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Part I – Lyra and the Missing Word
The day unfolded again. Lyra left the clinic, notes pressed against her chest, the scent of copper and salt thick in the air.
Doctor Varros jogged up. "Have you eaten today?"
Her stomach dropped. It was happening again.
She braced herself, whispering her reply before he spoke. Not yet, I'll get something soon.
But this time — Varros didn't say the same thing.
Instead he tilted his head differently, frowning. "You never eat, do you?"
Her lips parted. That wasn't what he said before.
She staggered back. "You… changed the script."
He only looked confused.
But in the clinic window behind him, Lyra saw her own reflection smile — though her lips hadn't moved.
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Part II – Kael and the Soldiers Out of Sync
The Collective Unit marched again through Tec'Misk's steel avenues. Kael listened carefully this time, bracing for the echo.
The double-step came, but weaker. Uneven.
One soldier tripped.
That had never happened. His Unit never tripped.
Kael's hand shot to his blade. "Who altered my men?" he roared.
The soldiers froze. Then, unnervingly, half of them repeated his words in perfect chorus:
> "Who altered my men?"
But the other half simply stared, silent, their faces blank — as though waiting for a different command.
Kael felt cold dread coil through his veins. The loop was no longer consistent.
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Part III – Selene's Broken Council
The Council Chamber repeated again. Same debate, same words. Selene clenched her jaw, ready to hear the phrase "seventeen minutes earlier."
But the minister said, "Eighteen."
Her nails dug into the wood of the table. "No. You said seventeen before. Why change it?"
No one reacted.
Then a different minister — one who hadn't spoken in any previous loop — leaned forward. His eyes glowed faintly white.
"Why not eighteen?" he asked calmly.
The room froze. All twenty-three ministers turned their heads to stare at Selene in unison.
For the first time, she realized she was not trapped in the loop. The loop was hunting her.
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Part IV – Taro's Divergent Lecture
In the academy, Taro lectured again. His words replayed, the murmurs repeated, the books rewrote.
But then one student raised their hand.
That hadn't happened before.
"Yes?" Taro asked cautiously.
The boy's eyes were black as mirrors. His voice rang with an echo not his own.
> "Do you like the taste of your own words?"
The students around him repeated the same question. Then again. And again.
Taro's heart pounded. He dropped his scrolls, backing away.
"Truth isn't repeating anymore," he whispered. "It's changing."
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Part V – Veyra's Collapsing City
Veyra's speech on the Skyspire repeated.
But this time, when she raised her hand to silence the crowd, no one obeyed.
The cheers grew louder, merging into a roar.
She repeated her command. Nothing.
Then, in the sea of faces below, she noticed something impossible: whole sections of the crowd had swapped positions. People who had been far left were now far right. Flags of gold were suddenly flags of red.
Her aide tugged at her sleeve. "My Lady, the people… they're not the same as last time."
Veyra felt her stomach twist. "No," she whispered. "They're not."
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Part VI – Kay's Whisper
Kay sat cross-legged on the void's floor, tilting their head at the dice.
> "Ah… now you see it. Repetition was never the end. The trick is in the differences. One loop, the boy falls. Another, he stands. Which one is true?"
They giggled.
> "Both. Neither. Isn't it beautiful?"
Kay spun the dice. This time, the faces showed not numbers but flickering scenes: Lyra screaming, Kael's blade striking a mirror, Selene surrounded by puppets, Taro drowning in questions, Veyra watching her city split apart like fabric.
> "You are not living your lives anymore," Kay whispered.
"You are living my experiments."
And with each shift, the continents grew more unstable. n-Time had stopped being repetition. It had become mutation.
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