The screens went dark.
The eye disappeared.
The messages vanished.
And for the first time in hours—
silence returned.
Nobody welcomed it.
Because the silence felt heavier than the conversation.
Twenty-four hours.
That was what remained.
Twenty-four hours before Elena made a choice.
Or before reality made one for her.
Adrian slowly lowered himself into a chair.
"I would like to formally request a return to normal problems."
Nobody responded.
Because nobody could remember what normal looked like anymore.
The stranger beyond the stars remained visible on a single screen.
Unlike the Seeker—
he had not disconnected.
He looked exhausted.
Older somehow.
As though the conversation itself had cost him something.
"Elena."
His voice broke the silence.
"Listen carefully."
Everyone turned toward him.
Because for the first time since his appearance—
urgency filled his voice.
Real urgency.
"The Seeker lied."
The room froze.
"What?"
The stranger nodded.
"It always lies."
Alessandro immediately stepped forward.
"How do we know you're telling the truth?"
A fair question.
The stranger smiled sadly.
"You don't."
Silence.
"At least he's honest," Adrian muttered.
The stranger ignored him.
His eyes remained fixed on Elena.
"The vision it showed you wasn't fake."
That immediately got everyone's attention.
"But it wasn't complete."
Elena frowned.
"What does that mean?"
The stranger hesitated.
Then answered.
"The Earth burns in every future."
Nobody liked hearing that.
Not even slightly.
"But the reason changes."
The room grew quiet.
Because that detail mattered.
A lot.
"If you die…"
The stranger swallowed.
"The Earth survives."
A pause.
"But eventually something worse arrives."
Silence.
"If you live…"
His expression darkened.
"The Seeker acts."
Elena felt her stomach tighten.
"So either way people die."
The stranger laughed bitterly.
"Now you're beginning to understand."
Nobody spoke.
Because the situation sounded impossible.
No victory.
No escape.
No good choice.
Only consequences.
Valentina suddenly interrupted.
"Correction."
Every head turned.
"What?"
Adrian asked.
The AI processed rapidly.
"There may be another possibility."
The room immediately became attentive.
Because those words mattered.
Another possibility.
Another option.
Another path.
The stranger's expression changed instantly.
Fear.
Pure fear.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
"No?"
Elena repeated.
The stranger stood.
For the first time, genuine panic entered his voice.
"Don't let her finish."
Valentina continued anyway.
"Analyzing recovered catalyst records."
Data flooded the screens.
Ancient files.
Forgotten transmissions.
Lost histories.
Then a single phrase appeared.
SEVERANCE EVENT
The stranger closed his eyes.
"Damn it."
Nobody understood.
Which meant they needed answers.
"What is a Severance Event?" Elena asked.
The stranger didn't answer immediately.
When he finally spoke—
his voice sounded defeated.
"The thing that destroyed the first timeline."
The room became still.
Because the first timeline mattered.
Everything seemed connected to it.
Everything seemed to originate from it.
"The first timeline?"
Alessandro asked.
The stranger nodded.
"Yes."
His eyes drifted toward the stars behind him.
Toward memories nobody else possessed.
"Before the loops."
Silence.
"Before the resets."
More silence.
"Before reality started breaking."
Nobody liked where this was going.
Not at all.
The stranger looked directly at Elena.
"The first timeline was ours."
A chill swept through the room.
"Ours?"
"Yes."
His answer came quietly.
"The original Earth."
Nobody breathed.
Because that implied something terrifying.
Every Earth they knew.
Every history.
Every timeline.
Copies.
Variations.
Echoes.
The stranger continued.
"In the original timeline…"
His expression hardened.
"You chose neither option."
The room froze.
"What?"
"You refused to die."
A pause.
"And you refused to surrender."
Elena stared.
"What happened?"
The stranger laughed once.
A short.
Broken sound.
"You broke reality."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Because nobody knew how to respond to that.
How could they?
Reality.
Broken.
The stranger pointed toward the words SEVERANCE EVENT on the screen.
"That happened."
The phrase seemed almost harmless.
Until he explained it.
"The universe split."
Nobody moved.
"Into thousands of timelines."
The room felt smaller.
Colder.
More fragile.
"The Seeker lost track of you."
A faint smile appeared.
"The first and only time it ever failed."
Elena stared at him.
Then at the screen.
Then back again.
"You want me to do it again."
The stranger immediately shook his head.
"No."
His answer came so quickly that everyone noticed.
"No?"
For the first time—
terror filled his eyes.
Real terror.
Because whatever came next frightened even him.
"The last Severance Event nearly destroyed existence."
Silence.
"Another one wouldn't split reality."
A pause.
Then he whispered the words.
It almost sounded like a confession.
"A second one would erase it."
Nobody spoke.
Nobody could.
Because suddenly—
the impossible situation had become even worse.
Twenty-four hours.
Three choices.
Die.
Fight the Seeker.
Or risk destroying reality itself.
And somewhere beyond the stars—
something was already waiting to see what Elena would choose.