The café smelled of roasted beans and ocean wind. Outside, seagulls screamed over the soft crash of waves — the kind of peace that felt wrong after seeing the world collapse.
Mike sat across from Chloe and Mio, both still dazed from what they'd witnessed in the future.
Chloe leaned forward, chin on her palm, sparks flickering from her fingers as she stared at her reflection in the coffee's surface.
"So… ten days before the world ends, and I just learned I can turn into a walking flamethrower. No pressure."
Mike didn't answer right away. His expression was calm, deliberate — the same as always when he was holding the world together.
He told them everything — not about the loops, but about the coming cataclysm, the dimensional tears, and the cities swallowed by light.
By the time he finished, silence hung like a heartbeat before a storm.
Chloe finally exhaled. "So, apocalypse. Ten days. Cool. Totally manageable."
Mio sighed. "You think everything's manageable."
Chloe shot her a glare. "And you think you're my emotional supervisor now?"
"Somebody has to be."
"Focus," Mike said, rubbing his temples.
He summoned a faint holographic display above the table — a girl's portrait flickering in soft blue light.
"I need you to find someone. Freya Stoneheart."
"Stoneheart?" Chloe raised a brow. "That's… metal."
"Norwegian descent," Mike explained. "Studying abroad in Brighton. Brown hair, emerald eyes, athletic build. You'll know her when you see her — she looks tired, but not weak. The kind of person who's forgotten how to dream but hasn't stopped standing tall."
Chloe tilted her head. "Poetic and creepy. You sure you're okay?"
"You'll know her," Mike said simply. "Take her shopping. Blend in. I'll come for you after."
"Wait." Chloe leaned forward. "Did you say… shopping?"
Mike's mouth twitched. "Yes."
Her eyes lit up. "He said shop, right?"
Mio groaned. "Oh no—"
Before she could finish, Mike snapped his fingers — and the café vanished.
Brighton, England
They appeared in the middle of the seaside city — gulls crying overhead, cobblestone streets gleaming under afternoon light.
Chloe's grin was instant. "Oh my god, he said shop!"
Mio sighed. "You're impossible."
"Correction — I'm fabulous."
---
Two hours later, Brighton's economy was in shock.
Mountains of bags surrounded them outside a mall — clothes, snacks, even a blender.
Chloe was mid-argument with a cashier.
"I'm just saying," she said, waving a card, "you should totally give me a discount. It's Apocalypse Shopping — hero business!"
The man blinked. "Miss… that's not a thing."
"Not with that attitude."
"Chloe," Mio muttered, pinching her nose, "just pay him."
"You hear the defeat in your voice? That's why I handle negotiations."
"Because no one else is insane enough to try."
The cashier sighed. "That'll be £234.50."
"Perfect," Chloe said, paying anyway. "If the world ends tomorrow, I'm haunting this shop."
Outside, Mio dropped another pile beside her. "He said buy as much as you can. I think we just bought Britain."
"Hey, he didn't set limits," Chloe said defensively. "Also — seven jackets."
"They were on sale!"
Before Mio could respond, Chloe froze.
Across the street, a girl stepped out of a university gate — tall, brown hair catching the sun, emerald eyes dim but striking. Graceful, yet heavy with fatigue.
Mio followed her gaze. "That's her, isn't it?"
"Yep," Chloe said softly. "Freya Stoneheart."
Freya stumbled as a few students brushed past, her books scattering. Chloe darted over, kneeling to help.
"Hey, you okay?"
Freya blinked. "Y-yeah. Thanks."
"You look like you've been through finals and a storm," Chloe said.
Freya smiled faintly. "Close enough."
"Come on, we could use another pair of hands. We're carrying about ten tons of 'retail therapy.'"
Freya hesitated — then laughed. "Alright, fine. I'm Freya."
"Chloe," she said brightly. "And this is Mio."
As they gathered the bags, Chloe whispered to Mio, "See? Easy."
"You mean Mike found her."
"Details."
---
Later, the three sat by Brighton Pier, watching the waves turn molten gold beneath the setting sun. Freya laughed more easily now, telling them about her life, her exhaustion, her need to feel something again.
Chloe teased her, Mio listened, and somewhere between their laughter and the dying light, a bond began — one that would define legends.
