamiliar. It was like staring into a warped reflection of my own life.
As I reached what used to be the main control chamber, my wrist console beeped.
UNREAD FILE DETECTED — LOCAL NETWORK RESIDUE
Network residue? Here?
Three years after the explosion?
My heartbeat quickened. I tapped the prompt and a corrupted file loaded.
Audio only.
Distorted.
Lyra's voice.
My chest tightened.
She sounded desperate. Panicked.
"Aren...Aren, if you still...? no, that's stupid! you're dead. But if this message ever reaches anyone – someone broke into the lab. Someone who looks like..."
Static.
I clenched my jaw.
She knew.
They all knew.
But no one could stop him.
I kept listening.
"You said the quantum anchor was unstable. Aren, you were right. The divergence patterns aren't natural anymore. They're being forced. Controlled. And if that intruder...if he triggers another...!"
A loud explosion crackled in the background. Lyra screamed. Glass shattered.
Then a new voice entered the recording.
Calm. Cold.
"My apologies, Lyra."
My breath caught.
V-0.
"You will not remember this when the timeline resets."
Lyra sobbed. "Why? why are you doing this?"
"Because Aren Vale must live only once," V-0 said. "And he must live long enough to follow the path I need."
A chill ran deep through my bones.
The recording ended abruptly.
I stared at the empty screen, heart pounding so hard it echoed in my ears.
He destroyed this lab.
He erased their memories.
He controlled divergence patterns.
And he only wants one Aren alive.
Just one.
Me.
But why?
Before I could puzzle it out, a faint metallic click sounded behind me.
I froze.
A flashlight beam cut through the darkness, sweeping across the ruined chamber.
A voice followed – firm, irritated, and all too familiar.
"Of all the timelines I've had to chase you through," Riven muttered, "this one better be worth the paperwork."
Riven.
She stepped into the chamber, weapon raised, armor crackling with energy field signatures.
She looked exhausted – hair damp, expression sharp, determination carved into every line of her face.
She wasn't here by accident.
She followed the instability I caused.
"Aren Vale," she said, leveling her weapon, "step away from the console."
I didn't move.
"Riven," I said quietly. "You don't understand what's happening."
"You're right," she snapped. "I don't understand why every timeline you touch collapses minutes after you leave it."
My blood turned to ice.
"What did you say?"
Her eyes narrowed. "You heard me. You've been leaving a trail of broken worlds behind you."
My lungs locked.
"No… that's not me," I said. "It's him."
But Riven didn't blink. "Enough lies."
I shook my head violently. "Riven, listen—someone is manipulating the divergences. Someone wearing my face. He's collapsing timelines—"
"And conveniently, only when you're present," she said.
Frustration flared in my chest.
"I'm not the one causing this!" I shouted.
"Then prove it," she replied.
I hesitated.
"How?"
Riven stepped closer, weapon steady.
"Show me your divergence signature."
My heart dropped.
She wanted proof from my own quantum imprint – the one thing that could confirm or condemn me.
And if it even remotely resembled V-0's…
"I can't," I said.
Riven exhaled coldly. "Then you leave me no choice."
She raised her weapon...
But something in the ruins behind us shifted.
A low mechanical hum filled the air.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight.
"No…" I whispered. "Not now."
The hum intensified. Red energy cracked through the air like lightning.
Another breach.
A large one.
Riven spun around, weapon drawn. "What?"
The breach tore open, swirling violently—larger than any I'd seen before. Energy pulsed outward, ripping chunks of debris into the void.
A shadowy silhouette formed inside the breach.
Tall.
Still.
Icy calm.
V-0.
He stepped out onto the rubble, eyes locking onto mine immediately, as if Riven wasn't even there.
"Aren," he said gently, "you're falling behind."
Riven fired.
And the blast passed through him like smoke.
Her breath hitched. "What...what are you?"
V-0 didn't answer her.
He raised a hand toward me.
And the world trembled.