The city held its breath.
Even the wind seemed afraid to move.
The three figures stepped onto the broken street without sound.
No dust rose beneath their feet.
No echoes followed their steps.
Reality adjusted for them.
Cael felt it instantly.
This wasn't like the enforcers.
Wasn't like the drones.
Wasn't like anything that hunted.
This was inevitability.
"Cael."
The voice was calm.
Not a shout.
Not a command.
A statement.
He backed away slowly.
"How do you know my name?"
The tallest figure tilted its head.
"As you are now, it is still attached to you."
A chill ran through him.
Still?
His wrist burned.
03:12:38:09
And beneath it—
The rising counter pulsed.
00:00:02
"Please remain still," the second figure said.
"This process will minimize further instability."
"I'm not going anywhere."
The third one stepped forward.
And the world—
Bent.
The ground beneath Cael's feet slowed.
Not time.
Space.
He tried to move.
His legs resisted.
Like pushing through deep water.
Containment.
Not pursuit.
Not force.
Control.
"You are causing divergence," the first figure said.
"Your removal is required."
"I didn't do anything!"
Silence.
Then—
"You borrowed."
The word struck deeper than accusation.
Behind them—
The sky flickered.
For just a moment.
Cael felt it again.
The watchers.
Not intervening.
Only observing.
Waiting.
Fear tightened in his chest.
Because suddenly—
He wasn't sure who wanted him more.
The Empire—
Or what lived beyond time.
The second figure raised a hand.
The air crystallized.
Lines of pale light formed around Cael.
Not chains.
Not energy.
Probability.
Every possible path he could take—
Collapsed.
Left.
Gone.
Right.
Gone.
Forward.
Gone.
Future reduced to one outcome.
Capture.
His breathing quickened.
Don't.
The pull returned.
Stronger now.
Urgent.
Hungry.
"I won't borrow," he whispered.
The first figure stepped closer.
"You already have."
A memory trembled.
A laugh.
A voice calling his name—
Gone.
Panic surged.
"I won't!"
The space around him tightened.
He couldn't move.
Couldn't run.
Couldn't fight.
And for the first time—
He understood.
Borrowing wasn't temptation.
It was survival.
The third figure extended its hand.
"Containment begins."
The world shrank.
And instinct broke again.
Give me—
Pain exploded.
Worse than before.
Like something sacred being ripped away.
The world didn't freeze.
It shattered.
Sound fragmented.
Light splintered.
Reality cracked like glass.
Above his wrist—
The numbers screamed.
03:12:38:03
became
03:12:38:02
Third second.
The rising counter climbed.
00:00:03
Cael moved.
Not through time.
Through the cracks between it.
He slipped past the collapsing probabilities.
Past the impossible cage.
Past the future they had already decided.
And ran.
Behind him—
The three figures did not chase.
Because they didn't need to.
"He has escalated."
"Yes."
"Future destabilization increasing."
A pause.
Then—
"Authorization granted."
Above—
The black vessel shifted.
And for the first time—
A weapon began to form.
Not to kill.
But to erase the possibility—
Of escape.