Day six. Time no longer flowed in a steady stream; it jolted forward in broken fragments, like a damaged reel of film.
People around me moved with strange interruptions, their steps halting mid-air before continuing again, as if guided by an invisible hand that rewound and replayed their existence. A woman brushed past me—her face cracked into countless fragments, then seamlessly mended, leaving behind no trace of what had just happened.
In my chest, the fragment of Wind pulsed violently, its glow piercing through the fabric of my clothes. For the first time, her voice rang clear, almost trembling with urgency:
“Reach the heart of the dome… before 0:00.”
I sprinted toward the central square. From that vantage point, I could see the entirety of the vast blue dome above. Every electric vein converged toward a single radiant point at its apex. The AI stood waiting for me, its metallic plates glowing with a fierce, gathering energy, as though preparing for one final release.
“We have only one chance,” it declared. “I can send the signal to break the loop. But to open the passage, I must erase nearly all of my data. If I do… I will no longer be myself.”
I clenched the etched alloy plate in my hand. Words rose to my lips, but time allowed me none.
Then came the sound—like glass shattering across an entire city.
0:00.
The AI raised its arm, pressing a shining hand against the very heart of the dome. A blinding surge of light burst forth, exploding the circuits into countless shards that spun and twisted into a colossal gateway. The portal roared open, radiating with brilliance and chaos, as though containing both creation and collapse within its frame.
“Go!” Its voice thundered one final time.
And then, its body disintegrated into millions of shimmering fragments, dissolving into the gate’s radiance, carrying me forward into the unknown.