Freya Stoneheart had no idea her life had just changed forever.
Meanwhile — California
The moon hung pale above a half-sleeping city, neon bleeding into the wet asphalt.
Mike walked alone, his coat whispering against the wind. He already knew who he was looking for.
A black-haired girl moved ahead, her masked face shadowed by the dim streetlight. Every step was silent — practiced. Deadly.
She turned into an alley.
Mike followed.
Shhhk.
Cold steel brushed his throat.
"You shouldn't follow strangers," a calm voice murmured behind him.
Mike smiled faintly. "Classic assassin move."
"Then you know what comes next."
Before she could strike — clink! — he caught the blade between two fingers and snapped it in half.
She froze, eyes wide.
"Agent 011," he said evenly. "Or should I say… Echo?"
Her breath hitched. "How do you—"
"I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to make you an offer," he said. "Follow me, and I'll give you what your masters never could — a life worth living."
"You're insane."
"Maybe," Mike said, smirking, "but you're about to see why I'm right."
His gaze flicked upward. "Snipers. Three rooftops — north ridge, east alley, diner sign. You were supposed to die tonight."
She froze.
"Seven seconds," he murmured. "Trust me, or die."
CRACK!
The first shot screamed through the air — and Mike vanished.
A crater erupted where he'd stood. Wind howled as his outline blurred through the night, ripping past Echo in streaks of white and blue.
Each gunshot that followed met the same fate — caught midair, crushed into dust.
Buildings cracked. Windows shattered. Mike moved like a storm, his power raw, unrestrained.
⟦Warning. Kinetic output unbalanced. Physical equilibrium declining.⟧
⟦Training recommended.⟧
"I'll learn while doing," he grunted, vaulting a rooftop.
⟦Multitasking is statistically inefficient—⟧
"Not if you're me."
He struck again — and the sky thundered. Each impact shattered walls, flung debris into the air. To Echo, it was less a fight and more a force of nature in motion.
When silence finally fell, Mike stood amid fractured rooftops, the last sniper dangling helplessly in his grasp.
"I told you," he said softly. "She's under my protection."
He dropped the man, turned to Echo.
"You see? I told you they'd come. And I told you you'd live if you stayed by me."
Her voice trembled. "Why save me?"
"Because you deserve to decide who you are — not what they made you."
Something cracked inside her chest — unfamiliar warmth.
Then, quietly, she knelt.
"…My liege," she whispered. "From this day forward, I will follow you. Until the end."
Mike's gaze softened. "Then rise, Echo. Your life begins now."
⟦Warp initialized.⟧
The Asylum
The warp split the air open with a soft hum.
Mike stepped through first, boots crunching against cracked tiles. Beside him, Echo emerged, silent as smoke. The night air was thick with rust and damp moss.
"Stay close," he murmured.
They crossed the courtyard until a flicker of pink caught his eye — a girl sitting lazily atop a broken fountain, bare feet swinging, humming to herself.
"Emiko," he said.
She looked up, grin spreading like a crack across porcelain — playful, unhinged.
"Mikey-kun… you finally came. I was starting to think the universe changed its mind."
"You knew I was coming?"
"Hmm…" She giggled, voice tilting between sanity and madness. "Maybe I told me. Or maybe the future did. Time loops are messy."
Nova's voice chimed faintly in his ear:
⟦Temporal anomaly detected. Probability of causal echo: 87%.⟧
Mike ignored it. "We're leaving."
Emiko slid off the fountain, barefoot steps light on the cracked ground.
"Leaving already? That's rude, Mikey-kun. Fine, but you're buying me snacks later."
Mike sighed as Echo stepped into view behind him. Emiko blinked, finally noticing her.
"Ohhh, and who's the quiet shadow?"
"Echo," Mike replied.
"Fitting," Emiko smirked. "You look like someone who whispers at funerals."
Echo's tone was cool. "And you look like someone who should still be in one."
Emiko laughed — a bright, unhinged melody that rang through the courtyard.
"Oh, I like her. Can we keep her, Mikey-kun?"
Mike rubbed his face. "Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?"
⟦Warp initialized.⟧
Blue light flared — and the asylum dissolved into mist and silence.