The ruins of Chronos Labs were a distant memory, but the fire it ignited in our lives continued to burn. The three of us—Theo, Liam, and I—went our separate ways in the months that followed, each of us grappling with what the destruction of Chronos meant. For Theo and me, it was the beginning of something new. For Liam, it was a chance to let go of the ghosts that had haunted him.

Theo and I stayed in the city, moving into a small apartment together. It was nothing fancy—peeling wallpaper, a perpetually leaking faucet—but it was ours. He painted the walls in warm, earthy tones, while I covered them in photos I’d taken during our journey: the woods where we’d escaped, the abandoned warehouse where we’d planned, and even the edge of the smoldering Chronos ruins. They were reminders of how far we’d come.

Life wasn’t perfect, but it was peaceful. I went back to school part-time, studying photography and journalism, while Theo worked at a local art gallery, selling sketches and paintings that had started to gain attention. He never stopped sketching me—quiet moments in the apartment, sunlight catching my hair, the way my hands moved when I held a camera. Each drawing felt like a love letter, his way of reminding me that I was his world.

One evening, as we sat on the apartment’s tiny balcony, watching the sunset, he reached for my hand.

“You know,” he said, his voice soft, “when I first met you, I didn’t think I’d be here. Not like this.”

I smiled, lacing my fingers with his. “Here with me, you mean?”

He chuckled. “Yeah. But also just…here. I didn’t think I’d find a place where I belonged. But you make it feel like I do.”

Tears pricked my eyes, but I blinked them away, leaning my head against his shoulder. “You belong with me, Theo. Always.”

It wasn’t always easy—there were nights when I woke up drenched in sweat, nightmares of my father’s experiments still haunting me. But Theo was always there, holding me close, whispering reassurances that the past couldn’t hurt me anymore. And with time, the nightmares faded.

Liam’s departure was bittersweet. A week after Chronos fell, he told us he was leaving the country to live with his father in London.

“I need a fresh start,” he said when we met at the park one last time. “Something away from all this. From the mistakes I’ve made.”

I hugged him tightly, my heart aching with the knowledge that we’d never fully heal from what had happened. “I hope you find what you’re looking for, Liam.”

He smiled faintly. “I think I will.”

We stayed in touch, exchanging the occasional email or postcard. He sent me a photo once of a sprawling English countryside, captioned, "Not bad, huh?" It made me happy to know he was finally finding peace.

As for me, life moved forward. The shadows of my past no longer held me captive, and for the first time, I felt free to dream about the future. Theo and I built a life together—one of art, love, and the quiet joy of simply being.

We didn’t need hourglasses or time machines to shape our lives anymore. We had each other. And that was more than enough.

THE END????
YASSSSSS

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