The jump didn't land cleanly.
It didn't even land halfway cleanly.
Instead, I materialized mid-air, upside-down, and dropped directly onto a metal floor with enough force to rattle every bone in my body.
A groan escaped me. "Really…? Really…"
Before I could even roll over, cold metal pressed against my temple.
A weapon.
"Do not move," a stern voice commanded.
I blinked up and immediately felt my stomach drop.
It wasn't V-0.
It wasn't another Aren.
It was worse, in a different way.
MSD soldiers.
Six of them, armor gleaming in pale blue light, rifles aimed squarely at my head.
Their formation was tight, precise. These weren't regular officers.
These were containment specialists.
The kind they sent to capture high-threat divergential criminals.
"Hands where we can see them," one barked.
I raised my hands slowly. "Okay. Fine. I'm here. But please be gentle, I've had a day."
Two agents moved in, slamming me face-down and forcing my arms behind my back. Restraints clicked around my wrists – binding, humming with quantum dampening energy.
"Subject restrained," one announced. "Signature matches Aren Vale – Prime branch."
"Prime branch confirmed," another replied. "That's the one Riven wants."
Riven?
Before I could process it, a familiar voice cut through the chaos.
"That's enough. Step back."
The agents stiffened immediately.
Riven strode into view – helmet off, hair tied back, eyes sharp and exhausted. She looked like she hadn't slept in days… maybe weeks.
Her gaze landed on me, and for a moment, something flickered in her expression. Not anger.
Recognition.
Maybe even relief.
"Aren Vale," she said quietly. "You've been hard to track."
I exhaled shakily. "Trust me, I've been trying to track myself too. It's not fun."
One of the containment officers grabbed my arm. "Ma'am, do you want us to sedate him?"
Riven held up a hand. "No sedatives."
The officer looked confused. "But protocol..."
"I said no."
Her tone made it clear there was no argument.
The officers stepped back.
Riven knelt beside me, her expression unreadable.
"You've been jumping without authorization," she said.
"I've also been chased by a homicidal version of myself across collapsing timelines," I replied. "Kind of hoping that earns me a warning instead of a prison cell."
She inhaled slowly.
Then she reached into her coat and pulled out a small holo-device.
She pressed a button.
A projection shimmered between us – grainy footage from the moment she first confronted V-0. The scene from the ruined lab.
Footage of him.
The version of me whose body the plasma shot passed through.
The one who moved like a ghost.
The one who tore reality open with his hands.
The one who wasn't me.
Riven watched the hologram with clenched teeth.
"I saw him," she said quietly. "I saw that you weren't the one at the massacre. And I saw that thing wearing your face."
My chest tightened. "So you believe me."
Riven didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she disabled the restraints.
The sudden freedom of my wrists almost startled me.
She stood, offering a hand.
I hesitated only a moment before taking it and letting her pull me up.
"I don't know what he is,"Riven said. "But it's clear now you're not him. And MSD has no protocol for… whatever he is."
"That's because he doesn't follow any rules," I muttered. "Trust me, I've checked."
Riven glanced at the dimly flickering divergence generator clutched in my hand.
"You overloaded that thing," she said.
"I didn't," I corrected. "He did."
"He forced a jump?" Her eyes widened. "That shouldn't be possible."
"Add it to the list."
Riven exhaled, rubbing her forehead. "We intercepted energy readings from your last jump. Something massive happened. And you weren't alone."
My breath hitched.
"The other Aren."
"Other… Aren," she repeated carefully. "Meaning another version of you."
I nodded.
"He tried to bring me to V-0. He nearly succeeded."
Riven's expression hardened. "Then whatever this V-0 is, he's manipulating timelines and versions of you. And he's doing it with ease."
I didn't have the heart to tell her about the cracked Aren who died in my arms.
Or the traitor Aren who believed V-0's philosophy.
Or the dozens of timelines collapsing because of him.
Instead, I said:
"I have proof."
She raised an eyebrow. "Proof?"
I pulled the memory capsule from my pocket. The crystalline core pulsed faintly, reacting to the stable environment.
Riven studied it, brow furrowing. "What is that?"
"A piece of my memory. One that V-0 stole."
Her eyes widened. "He's removing memories now?"
"Not just removing," I said quietly. "Collecting. Combining. Absorbing."
Riven took a step back, shocked.
"He's building something," I continued. "Something connected to the Multi-Memory Engine. And whatever he becomes afterward… none of us will be able to stop him."
Riven stared at the capsule, then at me.
"Why you?" she asked softly. "Why is he so focused on you?"
I looked away.
"Because I'm the anchor," I whispered. "He needs me to complete whatever he's building."
Riven absorbed that in silence.
Then...
The entire room shook.
Alarms blared.
Emergency lights flashed red.
Officers scrambled.
"What now?"Riven snapped.
A tech sprinted into the room, pale and breathless.
"Ma'am, breach signature detected!"
"Where?"
The tech swallowed hard.
"Right above us."
My blood turned to ice.
The ceiling flickered.
Red lines sliced through the air.
The temperature dropped.
V-0 was here.
Riven grabbed my arm.
"Aren...RUN!"
But the breach tore open instantly...
And his silhouette descended like a descending verdict.