Location: Foxlight Cabin Perimeter – 5:12 a.m. (and 5:12 a.m.)
The snow didn't crunch.
It folded.
Reality bent inward—air warping like glass under heat. A silhouette stepped out from a vertical ripple in the world, dragging time behind it like a trailing shroud.
He looked like Lin.
But older.
Sharper.
Eyes like cut stone.
"Lin Feng," the figure spoke with a voice both ancient and identical.
"I am what you were never meant to become."
Inside the Cabin
Amei flinched, grabbing the wall.
"He's syncing with your timeline. If he matches your cognitive signature—"
"I vanish," Lin said, calm.
He rose. Walked outside.
Stood across from the Warden, the snow between them untouched by either's steps.
"What do they call you?"
"Z-Lin," the Warden replied.
"Temporal Warden. Lockpoint Prototype One. Origin: Collapse Loop 17-B."
"And your mission?"
"Correct your anomaly. Before you rewrite fate."
"Sounds familiar," Lin muttered.
"We all come back to erase ourselves."
Cut To: Crimson Circle HQ, Mobile Archive Rail
Xu Shanyue watched the clash on a data-feed glitching from dimensional interference.
Qingyue's hands moved in a blur, trying to stabilize a signal frame.
"He's facing himself?"
"Not exactly," Xu said.
"He's facing what he could've been. If he lost."
Qingyue paused.
"And if he wins?"
"Then the future stops repeating."
Back in the Snow
Z-Lin struck.
But it wasn't martial—it was metaphysical.
Fragments of Lin's memory shattered into ice:
His mother's laughter.
Yan's first sarcastic message.
Amei in the windowlight.
"Each step you took, I already erased," the Warden intoned.
Lin bled from the nose, but stood.
"Then I'll walk a path you never saw."
He snapped his fingers.
And time stuttered.
Reveal: Yan's Gift – Echo Divergence Chip
Yan's voice echoed from Lin's ear:
"Remember that strange candy I slipped into your pocket in Chapter 86? Not candy."
"It's a divergent anchor. Burn it once, and reality will split off for five seconds. Long enough to cheat even yourself."
Lin bit down.
The world flashed.
Z-Lin blinked—
And Lin was behind him.
Blade of memory in hand.
A silent whisper through frost:
"This is my timeline."
The blade sank deep.
Z-Lin smiled.
"Then don't waste it."
He dissolved.
Snow fell again.
Only this time…
...it wasn't 5:12 anymore.
Final Scene – Cabin Threshold
Amei opened the door.
Lin stood there, breathing hard.
"It's done?"
He nodded.
"For now."
She looked at the sky.
It was turning orange.
"Then let's make this timeline worth fighting for."
They walked in together.