No... This can't be

As they moved deeper into the tunnel, the atmosphere became charged with an eerie tension. The walls, once sleek and modern, now seemed distorted by some unseen force, the light flickering and casting strange shadows that seemed to pulse in time with the irregular rhythm of their hearts.

Akira, leading the way, kept her eyes focused ahead, her fingers dancing across her portable device, sending encrypted messages and bypassing security protocols with a level of expertise that only someone who had lived and breathed this world could manage. But even she couldn't hide the unease in her movements. The temporal anomalies were getting worse, she could feel them in the air, the same way you could feel a storm approaching before you even saw the clouds.

"Ryoji," Akira whispered, as if sensing her brother's unease, "the further we go, the worse the temporal disruptions will be. Keep your mind clear. The more you let the anomalies affect you, the harder it will be to think straight."

Ryoji nodded, though he could already feel the subtle pull of the disturbances. Time itself seemed to stretch and bend, the seconds slithering like molasses, then rushing forward too fast, then grinding to a halt. It was as if the entire world was holding its breath, waiting for something terrible to happen.

Marco was already checking his own gear, a grim expression on his face. "The clock is ticking. We've been able to delay the worst of the Architects' interference, but it's only a matter of time before they realize we're here. And they won't hesitate to eliminate anyone who stands in their way."

Just as he spoke, the air seemed to grow heavier. The hum of the Data Center's machinery around them became distorted, as if it was being filtered through a broken radio. Akira glanced back over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing. "It's happening again," she muttered.

The walls around them shimmered briefly, as though the very fabric of reality was being warped. They passed through a door leading into a large room, its size overwhelming, but it was the giant, flickering screen in the center that held their attention. A massive digital clock hovered in midair, counting down with an unrelenting precision. Ryoji's gaze locked onto the clock, but it was impossible to look at it without feeling disoriented. The digits seemed to stutter and glitch, but they were always moving forward, like the pulse of the universe itself.

Suddenly, Ryoji's phone buzzed. He quickly pulled it out, his heart skipping a beat when he saw the notifications flooding in. It wasn't just Tokyo, it was everywhere. His eyes widened as he checked the data, unable to hide his shock. "It's global," he muttered. "The same clock is appearing all over the world."

Akira's eyes scanned the device with growing concern. "The Epoch System… it's not just affecting Tokyo anymore. It's spreading. The Architects are manipulating the very fabric of time on a planetary scale."

Marco was already moving, his expression set in determination. "We don't have time to analyze everything right now. We need to stop the core of this, or we'll lose everything. Follow me."

They hurried through the next set of doors, a strange vibration thrumming beneath their feet. As they stepped into the central control room, Ryoji felt his pulse race. The entire room seemed to pulse with the same distorted energy, the air thick with static. It was clear they weren't alone. The presence of the Architects was palpable, a dark and malevolent force lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Then Akira gasped, pointing toward the far side of the room. A massive screen, once clean and pristine, now flickered with strange black-and-white glitch patterns, revealing what appeared to be a map of the Nevada desert. But the map had become… wrong. It was as if someone had corrupted the data, like a photograph torn and then hastily put back together, and it was moving.

"Akira, what is that?" Ryoji asked, his voice thick with confusion.

"It's the Nevada facility," she said, her voice tight with concern. "But it's not just a map. It's part of the Architects' backup system. They've corrupted it. Look, the map, it's not even a real place anymore. It's a glitch in the network." Her hands trembled as she zoomed in on the map, revealing patches of blackness, entire sections of the Nevada desert consumed by the same strange distortion.

Marco's eyes darted to the screen, then back to the group. "This is bad. They've created a fault line in the system. If that area goes down, we might lose the last stable point of time we have left."

Akira clenched her fists, her voice a mixture of fear and resolve. "We have to stop it before it spreads further. This... this is only a symptom of the true source. The Epoch System, the Architects: they're attempting to destabilize time entirely. If they succeed…" She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

Ryoji looked at the map, feeling a cold sweat trickle down his back. "If they succeed, time itself will break apart. There will be no past, no future. Only endless chaos."

Marco nodded grimly, already checking his equipment. "We've got one shot at this. Let's not waste it."

