The morning was too beautiful.
Aveline woke tangled in Lucien's arms, the weight of his breath warm against her neck. For a moment, the world outside their bed didn't exist—no loops, no resets, no impending collapse.
Just him. Just her. And the fragile silence between heartbeats.
Lucien stirred, eyes fluttering open. He didn't speak right away. Instead, he cupped her face, as if he were afraid she might disappear again.
"I want today," he whispered. "Just one day where none of it matters."
Aveline's throat tightened. "Even if it's the last?"
He pressed his forehead to hers. "Especially if it's the last."
They walked hand in hand through the streets of Old Vienna, the version Aveline had built with painstaking care—cobbled alleys, blooming vines, music echoing from every café. In this loop, they never left the city. Here, they were just lovers with no past and no future.
They visited the museum where he had first taught her the language of stars. They watched the dancers in the square and tried to mimic their steps, laughing until Lucien kissed her mid-twirl and the world slowed around them.
Aveline wanted to freeze it all.
But time was catching up.
Far below, in the vault of Concordia, a silent countdown ticked.
SYSTEM STABILITY: 19%SUBJECT SYNC: CRITICALANCHOR INTEGRITY: FAILING
Clara stared at the screen as the numbers dropped. Beside her, Jules had grown quiet.
"She's not going to end it," he said finally.
Clara glanced at him. "You think she loves him that much?"
He nodded. "Or maybe she just doesn't know how to stop."
She crossed her arms. "We do."
He turned slowly. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying maybe this isn't about saving Lucien anymore," she whispered. "Maybe it's about saving her."
At dusk, Lucien and Aveline stood at the edge of the observatory rooftop, where it had all begun.
He pulled something from his pocket—a thin, silver ring.
"I found it," he said. "In your drawer. You kept it, all this time."
Aveline looked down at the ring, the very same he had given her in Loop 1. Her breath caught.
"I was going to wait until I had a future to offer you," he said. "But we only have today. So I'll ask anyway."
He knelt, took her hand.
"Marry me again, Aveline. Even if it's just for one day."
She said yes through her tears.
And when he kissed her this time, it wasn't out of desperation. It was quiet, steady, certain.
Like the memory they would carry into the unknown.
Inside Concordia, alarms began to scream.
EMOTIONAL ANCHOR BREACH: COMPLETELOOP 24 – COLLAPSE IMMINENTFINALIZATION PROTOCOL REQUIRED
Clara stepped forward, a trembling hand reaching for the emergency key.
Jules grabbed her wrist.
"What if we don't pull them out?"
"Then the loop consumes them," she said. "And there's no way back."
His eyes burned.
"Then maybe they don't want to go back."