The rain outside the station grew heavier.
The tall stranger stopped only a few steps away from Lena and Daniel.
The two others stood behind him, silent and motionless.
People continued walking around them, unaware of what was happening.
Daniel whispered, "Lena… what does 'fight the future' even mean?"
Before she could answer—
DING.
Her phone vibrated again.
A message from her future self appeared.
"Listen carefully."
Another message followed.
"They are not humans."
Daniel leaned closer.
"What?"
Lena kept reading.
"They are timeline correction agents."
Another message appeared.
"They cannot break their own rules."
Lena frowned.
Rules?
Her fingers quickly typed.
Lena:
What rules?
The reply came instantly.
"They can only act when the timeline reaches a correction point."
Daniel whispered, "Meaning…?"
Lena read the next message aloud.
"They can't attack us whenever they want."
Her phone vibrated again.
"They must recreate the original moment of death."
Lena's eyes widened.
The tall stranger spoke for the first time.
His voice was calm and emotionless.
"You have been informed."
Daniel stepped back nervously.
"So you admit it?"
The stranger looked at them both.
"You disrupted the sequence of events."
Another vibration.
But this message came from the stranger's phone directly to Lena.
"Correction Point 1: Bridge."
Lena's chest tightened.
The bridge where she had originally died.
Another message appeared.
"Correction Point 2: Train Station."
Daniel swallowed.
"That was where I was supposed to die…"
The stranger continued calmly.
"We will simply recreate the necessary outcomes."
Lena's phone vibrated again.
Her future self had sent another message.
"Now you understand."
Another message followed.
"If they fail at a correction point…"
The final message appeared.
"…the timeline collapses."
Lena's heart skipped a beat.
Daniel looked confused.
"Collapse? Is that good or bad?"
Lena slowly lifted her head.
"It means their system breaks."
The tall stranger's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You should not know that."
For the first time, his calm expression cracked.
Daniel whispered, "So if we stop them twice… they lose?"
Lena nodded slowly.
"Yes."
The stranger stepped forward again.
"Then we will ensure success."
At that moment—
The station lights flickered.
BZZZT.
Half the station suddenly went dark.
Passengers began murmuring in confusion.
Lena's phone vibrated again.
Her future self had sent another message.
"Good."
Another message appeared.
"Now the real game begins."
Lena frowned.
Lena:
What game?
The final message appeared slowly.
"Breaking time itself."
Daniel looked at her.
"I have a bad feeling about that."
Across the platform—
The three timeline agents began walking toward them again.
And this time…
They weren't moving slowly anymore.