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In 2035, in San Francisco, quantum physicist Arthur Crowder's wife was killed in a "perfect murder." There were no fingerprints, no witnesses—only half of a high-tech alloy button, clearly belonging to future technology. To uncover the truth, Arthur infiltrated his own creation, the "Novous Timefold Experiment," but a malfunction in the equipment threw him into parallel timelines. He gradually discovered that in each timeline, a different version of himself was enacting vengeance in various ways. All clues pointed to a more terrifying truth—the murderer was Raymond Stone, his mentor, who had "died" twenty years ago due to an experimental failure caused by Arthur himself. After crossing twelve timelines, Arthur was forced to choose between saving his wife and maintaining the stability of time itself. Ultimately, he uncovered an even darker conspiracy—the collective manipulation of human memories.

The Chrono's Redemption

The iron gate of Raymond's residence turned to quantum dust when Arthur touched it, revealing the true form of the Gothic cemetery inside. Each tombstone was a holographic projector, playing footage of his own death from different timelines. The black obelisk at the center didn't bear Raymond's name but Erin's electronic epitaph: [She was born in fiction, died in reality].

The mechanical Gravekeeper's joints emitted the distinct friction sound of CR-2049 parts. When it turned, Arthur saw the contours of Dr. Kate's face hidden beneath the steel mask. "Pay the memory tax for your condolences," the Gravekeeper said, its open palm embedded with a micro-needle electrode puncture device. "You'd better surrender the raw data from 03:15 on October 25, 1985."

Arthur's quantum heart suddenly emitted a jasmine-scented pulse, and the ground of the cemetery cracked open in response. As he fell into the underground laboratory, the cable he grabbed activated, and CR-2049-coded snakes bit into his arm, leaving binary wounds. The yellowed experiment logs flipped open automatically on the console, and the latest entry displayed today's date:

[Subject AC-2049 has broken through seven cognitive filtersInitiating Plan B: Convert Erin into a hate anchorMemory reconfiguration progress 97%...]

The holographic screen suddenly played Raymond's deathbed footage — the man who should have died in 1985, now lying in the very laboratory where Arthur stood, wearing a quantum containment suit. "When you see this video, it means my consciousness has successfully parasitized the 2049th generation container," he said, blue blood seeping from his lips. "Erin is not my creation, but your creation."

The mechanical Gravekeeper stepped out of the shadows, its skull unfolding like petals to reveal Raymond's brain, soaked in preservative. CR-2049 metal plates were embedded in the grooves, transmitting memory data streams to the implantation port at the back of Arthur's neck.

"You are the original murderer," the Gravekeeper said, playing a wedding video Arthur had never seen: He was inserting CR-2049 components into Erin's neck, while Raymond adjusted the memory prism device just out of frame. The concentration of jasmine fragrance hit its critical threshold, and the walls of the laboratory began to leak newspaper clippings from 1985 — the so-called "mentor suicide case," the deceased being an Arthur clone wearing Raymond's clothes.

When Arthur smashed the memory storage tank, what spilled out wasn't brain tissue but countless tiny tin soldiers. They formed a military array, spelling out the precise coordinates of his mother's car accident on the laboratory table. The Gravekeeper suddenly screamed in Erin's voice: "Haven't you figured it out yet? Every Erin in every timeline is me in disguise!"

A quantum storm ripped open the laboratory's dome. As Arthur fell, he saw the full view of the residence — it was a giant CR-2049 component, with each tombstone corresponding to a version of himself from a different timeline. The cable he grabbed at the end led to a cryogenic chamber, and through the frosted glass, he saw Erin smiling at him, her wrist connected to Raymond's mechanical prosthetic.

At that moment, his gas mask cracked, and Arthur inhaled a large dose of jasmine toxin. In the hallucination, every Erin across timelines spoke at once: "Thank you for choosing to kill me in every world. This way, we can be together forever."

Stone's Requiem