Time didn't stop.
It stuttered.
Jonah stood in the snow-covered street, the gaslight flickering like a heartbeat above him. Across the road, Evelyne still smiled—her last smile before the loop would claim her.
The Revenant stood at the far end of the street, arm raised like a conductor ready to drop the baton.
This was it. The moment Bellamy had tried to fix.
The moment that broke everything.
Thorne whispered, "Do you feel that?"
Jonah did.
A pull. Not physical, not even emotional. Something deeper.
Like the world was leaning forward, waiting for him.
He glanced at the watch in his pocket.
It wasn't ticking.
It was watching.
He stepped forward.
Thorne tensed. "Jonah—"
"I know what I'm doing."
He crossed the street—not running, not rushing—like the air itself had slowed to let him pass.
The moment wavered. The gaslight above him sparked. A ripple of not-quite-time spread from his feet like a dropped pebble in a glass pond.
Evelyne turned just slightly.
Her eyes met his.
And something in her recognized him.
> "Jonah?" she asked.
It wasn't possible.
But she knew his name.
A second later, the Revenant moved.
Jonah didn't hesitate. He stepped in front of Evelyne and held up the silver watch.
The Revenant stopped cold.
And for the first time—
He spoke.
> "Give her back."
The voice was broken, layered, like a hundred shattered clocks trying to sync. Jonah's knees nearly buckled.
"She's not yours to take," Jonah said. "She's not your past. She's your beginning."
The Revenant tilted his head. Something flickered across his form—like static in a mirror.
Evelyne stepped closer, confused but not afraid. "Jonah… who is he?"
"I think he's you," Jonah said. "Or what's left of you. Twisted by all the times you were erased. Forgotten. Left behind."
The Revenant staggered. The reflections in his form began to splinter. For just a second, Jonah saw something beneath the fractured metal and glowing eyes—
A girl in a brown coat.
Scared. Alone. Screaming into silence.
> "I remember dying," the Revenant whispered.
Evelyne flinched. Jonah took her hand.
"You didn't die," he said. "You were pulled apart by time. But you're here now. You're whole."
And with that—
The watch in Jonah's hand clicked.
Once.
A single tick.
The sound rang through the street like a bell struck from the inside of the world.
Everything froze.
The snow. The gaslight. The echo of the Revenant's breath.
Evelyne's grip tightened. "What did you do?"
"I didn't save you," Jonah said. "I chose you."
The world cracked.
A seam of light split the sky. The street around them blurred, melting into golden threads. Time was unraveling—but not from damage.
From release.
The Revenant gave a final, shuddering breath.
Then lowered his hand.
And vanished.
No explosion. No scream. Just… gone.
Evelyne fell to her knees. Jonah dropped beside her.
Thorne stepped into the stillness. "You didn't stop the moment," he said. "You rewrote it."
Jonah nodded. "No loops. No resets. Just a new branch."
Above them, the gaslight flickered back on.
The snow fell again.
Soft. Real. Unbroken.
Jonah looked at Evelyne.
"Welcome back."
---
Next up: Chapter Twelve – "The Price of a Clock."
Time doesn't let go without asking for something in return. Jonah's choice has consequences—not all of them obvious. Somewhere else, a gear slips free. And someone—or something—notices the change.