The world snapped sideways.
One moment, Jae-Won stood over the fractured riftstone, breath caught between disbelief and fury. The next, the air exploded with jagged bursts of violet light—shards of time itself peeling open like wounded skin. The Riftwalk had begun collapsing, but not naturally. Something—or someone—was forcing it to bleed.
"Back away from the core!" shouted Ji-Eun, gripping her spear as the floating glyphs around her shimmered and destabilized.
Jae-Won didn't move.
Because he saw her.
Serin.
Her silhouette shimmered in the collapsing light, walking calmly through the chaotic storm. Her coat whipped behind her like the banner of an invading army, and her eyes—those cold, calculating violet eyes—met his with a calm that only made Jae-Won's stomach twist tighter.
"You shouldn't have touched the riftstone," she said softly, her voice carrying unnaturally across the vibrating air.
"You came here," Jae-Won said. "That means you knew I would."
Serin tilted her head. "I did. But I had to see for myself if the timeline truly fractured—or if you were simply a ghost."
Ji-Eun stepped forward. "She's the one who triggered the lockdown. You sabotaged the glyph seals."
"Please," Serin said, glancing at Ji-Eun. "Your command-level seals were child's play. I'm not here for you. Stand down."
But Ji-Eun didn't lower her weapon. "The Guardian Command has a warrant for your detainment—"
"I'm not under the Command's jurisdiction anymore." Serin's eyes didn't leave Jae-Won's. "He is."
Time stuttered.
Jae-Won activated Glitch Instinctively. The Rift around them slowed, pixelating as if reality itself lost resolution. The space between seconds stretched—but Serin moved through it anyway, her steps unimpeded by the time distortion.
"What—?"
"You're not the only one who can fracture time anymore," Serin said quietly, stopping within arm's reach. "I learned from the best."
He felt her words hit like a physical blow. She was using a derivative of his power. Modified. Enhanced.
Stolen.
"You're not making it out of this Rift," Jae-Won muttered.
"I didn't come to fight." She reached into her coat slowly and pulled out a crystal drive. "I came to give you this."
Ji-Eun moved, but Serin tossed the drive toward Jae-Won's feet.
"It contains a memory fork," Serin said. "From before the Loop was activated. Before I betrayed you."
Jae-Won stared at the drive. "Why now?"
"Because you won't believe the truth until you see it. And because someone worse is coming through this Rift."
Behind them, the riftstone cracked fully open, sending a pulse of warping energy across the platform. Time burst—an anomaly surged into the Riftwalk from the other side. Something stepped through.
Not a person. Not quite.
It was humanoid in form, but its body was blurred like corrupted data, shifting between seconds. Its voice was a chorus of echoes from the future and past.
"Time anchors detected… erasing deviation..."
Ji-Eun braced herself. "Another Rift Entity?"
"No," Serin said, voice grim. "That's a Warden of Continuity. They correct anomalies."
She looked at Jae-Won.
"And you're the biggest anomaly of all."