The station lights flickered slightly as the rain outside grew heavier.
Lena stood still, facing the three strangers.
Daniel looked at her in disbelief.
"Fight them?" he whispered. "They control time!"
Lena glanced at her phone.
Her future self had said something important.
They can predict choices.
But not courage.
That meant something.
"They know what we're going to do," Lena said quietly.
Daniel nodded nervously.
"Exactly. So how do we beat someone who already knows our moves?"
Lena looked at the three strangers again.
They were still standing calmly.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then Lena suddenly realized something.
"They predict choices," she said slowly.
"But they can't predict mistakes."
Daniel frowned.
"What?"
Lena quickly grabbed his arm.
"Run."
Daniel blinked.
"I thought you said we shouldn't run!"
"We're not escaping," Lena whispered.
"We're confusing them."
Before Daniel could ask another question—
Lena suddenly ran toward the south exit of the station.
Not the north exit.
The strangers immediately stopped walking.
One of them looked down at his phone.
Lena's phone vibrated at the same moment.
DING.
A message from them appeared.
"Prediction error detected."
Daniel ran beside her.
"You broke their prediction?"
"Maybe," Lena said, breathing heavily.
People in the station moved aside as they ran past.
The tall stranger spoke calmly to the others.
"Adapt."
They immediately changed direction and began walking toward the south exit.
But Lena wasn't going outside.
At the last second—
She turned sharply into a side corridor.
Daniel almost crashed into the wall.
"Where are we going?"
"I don't know," Lena admitted.
Another vibration.
DING.
A message from the strangers appeared again.
"Second prediction error."
Daniel looked surprised.
"They're confused."
Lena shook her head.
"Only for a moment."
Her phone vibrated again.
But this time—
It was her future self.
"Good."
Another message followed.
"But they're learning."
Lena's heart beat faster.
Daniel looked at her.
"So what now?"
Lena read the next message.
And her stomach dropped.
"They are not human."
Daniel froze.
"What?"
Another message appeared.
"They are agents of timeline correction."
Lena slowly looked back toward the station hall.
The three strangers were walking again.
But now—
Their movements were strange.
Too precise.
Too perfect.
Like machines calculating every step.
Her phone vibrated one more time.
The message from her future self appeared.
"If they catch you…"
Lena held her breath.
The final line appeared.
"…time will erase you."
Daniel whispered nervously,
"So basically… we're fighting time itself."
Lena looked down the long corridor ahead.
Her mind was racing with one terrifying thought.
If the timeline wanted them dead…
Then surviving would mean doing something impossible.
Breaking time itself.