Yu Yung-an stood on the stone steps,the world before him silent and unfamiliar.
This was not Tuesday.The air carried the warmth of an afternoon breeze,and the fading echo of distant church bells.But the sound was different—This was the reflection of Friday.
"A timeline Zhang Zhi-an never chose…"
Yu Yung-an lowered his gaze,his fingers tightening around the single-layered cross.It was cold, yet faintly pulsing,as if carrying traces of an unresolved choice buried deep within time.
He started walking forward.
With each step,the fallen leaves stirred slightly beneath his feet,as though he was treading upon a memory left unfinished.
Down the stone steps,a narrow path by the river's edge unfolded,and in the rippling reflection of the Tamsui River—
A familiar figure appeared.
"Zhang Zhi-an?"
Yu Yung-an's breath caught.The figure stood by the riverbank, back turned toward him,the silhouette unmistakably familiar.
But he could feel it—
This Zhang Zhi-an did not belong to Tuesday.
"You've come."
The figure turned slowly,his gaze calm yet distant,as though he had been waiting for this moment.
"Do you… know who I am?"Yu Yung-an's voice trembled slightly.
"I don't know who you are,"the man smiled faintly,"but I knew you would come."
"Is this… the world of Friday?"
"No."He shook his head.
"This is the 'unchosen layer of time.'A world I never stepped into."
"The unchosen world?"
Yu Yung-an's pulse quickened.The glow of the single-layered cross flickered gently in his palm,as if responding to this "unchosen" memory.
"I was never meant to be here,"Zhang Zhi-an's voice was quiet, tinged with a trace of melancholy."This timeline…was the only path I abandoned before the reset on Tuesday."
"You abandoned it?"
"Yes."His eyes drifted toward the river—
"Before I chose Tuesday, I glimpsed Friday.But I didn't choose it."
"Why?"
"Because…"Zhang Zhi-an's voice wavered,"Friday meant facing the truth I wasn't ready for."
He paused,then whispered softly:
"Tuesday was… an escape from that truth."
"So Friday is…"
"The point where timelines intersect."Zhang Zhi-an lifted his gaze,his eyes reflecting something deeper.
"When Tuesday and Friday overlap,the world will be forced to choose again."
"Choose what?"
Zhang Zhi-an didn't answer.He only watched Yu Yung-an in silence,as if waiting for him to unravel the truth himself.
"The moment when Tuesday and Friday collide…is drawing near."
Yu Yung-an's heart clenched.
The rift between layers of time…was closing in.
is drawing near."
Zhang Zhi-an's words lingered in the air,but Yu Yung-an could feel it now—the tremor in the space around him.
Two timelines were colliding,pulling reality apart at the seams.
"The gate of choice… is already open."
The world tilted again.
Yu Yung-an's footing grew unstable,as Tuesday and Fridayspiraled around him,two timelines tearing at his consciousness.
——The rift between layers of time was expanding.
——To his left, lay Tuesday's world.Zhang Zhi-an, trapped in a relentless loop,where each Tuesday reset endlessly,his choices, his breakdowns,pushed to the brink—but still waiting,waiting for someone to end the cycle.
——To his right, was Friday's world.A timeline Zhang Zhi-an never chose,where time no longer reset,but truth remained concealed—a future left untouched.
The balance between these worlds was crumbling.
"Tuesday or Friday…"
Yu Yung-an's chest tightened.The single-layered cross in his palm pulsed faintly,but deep within his memory,the glow of the triple-layered cross still flickered,its embers refusing to die.
"Whose future… do I choose?"
His gaze fell between the two timelines,the shadows of two Zhang Zhi-ans, overlapping and diverging.
"If I choose Tuesday…"
——It meant prolonging Zhang Zhi-an's suffering,perpetuating an endless loop,until one choice shattered completely.But the cost…
Yu Yung-an himself would be trapped,lost within the unyielding cycle.
"If I choose Friday…"
——It meant choosing the future that was never chosen,unveiling the truth…but the price was—
Zhang Zhi-an would vanish forever,erased from existence,rewriting a world where he never lived.
"No matter which I choose…"
"I will lose one of them."
Yu Yung-an's breath caught in his throat,the weight of both timelines crushing him.The cross burned hotter in his palm,almost unbearable now.
"Choose."
Zhang Zhi-an stood at the intersection of the timelines,his lips remained silent,but his eyes—
They spoke of acceptance.
"You know…you can only choose one."
"Tuesday?"
"Friday?"
Time began to fracture.
"Choose, Yu Yung-an…"
His heart clenched,but he knew—
To choose one future,meant reshaping the world forever.