James hit the ground hard.
The impact rattled through his bones, knocking the air from his lungs. He groaned, pushing himself up, the cold surface beneath his palms feeling too familiar.
He knew this place.
Slowly, he looked around.
He was inside ChronoDyne Tower.
But something was wrong.
The sleek, high-tech walls were the same. The dim, blue-lit corridors, the hum of hidden machinery—it all looked like his time.
And yet… it wasn't.
The air felt off. The pulse of time itself was wrong, like a song playing just slightly out of tune.
James staggered to his feet, his breath coming fast. "Nathaniel… what the hell did you do?"
The fracture had sent him back here—but not to the version of ChronoDyne he knew.
Margaret was nowhere to be seen.
Neither were the Enforcers.
And then—
A voice echoed down the hallway.
"I told you he'd come back."
James froze.
Slowly, he turned.
A group of figures emerged from the shadows.
And leading them—
James's own face stared back at him.
But not him.
An older version.
Dressed in a sleek, dark suit. Eyes colder. Sharper. A presence that radiated authority. Control.
James felt his heart slam against his ribs.
"No," he whispered.
The older James smirked. "Surprised?"
James's hands curled into fists. "You— You're not real."
The older James tilted his head. "And yet, here I am."
The group behind him stepped forward, revealing armed ChronoDyne guards. Their uniforms were different. More advanced. The logo on their chests had changed—no longer the standard ChronoDyne insignia, but something more intricate.
James's stomach twisted. This wasn't just ChronoDyne. This was something else.
A future that shouldn't exist.
The older James took another step closer, his smirk never fading. "I have to admit, I wasn't sure you'd make it this far. But now that you're here… we have a lot to talk about."
James shook his head. "No. No, this—this isn't real. I didn't cause this."
The older James exhaled. "Didn't you?" He pointed to the walls surrounding them. "This is what happens when you fight time instead of mastering it."
James's pulse pounded in his ears. "What did you do?"
The older James's smirk grew bigger.
"I didn't do anything."
He leaned forward.
"You did."
And in the Real World
Dr. Adrian Mercer's fingers danced across his keyboard, decrypting the last remaining files in ChronoDyne's hidden archives.
His breath caught as the last layer opened.
And what he saw chilled his blood.
A recorded log.
A dialogue.
Between two men.
One was Nathaniel Carter.
The other was…
Mercer's breath stopped.
James Bennett.
But not the one he knew.
A future iteration.
One who had mastered time itself.
Mercer's gut knotted.
James Bennett wasn't rewriting history.
He was becoming part of the plan.
Mercer swallowed hard, picked up his gun, and stood.
James had to be stopped.
Before he became something worse than the Enforcers.
Back in the Altered Timeline
James took a staggered step back.
His older self moved forward, hands behind his back. "You're seeing the future, James. The one you wouldn't see."
James's voice was strained. "This isn't my future."
The older James cocked his head. "Then tell me… why does it feel so familiar?"
James balled his fists. "No. I repaired the timeline. I defeated ChronoDyne."
The older James smiled softly. "Did you?" He pointed down the corridor. "Look closely. ChronoDyne never collapsed. It adapted. And who took it into the future?"
James's gut turned. No. No, it couldn't be.
The older James's tone was gentle, almost playful.
You always thought you were special. That you wouldn't end up like me. That you weren't able to make the same decisions I did."
His smirk went away.
"Then tell me… how did you get here?"
James's breath trembled.
Because, on the inside…
He wasn't sure what it was.
Meant.
In the meantime, in the Shadows of Time…
Nathaniel Carter was alone, standing there as reality tore apart at its seams.
He grit his teeth.
James had crossed the threshold.
Now, he was forced to make a decision.
Nathaniel closed his eyes.
And then, in a whisper, he said:
"Let's see if you're strong enough, James."
The void shuddered.
And history prepared to rewrite itself.