Rain.
Soft. Gentle. Almost like the world had forgiven him.
Kael stood at the edge of a rooftop, her hand in his, the sky above glitching only faintly—as if the Pulse had calmed for a moment.
They had made it here.
Together.
No alarms. No screams. No dead versions of himself in glass rooms.
Just a quiet sunset melting over ruined buildings, and her resting her head on his shoulder.
"I think we're free," she whispered.
He didn't answer.
Because in that moment…
He almost believed it.
The glitches hadn't shown up in days.
The strange versions of himself hadn't returned.
She hadn't screamed. She hadn't disappeared.
They even kissed without the world cracking apart.
It felt like peace.
And yet—
The watch on his wrist still ticked.
Each click sounded heavier.
"Do you think… we deserve this?" she asked him, staring into the broken skyline.
"I don't know," Kael said. "But if this is fake… I don't care anymore."
She smiled.
The most beautiful, painful smile in all timelines.
But then—
Lightning struck.
Not in the sky.
In his chest.
Sudden. Sharp. Like something tearing out of him.
He looked down.
Her hand was inside his chest.
No blood.
Just… static. Lines. Data.
She looked up at him, her eyes glowing.
"I'm sorry, Kael," she said, glitching violently now. "I wasn't supposed to feel this."
He tried to speak—
But the world shifted again.
The city melted away like paint in the rain.
The rooftop dissolved.
And he fell.
Fell through versions of her.
Versions where she screamed.
Versions where she killed him.
Versions where she begged him to end her.
He landed in snow.
Alone.
No glitches now.
Just him, freezing, watching the red notebook float in the wind and vanish into white.
And somewhere… a voice laughed.
Not hers. Not his. Something older.
Something watching.
Something waiting.
---
End of Chapter 24.