Without another word, they moved into position. As Ryoji stepped forward, he could feel the very air around him distorting, like a veil being pulled across his vision. The machines in the room hummed louder, vibrating with a strange energy, and the massive clock above them flickered ominously.

Then, without warning, a voice boomed through the room, its presence like a shadow in the corner of his mind.

"You're too late, Ryoji. The Epoch is already in motion."

It was the Architects. They had found them.

Ryoji clenched his fists. "Then let's finish this."

The Architects' voice echoed through the room, but Ryoji didn't stop. In fact, the adrenaline began to course through his veins. With a swift movement, he approached the nearest terminal, his hands flying over the keyboard. Akira and Marco followed, working on their devices. They had to find a way to stop the distortion, to reverse the time flow that was now spreading across the world.

"I need to access the central node," Ryoji said, his voice betraying a hint of frustration. "We can't keep reacting, we need to take control of this."

Akira, focused on her screen, replied tensely. "I'm trying to bypass the system's defenses, but it's like it's protected by a temporal firewall. Every attack we make seems to disappear into nothing. It's as if… time itself is defending it."

Marco, on the other side of the room, was attempting a direct strike. His gaze was concentrated, but he, too, seemed to be struggling against an invisible opponent. "This isn't possible. Every attempt to force access is being repelled, as if the system is learning from our moves."

Ryoji gritted his teeth. Every attempt to manipulate the terminal seemed futile. The actions they were taking were being ignored or, worse, undone by the warped time flow surrounding them.

Then, in a moment of distraction, Ryoji lifted his gaze from the keyboard and looked back at the map on the main screen.

A chill ran down his spine. He couldn't believe his eyes.

The entire map of the American continent had turned into one vast sea of black glitch. Canada, the United States, the entire continent was dissolving before Ryoji's eyes. But it wasn't just a graphical error. It was as if the world itself was collapsing in real-time, the present being sucked into a dark vortex, erasing all traces of stability.

"Akira! Marco!" Ryoji shouted, terror creeping into his voice. "Look at this! America… America is… disappearing!"

Akira, who had been fiddling with her device, looked up and saw the disaster on the map. Her face turned pale. "No… this can't be. The area of distortion is growing. If we don't stop this flow, the entire continent could be engulfed in the anomaly. And if we don't act now, it will be too late."

Marco quickly approached, his expression frantic. "The distortion is progressing exponentially. This isn't just a local problem. If we keep losing ground like this, we'll lose control of the entire time flow. And the map… it's extending into Europe and Asia."

Ryoji, with his heart pounding, stepped forward. There was no more time to watch. No more waiting for technology to solve the problem. If they didn't stop this now, the entire balance of time would be destroyed, and with it, any hope of survival. The battle against the Architects was about to become the final struggle for the fate of the world.

"Akira," Ryoji said, breathing heavily, "we can't rely on technology alone anymore. We have to get into the system, face them directly."

Akira looked at him for a moment, confused and worried. "You… want to enter the flow? Are you sure you know what you're saying?"

Ryoji nodded. "We don't have a choice. The only way to stop them now is to confront them at their source."

Marco, who had been listening in silence, finally spoke, his voice grim. "You're willing to risk everything, Ryoji? This means entering the heart of the temporal flow itself. It means losing all connection with our time."

"I can't let the world vanish," Ryoji replied, his eyes fixed on the terminal. "If we don't try now, it'll be over. I won't let our future be lost."

Akira took a step back, looking at her screen, then turned to Marco. "Marco, what do we know about the internal architecture of the Epoch system?"

Marco did a quick calculation in his head. "We can still theoretically access the main node. But the risk is high. Once inside, we'll be subject to the same temporal distortions. We have to move fast, or we risk being trapped."

Ryoji took a deep breath. "Then let's not waste any more time."

With a determination that almost seemed otherworldly, Ryoji prepared to enter the heart of the system. The temporal distortion continued to advance, and time itself seemed to tighten around them like a vice. But if they had any chance of stopping the Architects, it was in that moment.

"We have to be ready. At any moment, they could block us," Marco said, his voice steady. "If all goes as I think, the real battle is about to begin."

