Paradox

The vast observation deck of the T.E.V. Paradox was silent, save for the soft hum of consoles monitoring Earth's fractured timeline. Holographic displays flickered, showing multiple points of deviation, the threads of history twisting unnaturally.

At the head of the command table, Director Luthan, a man whose face bore the weight of a thousand corrected mistakes, steepled his fingers. His piercing eyes scanned the data—one anomaly stood out like a scar on time itself.

"Target Alpha-07: An unauthorized traveler. He's been altering events far beyond acceptable parameters," an officer reported.

Luthan exhaled sharply. "Has he compromised the primary timeline?"

A deep voice, belonging to Agent Rho, answered. "Extensively. His actions in 1408 have already erased three future dynasties and introduced technology centuries ahead of schedule. If left unchecked, we predict an 86% probability of a technological singularity before the 16th century."

"Unacceptable," Luthan said, standing. "Terminate him. Immediately."

A holographic display shifted, showing another red-marked individual on a different Earth.

"And while you're at it, eliminate Subject Theta-09 in Earth-1D21. We don't allow anomalies to breed."

The agents stood, nodding in unison before striding toward their drop pods. Within moments, the dark void of space lit up as their stealth cruisers descended towards Earth.

---

Ethan soared through the starlit sky, A tremor ran through his body—not physical, but instinctual. A warning.

His eyes flicked upward just as a blinding red laser tore through the night, slamming into his abdomen.

Ethan barely had time to register the pain before a second blast shredded his chest. His body convulsed midair, nanobots struggling to regenerate—but something was blocking them.

"W-What... is this?!" His voice rasped as blood filled his throat.

The answer came too late. A dozen beams from all directions converged on him.

The sky flashed white.

For a moment, he felt everything—the weight of time itself pulling him apart, his very essence unraveling into nothingness.

And then, there was silence.

Ashes drifted where Ethan had once been.

The air shimmered, revealing six figures clad in sleek, futuristic tactical suits, their helmets displaying unreadable data in an alien language.

One of them, Agent Rho, stared at the scattering embers and scoffed. "So much for an all-powerful anomaly. He was nothing."

Another agent, Sigma, adjusted her wrist-mounted cannon. "Mission complete. Returning to orbit."

With that, they vanished, cloaked once more in their temporal stealth fields.