Breaking the Loop

Ethan didn't ask for details. He knew the answer before Cassandra even said it. If the Time Loop Bank had been rewriting existence, then the only way to stop them was to shut down the system from the inside. Not just expose it. Destroy it.

Cassandra moved fast, pulling up encrypted layers of data on the terminal. "They don't just erase people. They replace them with controlled iterations. But every loop has a core anchor—a point where reality stabilizes before it's rewritten."

Lyra's eyes flicked across the data streams. "And you know where that is?"

Cassandra's fingers tapped a final command. A location appeared on the screen. Ethan's pulse slowed.

The Origin Vault.

Cassandra turned to him. "Everything starts there. Every reset, every controlled timeline. If we take it offline, we take them with it."

Ethan studied the map. The vault wasn't just inside the Time Loop Bank's corporate sector. It was beneath it. Hidden from the public. Hidden even from those who worked inside.

Lyra folded her arms. "You're telling me they built a failsafe that can take down their entire system?"

Cassandra smirked. "No. I'm telling you we are the failsafe."

Ethan understood now. They weren't anomalies by chance. They weren't errors. They were remnants of something the system had failed to delete. And if the Time Loop Bank had been trying to erase them for this long, it meant they were the only ones who could overwrite the loop.

Lyra exhaled. "This is insane."

Ethan's voice was steady. "This is our only chance."

Cassandra's smirk faded. "We don't just walk into the Origin Vault. It's locked behind multiple security layers, each one tied to different clearance points. And I don't need to tell you what happens if we get caught inside."

Ethan's jaw tightened. "Then we don't get caught."

Lyra ran a quick diagnostic on her console. "I can infiltrate their network, override external surveillance, but I won't be able to hold it long. Once we're in, we're on borrowed time."

Ethan's lips curled slightly. "Fitting."

Cassandra stepped back from the terminal, meeting his gaze. "If we do this, there's no going back."