And with those words, Ryoji, Akira, and Marco threw themselves into the temporal flow, ready to face the final challenge against the Architects, with the fate of the world hanging by a thread.

Ryoji and the others threw themselves into the temporal flow without hesitation, but as soon as their code attempted to penetrate the system, an invisible force hurled them back. The terminal shook violently under Ryoji's hands, as if the system itself was rejecting their attempt. The whole room seemed to waver, reality itself distorting around them.

"We're not getting through!" Akira shouted, as she tried to recover from the violent rebound that had thrown them out of the system. "They're doing everything they can to stop us!"

Ryoji quickly regained his focus, desperate to find a solution. "We have another shot. Let's try the 128-bit. It's the key to bypassing the system!"

Ryoji slammed the keys, entering the 128-bit code. The system began to load, but soon the response came back, just as before: an invisible wall pushed them back, as if the system no longer recognized that level of encoding.

Then, a voice, cold and mocking, echoed through the terminal, making Ryoji freeze.

"Did you really think the 128-bit would work?" The voice belonged to one of the Architects, who had somehow made their presence felt. "How i said... the 128-bit is outdated," it said, dripping with derision. "You're playing with relics."

A heavy silence fell over the room. Ryoji clenched his fists, feeling panic rise within him. There was no time to waste. Every second that passed brought them closer to the end of the world.

In a moment of frustration and fear, Ryoji lifted his gaze from the keyboard and looked back at the map projected on the main screen.

A chill ran down his spine. It wasn't just America that had been consumed by the black glitch; now Europe and Africa had merged into one massive dark distortion. The coastlines, the borders between countries, everything was fused into a sea of darkness, as if the entire world was vanishing before his eyes.

Akira looked at him, her fear mirrored in her eyes, the same dread he was feeling. "We can't stop it anymore… it's devouring the entire world. It's like… time itself is disappearing."

Ryoji stared at the map, helpless. Every second that passed was a whole region being erased, the temporal flow unraveling reality itself. There was no more space, no more time. Every second felt like it lasted an entire year. The world was slowly fading, while they desperately searched for a way out.

It was at that moment that another distortion caught his attention. Looking outside the window, Ryoji saw the digital clock suspended in the air, floating above the building like an unsettling presence. Its movement was relentless: the numbers sped by at a supersonic rate, but everything around them seemed to slow down. Normal time was becoming more and more sluggish. A second felt like an entire year. Ryoji could feel the sensation of being trapped in an endless limbo.

"Look," Marco whispered, his face now marked with concern. "The clock is speeding up, but the world is slowing down. Time isn't following its natural course anymore. It's like… everything is collapsing."

Akira moved closer to the window, staring at the clock in disbelief. "If the temporal flow is accelerating like the clock... and normal time is slowing down... it means we're losing touch with reality. A second outside could be like a year inside."

Ryoji clenched his hands on his temples, trying to focus. "We can't let this continue. If we don't stop this flow, the entire world will be lost."

The sound of the clock, growing faster and more frantic, became unbearable. Ryoji felt as though time itself was swallowing him. But there was no choice. They had to find a way to enter the Epoch system and stop the Architects. They had to do it before time completely shattered.

"Guys, we have to try one more time," Ryoji said, his voice strong, but his heart heavy with the awareness of the risk. "We can't give up now. This is our last chance."

Marco looked at him, and Akira nodded, although fear was still visible in her eyes. They had come this far. They had to find a solution, and they had to do it now.

Every single heartbeat of Ryoji seemed to sync with the ticking of the clock, its sound echoing in his mind. It was their only hope. And time… time was slipping away.

Marco stared at the map, his mind racing. As the distortion spread, his thoughts turned to his colleagues in Italy. The ones who had been working tirelessly to track down the Architects, trying to understand the true extent of the threat. He had been their connection to this mission. But now, seeing the growing chaos on the map, he couldn't help but think that they were lost. The distortion was consuming everything, and he feared that his colleagues were already beyond reach, swallowed by the same dark void.

The loss was personal. He had failed to protect them. And in that moment, Marco realized that even if they stopped the Architects here, there might not be a world left to save.