After Gyroson wipes down the chaos, he casually tells Hale to:
"Make yourself at home. Just don't open the black cabinet unless you wanna lose about three timelines worth of trust."
Naturally... Hale opens the black cabinet.
The cabinet creaked open like it knew it shouldn't.
Hale scanned past the ominous red folders:
"Drift Protocol," "Null 0 Integration,"
and then—
the drawer that didn't belong.
It shimmered gold. Trimmed with velvet ribbon.
Labeled in soft, flirty cursive:
E.R.O.T.I.C.A.
Experimental Research On Temporal Intimacy & Carnal Awareness
He paused.
Then opened it.
Instant regret. Instant fascination.
First file: "Timeline C/69 – The One With the Tantric Loop"
A thick folder stuffed with:
Candlelit selfies
Red-thread diagrams of position-to-timeline collapses
A quote scribbled in the corner:
"When I climaxed, time folded inward.
It was... religious."
He flipped to a sketch.
It was Gyroson.
Naked. Holding a pocketwatch in his teeth.
The caption read:
"Foreplay meets foreknowledge."
Second file: "The Reverse Butterfly Paradox"
A warning-level document stamped "UNSTABLE" at the top.
Page 1:
"Excessive eye contact and sensual energy in emotionally charged timelines can cause spontaneous rerouting of past events."
"DO NOT flirt with Ivy while she's holding anything reflective."
Third: Gyroson's Audio Logs
He finds a flash drive labeled:
"Voice File: Moaning as a Weapon – Proof of Concept"
Hale yanked the flash drive out like it burned him.
"What the fuck is this?!"
"Research," came a voice behind him.
Gyroson. Casual as ever.
"Advanced seduction theory under multiversal strain.
Don't judge my hustle."
"Why is all this in the same cabinet as a literal photo of ALP?!"
"Balance," Gyroson said seriously.
"For every cursed timeline entity, there must be a file that says 'Daddy made me forget the end of the universe.'"
Suddenly, Hale's eyes land on something else.
A velvet-covered sketchbook.
Not his.
Inside:
A sketch of Hale and Ivy.
But Ivy is... older.
Much older.
And crying.
The words under it?
"Only one of you remembers this loop."
Hale's mark flares.
Not pain. Not fire.
Just recognition.
He slams the drawer shut.
Gyroson's smile fades just a touch.
"Now we're getting close."