A/N: The reason I wasn't able to upload new chapters these days was because I got the results of my exams. For those who don't know me (the new readers), I am a medical student. And I just wrote exams probably a week or two ago. And we got the results in this week. So, I failed in a subject. Neurology. It is funny since this is the subject I plan to specialise in. Though I haven't yet seent papers. But most of my teachers say and I quote ,"You have got some good content. It is just your handwriting and bad presentation that results in less marks."
Lol, I had no idea I just had to draw shit in exams, instead of showing I got knowledge about things.
This is my first time failing in the past 3 years, so this was the thing going on in my mind. And also with the lack of response in patreon and all, I didn't upload on webnovel, but since the patreon was set to auto update, it was released there.
Well anyways, Patreon membership is just 3$, go buy it man.
If u are still sticking to this story, it means there is a potential in this story. So just buy the membership. I am not saying u have to buy it. At least those who can afford, buy it. It is a way to appreciate my work anyways.
Happy reading.
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Chapter 7: Echoes of Fate
___
The wind had picked up by the time we left Valerie's neighborhood, carrying the kind of tension that prickled under your skin. It wasn't just a change in weather. It was the unmistakable shift in atmosphere that came when Death adjusted its plans.
Back at the cabin, the tension between Alex and me had cooled slightly—but it wasn't gone. We were now reluctant allies, bound more by survival than understanding. Clear and I had grown closer, but even she was walking on a tightrope—between trust and fear, hope and caution.
I couldn't blame her.
She'd already watched people die in inexplicable ways. And now here I was, rewriting the very foundation of what was supposed to happen. At some point, that alone might become just as terrifying.
---
That night, I pulled up the system again. The glowing blue panels floated before me, displaying updated data.
> [Fate Points: 110]
[Survivors: Valerie Lewton – Temporary Thread Disruption (72h)]
[Clear Rivers – Bonded]
[Alex Browning – Stable Thread]
[Thread Map: Fluctuations Detected – FD1 Endgame Approaching]
"Endgame," I muttered. "So soon?"
There were still names unaccounted for in the timeline. Death was always precise, but when disturbed, it compensated—either by accelerating the chain or reshuffling it. And we'd already done more than enough disturbing.
A soft knock on my door pulled me from my thoughts.
"Yeah?"
Clear pushed the door open gently. She was wearing a hoodie and leggings, her hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. Even now, there was a softness to her that contrasted the sharp edge of the world we were caught in.
"I can't sleep," she said.
"Same," I replied, closing the system window.
She stepped inside, looking around. "Thinking about what's next?"
"Always."
Clear sat beside me on the edge of the bed. For a moment, she didn't speak. Then, quietly:
"Do you think we're really changing anything? Or are we just delaying the inevitable?"
I turned toward her. "We're changing everything."
"But what if Death... wins anyway?"
I hesitated, then took her hand.
"Then we make it fight for every soul. We don't give it an inch."
She smiled faintly. "You talk like a soldier."
"Maybe I am."
We sat in silence for a while, her fingers brushing against mine. Comfort in the middle of a battlefield.
---
The next day, we returned to the school. Valerie had given us permission to check out her records—anything to help us understand the ripple effects. Maybe if I could trace who she was in contact with, or what events branched out from her survival, I could predict the next threads.
Clear found the old attendance logs first.
"Here. These names were all in Alex's class," she said, placing the folder in front of me. "But look—some names here were never mentioned before."
I flipped through. Sure enough, unfamiliar names popped up.
Nora Carpenter, Brian Gibbons, Kimberly Corman.
My stomach dropped.
FD2.
"How far do you think the threads stretch?" Clear asked.
"Farther than we thought," I said. "The system's reading shifts in the timeline. That means the events of the second movie might start bleeding in. These people... they're next."
"But they weren't supposed to be here. Not yet."
I nodded slowly. "We've already begun to break the barriers."
I opened the system.
> [New Thread Connections Detected]
[Kimberly Corman – Partial Thread Activity (Distant Location)]
[Wendy Christensen – Dormant Thread Status (Pre-Trigger Phase)]
[Lori Milligan – Not Yet Active]
[Ashley Freund – Not Yet Active]
"They're out there," I muttered. "And if the timelines are overlapping… Death might accelerate things."
