Rainwater dripped steadily from the cracked ceiling.
Each drop echoed in the ruined Berlin vault like a countdown.
No one spoke.
Not after Selene's words.
Not after the Null Sovereign's message.
Aarav stood in the centre of broken steel and fallen hunters, staring at the three girls in front of him.
Aelina.
Mira.
Selene.
Three futures.
Three centuries.
And all of them were looking at him like he was both salvation and disaster.
His voice, when it came, was quiet.
Too quiet.
"So let me understand this."
He looked at Selene first.
"In one future, I save humanity."
Then at Mira.
"In another, I apparently become the final villain."
Finally, Aelina.
"And somehow all of you decided this information could wait?"
Rohan, standing a safe emotional distance away, whispered,
"…I would also like to know."
Aelina lowered her eyes first.
That alone hurt more than anger would have.
"We were trying to protect you."
Aarav laughed once.
Short.
Without humour.
"By hiding the fact that I might end the world?"
Mira crossed her arms.
"It wasn't that simple."
"It never is."
His voice was sharper now.
For the first time since meeting them, there was real frustration there.
Not fear.
Not confusion.
Betrayal.
Selene stepped forward.
She did not defend herself.
She simply spoke.
"In my future, I watched two endings."
Her golden eyes held his.
"One where you stood against the Null Sovereign and humanity survived."
A pause.
"And one where you became worse than it."
Silence swallowed the room.
Aarav forced himself to ask.
"How?"
This time, it was Mira who answered.
"Loss."
One word.
Heavy.
She looked away when she said it.
Aelina continued softly.
"In the darker timeline, the people closest to you died."
Her glowing blue eyes were filled with something painful.
"You tried to save everyone."
Selene finished.
"And when you failed… You chose control over grief."
Aarav felt cold.
Not from the Berlin rain.
From the image itself.
A version of him standing over ruins, deciding no one would ever be allowed to hurt him again.
A version of him becoming the thing he hated.
Rohan, for once, said nothing.
Because there was no joke for that.
Aarav looked down at his hands.
Normal hands.
Human hands.
The same hands that had stopped time itself.
Could those same hands destroy it?
The answer terrified him because part of him believed it.
Because if enough people died…
If enough was taken…
Wouldn't anyone break?
Mira stepped closer.
Her voice was softer now.
Rare.
Dangerous.
"We didn't tell you because futures are probabilities, not chains."
She met his gaze directly.
"You are not destined to become a monster."
Aelina nodded.
"You still choose who you become."
Selene's voice was calm.
"But choice becomes harder when love is involved."
That line hit differently.
Too different.
Rohan quietly turned and walked ten feet away.
"Emotional battlefield detected. I'll be over here."
Smart man.
Aarav looked at the girls.
"All of you came back because of this?"
Aelina answered first.
"I came because I believed you could save us."
Mira followed.
"I came because I wanted to see if the stories were true."
Then Selene.
Her golden eyes did not move.
"I came because if the darker future begins… I am the one who must stop you."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Rohan, from the corner:
"…Wow."
Aarav blinked.
"What?"
"That one."
He pointed dramatically at Selene.
"She said she'd either protect you or kill you. That's terrifyingly romantic."
Selene looked at him.
Rohan immediately looked at the floor.
"I apologise for existing."
A miracle that he survived.
Aarav rubbed his face.
"This is insane."
"Yes," Mira said.
"Very."
And somehow that helped.
Because at least they were honest now.
At least the fear had a shape.
He looked at the three girls again.
Different centuries.
Different scars.
Different reasons for coming here.
But all of them had chosen this.
Chosen him.
Finally, he took a slow breath.
"Then listen carefully."
His voice was steady now.
Not louder.
Stronger.
"I'm not becoming anyone's final villain."
The golden code beneath his skin flickered faintly, responding.
"I'm not letting some future decide who I am."
He looked at Selene.
"At the end of time, if there's a version of me standing there covered in blood…"
Then at Mira.
"I'll surpass him."
Then Aelina.
"I'll protect everyone before that future even happens."
The silence afterwards felt different.
Lighter.
Not because the danger was gone.
Because he had chosen something.
A path.
Aelina smiled first.
Soft.
Relieved.
Mira tried very hard not to look impressed and failed slightly.
Selene…
Selene simply nodded.
Approval from her somehow felt like surviving an exam written by war itself.
Then the ruined vault trembled again.
Because peace remained illegal.
A holographic emergency transmission forced itself onto the damaged console.
Red.
Urgent.
Aelina activated it.
The projection flickered.
A woman appeared.
Beautiful.
Silver-white hair.
Eyes like frozen stars.
Dressed in something that looked less like clothing and more like ceremonial armour made of light.
She was older than the others.
Not by age.
By presence.
She looked like someone who had watched civilisations rise and fall.
Even Selene straightened.
Mira's expression changed instantly.
Aelina whispered,
"No way…"
The woman's voice filled the chamber.
Calm.
Elegant.
Terrifying.
"To all active future units…"
"This is an emergency sovereign-level transmission."
Her gaze shifted.
And somehow, impossibly—
It felt like she was looking directly at Aarav.
"The Fourth Unit has awakened."
The world seemed to stop.
A new red signal appeared.
Not Europe.
Not Asia.
Far beyond.
A classified location.
The Arctic Circle.
Frozen.
Hidden.
Forgotten.
The woman continued.
"Designation: NYSERA-3000."
Mira's voice was barely above a whisper.
"The one from the Divine Era…"
Selene's grip tightened on her sword.
Even she looked serious.
That was enough to make Aarav nervous.
Rohan stared.
"…Why do I feel like every new girl is somehow more dangerous?"
Because she was.
Because this one came from the year 5026.
And according to the silence in the room—
Even the future feared her.