The room fell silent.
Not ordinary silence.
The kind of silence that came when reality stopped making sense.
Elena stared at the screen.
Unable to move.
Unable to think.
Unable to breathe.
The man beyond the stars looked exactly like her brother.
Exactly.
The same eyes.
The same face.
The same calm expression.
Impossible.
Because her brother was dead.
He had been dead for years.
Elena had watched the funeral.
She had mourned him.
She had lived with that loss.
Yet the figure on the screen smiled softly.
Not threatening.
Not hostile.
Sad.
And somehow that frightened her more.
"That's impossible."
The words escaped her lips before she realized she had spoken.
The figure nodded.
"I know."
The response struck her like a physical blow.
Because even his voice sounded familiar.
Not identical.
Older.
As though decades had passed.
But unmistakably familiar.
Alessandro immediately stepped between Elena and the screen.
His expression had become ice.
"Who are you?"
The figure looked at him.
For a moment something flashed across his face.
Recognition.
Then it vanished.
"You won't believe the answer."
"Try me."
The man smiled faintly.
"That confidence never changes."
The room froze.
Alessandro's eyes narrowed instantly.
Because the stranger had spoken as though they already knew each other.
They didn't.
At least—
they shouldn't.
"You know me?"
Alessandro asked.
The figure laughed softly.
"More than you realize."
Nobody liked that answer.
Especially not Alessandro.
The stranger's gaze returned to Elena.
And the sadness in his eyes deepened.
"I hoped we would have more time."
"What are you?"
Elena whispered.
The man became quiet.
For several seconds he simply looked at her.
Then—
"I was your brother."
Silence exploded through the room.
Adrian nearly fell out of his chair.
"What?"
Iris looked horrified.
Valentina stopped processing entirely for nearly two seconds.
An unprecedented event.
Elena herself felt numb.
Because the answer somehow sounded truthful.
Impossible.
But truthful.
"My brother died."
"Yes."
The response came immediately.
Without hesitation.
Without argument.
The stranger nodded.
"He did."
"Then who are you?"
The sadness returned to his eyes.
"A mistake."
Nobody understood.
"What does that mean?"
The figure looked away briefly.
Toward something beyond the screen.
Beyond the stars.
Beyond Earth itself.
Then he answered.
"It means I died."
A pause.
"And I survived."
The room became deathly silent.
Because everyone immediately understood the implication.
An anomaly.
Just like Elena.
The stranger continued.
"The first timeline should have ended when I died."
His voice remained calm.
"But it didn't."
A starfield appeared behind him.
Vast.
Endless.
Beautiful.
And horrifying.
"The universe doesn't like impossible things."
Nobody interrupted.
Because every word felt important.
Every word felt dangerous.
"When impossibilities become too large…"
The stars behind him darkened.
Entire regions vanishing into shadow.
"Something notices."
The room collectively stopped breathing.
"The Seeker."
Iris whispered.
The man nodded.
"Yes."
For the first time—
fear appeared in his eyes.
Real fear.
Not for himself.
For Elena.
"You were supposed to die."
The words hit her harder than she expected.
Not because she hadn't heard them before.
Because of who was saying them.
"You weren't."
The stranger looked directly at her.
"The universe tolerated me."
A bitter smile crossed his face.
"Barely."
Then it disappeared.
"But it couldn't tolerate both of us."
Silence.
Heavy.
Crushing.
Elena felt her heartbeat accelerating.
Because she already knew where this was going.
"The Seeker came for me first."
The room remained frozen.
"And now it's coming for you."
Alessandro stepped forward.
"Then we'll stop it."
The stranger laughed.
Not mockingly.
Sadly.
The laugh of someone who had once believed the same thing.
"I said that too."
Nobody liked the sound of that.
Not at all.
"How many timelines?" Elena asked quietly.
The stranger looked at her.
A long silence followed.
Then he answered.
"Enough that I've lost count."
The room went cold.
Because that meant this wasn't the first Earth.
Or the second.
Or even the tenth.
The stranger continued.
"I've watched civilizations rise."
Images appeared behind him.
Worlds.
Stars.
Impossible cities.
"I've watched them fall."
The images vanished.
Only darkness remained.
"And every time…"
His expression hardened.
"The Seeker wins."
Silence.
Then Valentina suddenly interrupted.
"Warning."
Everyone turned.
"What now?" Adrian groaned.
The AI's voice sounded strained.
Which should have been impossible.
"Object approaching Earth has changed velocity."
The room froze.
The stranger's expression immediately changed.
For the first time—
he looked alarmed.
Genuinely alarmed.
"No."
The word escaped him before he could stop it.
Elena noticed instantly.
"What is it?"
The stranger stared at something beyond the screen.
Something only he could see.
Then his face lost all color.
"It's here."
Silence.
Every person in the room felt dread settle into their bones.
"What's here?"
Alessandro demanded.
The stranger looked directly at Elena.
Fear visible in his eyes.
The same fear she remembered seeing years ago before his final mission.
The same fear before his death.
Then he spoke three words.
Three words that turned the room to ice.
"The Seeker found Earth."