Clear looked at me, concerned. "Are you saying… we'll be dealing with all of them?"
"Eventually. Yeah."
---
We spent the rest of the afternoon analyzing timelines and incident reports, trying to cross-reference who had narrowly survived accidents and could be future targets.
When we returned to the cabin that evening, something felt off. The air inside was stale, too still. Alex stood near the table, staring at something in his hands.
"Alex?" I asked.
He didn't turn around.
Clear stepped beside him—and gasped.
On the table was a newspaper.
The headline read:
> "TRAGIC EXPLOSION KILLS TWO – Structural Failure at Gas Station"
Below it were photos—familiar faces.
Valerie Lewton… and a man I didn't recognize. The timestamp?
6:23 PM. Today.
My hands trembled as I brought up the system again.
> [System Alert: Valerie Lewton – Fatal Incident Override]
[Thread Spike Neutralized by System Paradox]
[Fate Points Refunded: +300]
[Thread Stability: Critical Error]
[Death's Retaliation Level: HIGH]
"No," I whispered. "She was safe. I used the spike."
Clear covered her mouth. Alex was pale.
"She must have left early," he said. "You told her to stay home—maybe she panicked."
"She was running," I muttered. "Running from fate… straight into its arms."
---
That night, the system remained silent. No glowing updates. No cheerful prompts.
Just a black screen with a pulsing red dot. Waiting.
Clear and I didn't talk much. There was a heaviness in the room—one we couldn't shake.
We'd failed. And worse—Death had adapted. The system was no longer absolute protection. The Spike, once a golden finger of safety, was now just a delay tactic.
> [New Objective Unlocked: "Anchor the Threads – Find the Overlap Point"]
[System Hint: Location Holds Answers – Look Toward the Origin]
[Reward: Thread Control Upgrade + Title: Threadbearer]
"The Origin…" I murmured.
Clear tilted her head. "What?"
"The first death in this loop. Tod Waggner. The start of the sequence. Maybe something at the site still holds... echoes."
Alex perked up. "You think going back there will help?"
"It's not just about the death," I said. "It's about the rules. The sequence. Maybe if we can anchor it, we can stop the overlapping."
Clear frowned. "But it's been days. The area's probably sealed or watched."
I gave her a crooked smile. "Then we sneak in."
---
That night, we parked a few blocks away from Tod's house. The place was quiet. Abandoned. His parents had moved soon after the funeral, and the house had sat empty ever since.
"Place gives me chills," Alex muttered.
Clear clutched my hand tightly as we crept through the backyard. The pool cover still fluttered in the wind—exactly as I remembered it from the movie.
We entered through the side door. Inside, dust caked the furniture. Old photos on the mantle remained untouched.
The room where Tod had died—the bathroom—was locked.
Alex handed me a hairpin. "Found this in the garage."
I picked the lock, heart pounding.
The door creaked open slowly.
Inside, time felt... strange. Like the room hadn't moved forward like the rest of the world. Like something lingered.
And then I saw it—etched faintly into the wall above the tiles. Scratches. Carvings.
> "It's not over."
I blinked. "What the hell…"
Clear stepped closer. "That wasn't in the report."
I kneeled near the tub drain.
And then—
The air shifted.
Not like before. Not subtle.
It snapped.
> [System Alert: Temporal Overlap Detected – Instability Incoming]
[Warning: Thread Convergence Imminent]
[New Arrival – Kimberly Corman (Thread Displaced – 9 Months Early)]
[Death's Presence Escalating – Prepare for Intervention]
Before I could react, the bathroom mirror cracked.
The faucet twisted by itself.
The door slammed shut.
Clear screamed.
Alex grabbed the handle. "It's stuck!"
The tub began to fill.
Not with water—but with a dark, thick liquid that stank of rust and decay.
> [FATAL EVENT BRANCHING – TIMELINE SPLIT IN 90 SECONDS]
[Choose a Thread Anchor or Face Cascade Failure]
"What do we do?" Clear shouted.
I stared at the system prompt.
"Choose a thread anchor…"
Then I saw it.
A faint glowing symbol hovering over Clear's chest.
> [ANCHOR COMPATIBLE – Clear Rivers]
I reached out—
—and the world exploded in white.
---
To be continued…