That night, Kael sensed something wrong.
A shadowy mana signature brushed against his senses near the bakery Lyra frequented.
He turned the corner—
—and found it empty.
The bench, the street, the bakery door—silent.
Lyra was gone.
A paper on the ground caught his eye.
A black clock symbol was drawn crudely in ink.
Kael's hand shook.
"Black Clock Cult…"
He knew that symbol.
He had fought them in multiple timelines.
They worshiped regressors.
They believed the Final Timeline was a "holy event."
They would sacrifice anyone to aid their chosen regressor…
Erevan.
His pulse spiked.
The system chimed urgently.
[Anomaly Detected: Lyra Voss missing from predicted timeline path.]
[Possible abduction by regressor faction.]
Kael grit his teeth.
Lyra was not just someone he wanted to protect—
she was a cosmic anomaly.
Someone outside the loop.
Someone Erevan might covet.
Kael activated the Timeline Library.
Thousands of visions stabbed into his skull—
Scenes of cult rituals, failed rescues, Lyra dying in countless variations of the world.
He fell to one knee, gasping.
The final vision burned brightest:
Lyra tied to an altar.
Erevan watching.
The cult chanting.
"The Anchor shall awaken."
Kael's eyes blazed with fury.
He stood.
"I'm coming, Lyra."