The chronicle didn't sleep.
Neither did Cora.
By morning, silver letters had filled three new pages—words she hadn't written, memories she didn't recognize. Faces blurred into ink. Places she'd never been whispered her name.
"You're shaking," Adrian said quietly.
They sat in a small café near the precinct. Ordinary people moved around them, laughing, scrolling through phones, unaware that reality had nearly torn itself open hours ago.
"I keep seeing things," Cora admitted. "Not Fractures. Memories. But they don't feel like mine."
Adrian studied her for a long moment. "Funny. Since last night, I keep remembering a case I never worked. A missing girl. Same age as you."
Cora froze.
Kael appeared in the reflection of the café window, unseen by anyone else. His expression was grim.
"The chronicle is unlocking sealed timelines," he said. "Your past was altered, Cora. Removed to prevent Event Zero."
"What is Event Zero?" she demanded.
Kael's voice dropped. "The moment time collapses into a single mistake."
Outside, the air rippled again.
This Fracture was different—wider, darker. The temperature plummeted. A scream echoed as a child was pulled halfway into the distortion, frozen between seconds.
Cora didn't hesitate.
She opened the book. Blood dripped from her nose as the words burned brighter than ever.
"To save the present, reclaim the forgotten."
She stepped forward.
Adrian grabbed her arm. "If you walk into that thing—"
"I might not come back," she finished. "I know."
Kael met her eyes. For the first time, something like fear crossed his face.
"If you enter the Fracture," he said, "you will remember who you were before the world rewrote you."
Cora inhaled.
Then she stepped into the Fracture.
The city vanished.
And her real story began.