Year: 2075 — Neo-Seoul.
The portal spat them out in the middle of a blinding cityscape, where the skyline shimmered with floating cars, neon bridges, and digital billboards that followed your eyes.
Kaiya landed hard on the slick pavement, groaning as holograms flickered above her. A robot dog zipped by. People passed them wearing glowing headgear, oblivious to their sudden appearance—as if time travel was just another glitch in the system.
Liam helped her up, eyes wide. "Okay, this is… terrifyingly cool."
Prince Adrien blinked at a vending machine that spoke in three languages. "What sorcery is this?"
"Future," Kaiya muttered, brushing off her jacket. "Where everything is shiny and nothing makes sense."
They ducked into an alley to regroup. Kaiya pulled out her pocket chronometer—it was spinning uncontrollably. "Time's fractured here too. Zane's influence reached this far already."
Suddenly, a glowing drone buzzed in front of them and projected a hologram of Zane.
"Miss me?"
His image smirked, flickering with static. "Hope you like the future, because this version's under my control now."
Behind them, sirens wailed—Time Enforcement Agents.
"They're onto us," Liam said. "We have to move—"
But Adrien froze, staring at a nearby screen.
It showed a news feed from the future… and a face that made Kaiya's stomach drop.
It was hers.
Older. Sharper. Wearing a sleek black suit.
"Kaiya Monroe, CEO of ChronoTech," the reporter was saying. "Savior of the new timeline. Erased her enemies. Rebuilt time. Or so the story goes…"
Kaiya gasped. "That's not me. I would never—"
Adrien turned toward her slowly. "In this future… you become Zane."
"No," she whispered.
But the truth lingered in the air like smoke. Somewhere between saving time and rewriting fate, she was destined to break everything.
Liam touched her shoulder. "You haven't become her yet. That means we still have time to change it."
She clenched her fists. "Then let's rewrite the future."
As they raced toward ChronoTech Headquarters, a giant neon sign glowed above the skyline:
"Welcome to the Age of Control."
And the war for time just got personal.