Ethan didn't move. Neither did Aiden Cross. The corridor stretched between them, silent, heavy with the weight of unspoken knowledge. This wasn't an ambush. This was an invitation.
Cassandra kept her weapon low but ready. "You're supposed to be dead."
Aiden smirked. "So are you."
Lyra exhaled sharply. "You've been leading us here the whole time."
Aiden's expression didn't change. "And you came."
Ethan's voice was steady. "Why?"
Aiden took a slow step forward. "Because you finally understand." His eyes locked onto Ethan's. "This was never about running. Never about survival. It was always about who controls the loop."
Ethan clenched his jaw. "You knew they couldn't erase me."
Aiden nodded. "Just like they couldn't erase me."
Lyra's fingers tightened around her console. "That's impossible."
Aiden's smirk faded. "So is everything we've seen. Yet here we are."
Cassandra exhaled. "So what's your endgame?"
Aiden's gaze sharpened. "The same as yours. To break the cycle. But unlike you, I've been inside the system long enough to know that just shutting it down won't work."
Ethan's pulse remained steady. "Then what will?"
Aiden stepped aside, revealing a secondary panel built into the wall. He placed his hand against the scanner. The interface pulsed, then unlocked. A hidden passageway slid open. Beyond it, the hum of active machinery vibrated through the walls. Not abandoned. Still running.
Aiden turned back to them. "You came here to destroy the loop. But I'm offering you something better."
Cassandra frowned. "And what's that?"
Aiden's voice was calm. "The chance to control it."
Silence.
Lyra stared at him. "You want us to replace the Time Loop Bank?"
Aiden tilted his head. "Not replace. Rewrite." His gaze shifted to Ethan. "The system is flawed. It's designed to maintain power in the hands of those who built it. But if you take the core, if you rewrite the rules from inside—" He stepped closer. "You can decide who exists. Who gets erased. Who gets saved."
Ethan didn't react.
Cassandra's voice was sharp. "That's the same thing they've been doing."
Aiden's smirk returned. "Not if you change the outcome."
Lyra glanced at Ethan. "This is insane."
Ethan exhaled slowly. He had spent every step of this journey trying to break free. Trying to tear the system down. But now, standing here, on the edge of the vault, with the entire future at his fingertips, he realized the truth.
Breaking the loop wasn't enough.
He had to decide what came next.
Aiden's voice was quiet. "What's it going to be?"
Ethan's pulse remained steady.
And then, he stepped forward.
The game was no longer about survival.
It was about control.