The Empire did not panic.
It adapted.
High above the Lower District, inside a chamber untouched by rust or decay, the air was perfectly still.
Not because of technology.
But because movement was unnecessary.
A vast projection filled the room.
A living timeline.
Flowing.
Branching.
Correcting itself endlessly.
Except now—
It wasn't.
A fracture pulsed through the golden stream.
Small.
But persistent.
Like a heartbeat where none should exist.
Beside it—
A name struggled to remain stable.
CAEL
It flickered.
Not because it was fading.
But because the future refused to agree on him.
"He moved during the freeze."
The statement came from a woman in silver uniform.
No fear.
Only precision.
"That should not be possible," another replied.
"Yet it occurred."
Silence followed.
Not uncertainty.
Calculation.
The projection shifted.
Displaying the moment.
The scan.
The freeze.
The impossible displacement.
"Borrower confirmed," the first woman said.
A pause.
Then—
"No."
The voice came from the far end of the chamber.
Calm.
Measured.
Certain.
"He is not a Borrower."
The others turned.
A man stepped forward.
Unhurried.
Unimpressed.
The fracture in the timeline brightened as he approached.
"He is worse."
The word settled like a verdict.
"A Borrower steals from what exists," he continued.
"This one takes from what does not yet belong to him."
The projection glitched.
Displaying something new.
A second counter.
Rising.
00:00:02
The room stilled.
"That shouldn't be possible," someone whispered.
"Correct," the man replied.
"Which means the system is no longer sufficient."
He turned.
"Deploy a Containment Unit."
The words changed everything.
Not hunters.
Not collectors.
Containment.
Reserved for threats that could not be erased safely.
Back in the Lower District—
Cael felt it before he saw it.
The air shifted.
Heavier.
Sharper.
Focused.
The patrol drones had withdrawn.
That alone was wrong.
Because the Empire never stopped hunting.
Unless—
Something worse was coming.
The sky darkened.
Not with clouds.
But with silence.
A new vessel descended.
Not gold.
Not white.
Black.
It didn't glow.
Didn't hum.
Didn't move like technology.
It existed.
And the city reacted.
Lights flickered.
Machines stalled.
Even time—
Hesitated.
People didn't scream this time.
They hid.
Because everyone knew.
Hunters chased.
Collectors reclaimed.
But Containment—
Contained.
The vessel opened.
Three figures stepped out.
No armor.
No weapons.
No insignia.
Yet reality bent around them.
The first one spoke.
"Temporal anomaly located."
Cael's chest tightened.
He didn't know how—
But he knew.
They weren't here to kill him.
They were here to take him somewhere worse.
His wrist burned.
The second counter flickered.
00:00:02
And for the first time—
It felt like something was counting him back.
The third figure tilted its head slightly.
"Subject has been noticed."
Not by them.
By something else.
And suddenly—
The hunt was no longer the most dangerous part.
Because now—
The Empire wasn't alone.