The blast from the doors sent a shockwave through the control wing, dust and debris scattering as the enforcers breached. Ethan didn't hesitate. He had expected them. Planned for them. And now, they were stepping into a war that was already lost.
Cassandra moved first, firing off precision shots that forced the operatives to break formation. Lyra ducked behind the control console, feeding real-time network disruptions into the security grid. Aiden stayed close to the failsafe servers, monitoring the system's response.
Ethan didn't need to give orders. Everyone already knew what they had to do.
The enforcers advanced, their tactical visors locking onto targets with machine precision. Ethan rolled forward, grabbing a discarded kinetic shield from the wall. A round of plasma fire hit just as he raised it—absorbing the impact but shaking his entire arm.
Cassandra cursed under her breath. "They're not playing around."
Aiden fired a pulse disruptor toward the nearest enforcer, short-circuiting his visor for a brief second—enough time for Ethan to move. He surged forward, driving the shield into the operative's chest, knocking him off balance. Before the enforcer could recover, Ethan disarmed him, flipping his weapon into his own hands.
Lyra shouted from behind the console. "Security barriers are locking! They're trying to isolate us!"
Ethan turned back toward her. "Override it."
"I'm trying, but they—" She paused, eyes widening. "Wait."
Cassandra ducked behind cover, reloading. "What?"
Lyra's voice was quiet. "They're not trying to keep us in. They're trying to keep something out."
Aiden frowned. "That doesn't make sense."
Ethan's pulse slowed. "Unless there's another faction in play."
The enforcers adjusted tactics, repositioning toward the main vault entrance instead of directly engaging. That was wrong. That wasn't how the Time Loop Bank worked.
Cassandra exhaled sharply. "They're not just after us. They're after the system itself."
Ethan's grip tightened around his stolen weapon. If the Time Loop Bank had lost control, then someone else was making a move to take it. The loop had been rewritten—but that didn't mean it was safe.
Lyra tapped into the system's outer layers, scanning activity beyond the control wing. Her face paled. "We have unregistered entries. Five separate breach points. No ID signatures."
Aiden's smirk faded. "That means independent players."
Cassandra muttered a curse. "Mercs?"
Ethan's jaw clenched. "Or worse."
The gunfire around them slowed. The enforcers weren't retreating. They were repositioning—digging in to defend the core. And that only meant one thing.
The people they worked for weren't in charge anymore.
Lyra's console beeped frantically. "Incoming transmission on an unsecured channel."
Ethan didn't react. "Patch it through."
A voice crackled to life, deep, controlled, and completely unfamiliar.
"Whoever's inside, listen carefully. You've got about two minutes before we blow that entire section off the map. Surrender now, and we might let you walk."
Cassandra scoffed. "Not exactly reassuring."
Aiden glanced at Ethan. "Friends of yours?"
Ethan's voice was calm. "Not yet."
Lyra sent a silent ping through the system, tracing the transmission's origin. Her face darkened. "They're already inside the vault complex. They've got a direct uplink to the mainframe."
Ethan exhaled slowly. That meant whoever they were, they hadn't just come for control.
They came for the future itself.
The voice on the comms spoke again. "Last warning. You don't have time to think this through."
Ethan stepped forward, his tone unreadable. "Neither do you."
He cut the transmission.
Cassandra arched a brow. "That's gonna make them mad."
Ethan smirked. "Good."
The walls trembled as an explosion rocked the outer structure. The enforcers braced, weapons raised, but they weren't aiming at Ethan's group anymore.
Because now, they had a bigger problem.
The real war had begun.
And Ethan was about to find out just how many people wanted to control time.
———
The shockwave from the blast sent a ripple through the vault's foundation. Dust rained from the ceiling, warning lights flashing as structural integrity monitors kicked online.
Lyra was already scanning the system. "That wasn't a standard breach charge. They're using—" She froze. "No. No, no, no."
Cassandra reloaded. "I don't like that reaction."
Lyra looked up, eyes sharp. "They're using reality destabilizers."
Aiden stiffened. "That tech isn't supposed to exist."
Ethan exhaled. "Neither are we."
The system trembled as the destabilizers triggered micro-shifts in the loop. Not just explosions—actual timeline disruptions.
Cassandra's fingers clenched. "That means they aren't just trying to take the system. They're trying to rewrite it while it's still live."
Lyra's voice was tight. "That means anything that happens here—sticks. No more resets."
Ethan's pulse remained steady. "Then we make sure they don't get the chance."
The next blast was closer, shaking the walls. The enforcers at the far end of the chamber moved quickly, their comms flaring with orders. Ethan could see it in their stances.
They weren't fighting back. They were preparing for something worse.
Cassandra gritted her teeth. "Do we take out the enforcers or wait for these new guys to kill them first?"
Ethan analyzed the battlefield. The enforcers had a tactical advantage—positioned at key exits, trained for control. But the new attackers? They had unpredictability.
He made his choice.
"We hold position."
Lyra frowned. "We're letting them fight?"
Ethan's gaze was cold. "We're letting them lose."
The next breach shattered the remaining entryway. The new faction entered.
They weren't mercenaries.
They weren't operatives.
They were something else.
Ethan's mind processed the details instantly—adaptive armor, non-standard weapons, movement precision beyond even the Time Loop Bank's enforcers.
And then he saw the insignia.
A sigil, barely visible on their shoulders.
The Mark of the Architects.
Cassandra inhaled sharply. "No. That's not possible."
Aiden's smirk vanished. "It is. And we just walked into something way bigger than we thought."
Lyra whispered. "Who the hell are the Architects?"
Ethan's voice was quiet. "The people who built the first loop."
The Architects hadn't been seen in decades. They had vanished when the Time Loop Bank took over the system.
And now, they were back.
The lead Architect raised his weapon, but he wasn't looking at Ethan's group. He was looking at the enforcers.
He spoke, his voice calm, absolute. "Your time is up."
And then the real war began.
———
The battle erupted. The enforcers never stood a chance. The Architects moved like ghosts—fluid, controlled, unrelenting. Their weapons weren't standard issue. They didn't just fire—they erased.
Ethan watched as one enforcer was hit—his body flickered, his entire existence phasing out in real-time. Not dead. Removed.
Lyra's breath caught. "They're using direct time manipulation."
Cassandra cursed. "That means they're not just reclaiming the system." She turned to Ethan. "They're cleaning house."
Ethan's mind calculated the possibilities. If the Architects won, they wouldn't let anyone else control the loop. They would reset everything—including him.
That meant he only had one option left.
He had to steal the core before either side could take it.
The war wasn't about who won.
It was about who held time itself.
And Ethan Carter was about to become the last anomaly standing.