Neo-Seoul was quiet. Too quiet.
The streets they once knew were still lit with neon signs and floating hoverboards, but something was different. The air buzzed, like the city was holding its breath.
Kaiya tightened her grip on her chrono-watch. "We fixed the rift… but why does it still feel like time's limping?"
Liam looked up at the digital sky. "Because sealing the paradox didn't erase the consequences. We just stopped it from getting worse."
Adrien ran a hand through his hair, now streaked with a white lock—something the Rift had left behind. "We've been gone for how long? Days? Weeks? Years in some timelines?"
They made their way back to Timeless High, or at least what was left of it.
The campus was warped.
Half of the school looked the same. The other half? Frozen in time. Students were stuck mid-motion, as if paused by a cosmic remote control. A girl eating lunch had her sandwich floating in midair. A guy mid-kiss with his girlfriend looked horrified, mouth open, unblinking.
Kaiya's chest tightened. "The Rift touched here too."
Suddenly, a soft beep came from her watch. A message blinked on the cracked screen:
PROJECT LUX: REBOOT INITIATED. PHASE 2 INCOMING.
"What the heck is Project Lux?" Liam asked.
Before Kaiya could answer, someone called her name.
"Kaiya?"
She turned—and froze.
It was Dylan.
Her ex-best friend. The one who vanished just before their first paradox jump.
He looked older. Different. His eyes flickered gold.
"You shouldn't have sealed the book," Dylan said, voice cold. "We were meant to reshape time. Together."
Adrien drew his blade. "He's not alone."
They were surrounded. Students, teachers… friends. All with glowing eyes. All under someone's control.
Or something's.
Dylan smiled. "You stopped the paradox. But the real war is just beginning."
Kaiya took a step back, her heart pounding. "What did you do?"
"I opened the next gate," he said. "And this time… the future belongs to us."