Thiago stared at the city beyond the door.The buildings looked like Langport.The streets looked like Langport.Even the old cathedral tower stood exactly where it should have been.But everything was different. Older and darker.The buildings were covered in strange silver structures that seemed to grow from their walls. Thin lines of blue light ran through the streets like veins.And everywhere he looked, there were people.Thousands of them.Every single one had his face.Some were standing.Some were watching from rooftops.Some were walking through the streets.Some were staring directly at him.Selene tightened her grip on Thiago's hand.“This isn't possible.”Thiago could barely breathe.The ring continued vibrating.TIMELINE ZERO: ACTIVE.ORIGINAL HUMAN POPULATION: PRESENT.TEMPORAL SEPARATION: FAILED.Thiago looked at Selene.“What does that mean?”She shook her head.“I don't know.”A man stepped out from the crowd.He looked exactly like Thiago.But he was much older.His

Selene's eyes widened. “You used me?”“I had no choice.”“You always had a choice.”Marcus looked broken.“I thought I was saving everyone.”Thiago stepped forward.“You created all of this.”Marcus nodded.“Yes.”Then the ring flashed.ORIGIN CONVERGENCE: 41%.The sky began collapsing.Buildings from different timelines appeared over one another.A modern tower became an ancient structure.Then a ruined building.Then a futuristic tower.All at once.People appeared in the streets.Different versions of the same people.Different ages.Different lives.Different deaths.Reality was losing its identity.Thiago looked at Selene.“We need to choose.”She nodded.“What?”Thiago looked at the ring.The three options remained.DESTROY TIMELINE ZERO.RESTORE TIMELINE ZERO.CREATE A NEW ORIGIN.He stared at them.Then something changed.A fourth option appeared.Thiago's breath caught.LET HUMANITY CHOOSE.Selene looked at him.The oldest Thiago stepped forward.“What does that mean?”Thiago

“Now you must decide what to do with it.”Thiago looked at the versions of himself.“Can I bring them back?”“Yes.”His eyes widened.“All of them?”“Yes.”“What happens to the world?”The man didn't answer.Thiago understood.“They replace it.”“Unless you choose differently.”“How?”The man pointed at the ring.“You were given the right to choose.”Thiago looked down.Three words appeared inside the circle of light.REMEMBER EVERYTHING.Then:FORGET EVERYTHING.Then:CHOOSE WHAT REMAINS.Thiago stared.He had chosen autonomy before.But this was different.This was not about timelines.It was about memory.If he remembered everything, he would carry every life.Every death.Every version.Every forgotten person.If he forgot everything, he could return to his current life without the weight of the past.But then the people who had existed only in memory would disappear forever.Thiago looked at the younger version of himself.“You want me to remember.”The younger Thiago shook his h

Thiago could not move.The young man stood beneath the impossible city, suspended above the ocean.He looked about seventeen years old.Dark hair.Sharp jaw.The same eyes as Thiago.But there was something different about him.He looked at Selene.Then back at Thiago.“Dad.”The word echoed across the water.Selene's fingers tightened around Thiago's hand.Thiago finally found his voice.“Who are you?”The young man smiled sadly.“You know who I am.”“I don't.”“You will.”Thiago stepped forward.“No. I won't accept that answer.”The boy's smile disappeared.“My name is Adrian.”Marcus suddenly went pale.“No.”Adrian looked at him.“You remember me too.”Marcus backed away.“That's impossible.”Adrian's eyes hardened.“You said that when you killed my mother.”Selene froze.Thiago turned toward Marcus.“What did he mean?”Marcus stared at Adrian.“I never killed anyone.”Adrian laughed.“You always lie when you're afraid.”The inverted city above them began descending.The ring disp

Thiago looked down. The ring displayed a new warning.UNREGISTERED ANCHOR DETECTED.LOCATION: FUTURE TIMELINE.Adrian stepped backward.“No.”Selene looked at him.“What is it?”Adrian shook his head.“I don't know.”Marcus stared at the screen.“I do.”Thiago looked at him.“Who?”Marcus's face became completely expressionless.“The first version of Selene.”Selene froze.“That is me.”“No.”Marcus shook his head.“It is the version of you that existed before you became Subject Zero.”The ocean began shaking.The inverted city stopped descending.Every light in its windows turned on simultaneously.Then the central door opened.A woman stepped out.She looked exactly like Selene.But older.Ancient.Her eyes were completely black.She looked at Thiago.Then at Adrian.Then at the present Selene.Finally, she smiled.“You finally opened the memory.”Selene stared at her.“Who are you?”The woman answered calmly.“I am the reason you were created.”Thiago stepped forward.“What does th