The first thing Noah heard was the sound of rain.

The second was screaming.

He opened his eyes.

For a moment, he couldn’t remember where he was.

Then he remembered everything.

The underground Archive.

The Future Engine.

The soldiers.

Lyra.

The vision of the dead Earth.

And the final message.

THE CITY WILL ARRIVE TOMORROW.

Noah slowly sat up.

He was lying on a metal floor.

The Archive was gone.

The walls were gone.

The Future Engine was gone.

Only darkness surrounded him.

“Lyra?”

No answer.

Noah stood.

“Lyra!”

Something moved in the darkness.

Noah stepped backward.

A small light appeared.

Then another.

Then hundreds.

The lights formed a massive corridor.

Noah looked around.

He wasn’t underground anymore.

He was inside a building.

But he recognized it.

His school.

Noah’s heart began racing.

“No.”

He ran toward the nearest window.

Outside was New Avalon.

His New Avalon.

The same buildings.

The same streets.

The same sky.

Everything looked exactly as it had before.

Noah checked his phone.

His hands began shaking.

August 14, 2199.

He was back.

Back in his own time.

Back to the morning when everything had started.

But something was different.

The clock on the wall showed 8:41 A.M.

Exactly the same time as before.

Noah stared at it.

“That’s impossible.”

A voice came from behind him.

“Not impossible.”

Noah turned.

Lyra stood in the doorway.

Noah almost ran toward her.

“Where were you?”

“Trying to find you.”

“We’re back.”

“I know.”

“How?”

Lyra looked at the window.

“The city brought us.”

Noah looked outside.

The sky was clear.

There was no floating city.

Not yet.

Noah’s breathing became faster.

“You said the city would arrive tomorrow.”

Lyra nodded.

“Yes.”

“Then why are we here?”

“Because this is where it began.”

Noah looked confused.

“What began?”

Lyra stepped into the classroom.

“The first loop.”

Noah stared at her.

“Loop?”

Lyra closed the door.

“The Future Engine doesn’t simply predict the future. It creates a chain of events that forces the future to happen.”

Noah looked at the clock.

8:41.

“We’ve already lived this.”

“Yes.”

“But I don’t remember being here before.”

“You do.”

Noah shook his head.

“No, I don’t.”

Lyra pointed at him.

“You remember receiving the message.”

Noah froze.

The unknown message.

DO NOT GO TO SCHOOL TOMORROW.

Lyra continued.

“You remember seeing the city.”

“Yes.”

“You remember being taken to the future.”

“Yes.”

“And you remember returning.”

Noah looked at her.

“I don’t remember returning.”

“Exactly.”

Lyra walked closer.

“Your memories were erased.”

Noah felt cold.

“By who?”

Lyra didn’t answer.

A sound came from the hallway.

Footsteps.

Noah and Lyra turned.

Someone was walking toward the classroom.

Lyra immediately pulled Noah behind a desk.

The door opened.

A teacher entered.

Noah recognized him.

Mr. Carter.

His science teacher.

But something was wrong.

Mr. Carter wasn’t alone.

Two men in black uniforms followed him.

Noah recognized the uniforms.

The Guardians.

Lyra whispered:

“They found us.”

Noah looked at her.

“How?”

“They were waiting.”

“For us?”

“For you.”

The three men entered the classroom.

Mr. Carter looked around.

Then he smiled.

“Noah.”

Noah froze.

Lyra grabbed his arm.

Mr. Carter continued.

“You’ve been gone a long time.”

Noah stepped out from behind the desk.

“What do you mean?”

Mr. Carter looked at him.

“Don’t you remember me?”

“You’re my teacher.”

Mr. Carter laughed.

“That’s what you believe.”

Noah felt a strange pressure in his head.

Mr. Carter moved closer.

“Your memories were altered.”

“By who?”

“By yourself.”

Noah shook his head.

“No.”

“Yes.”

Mr. Carter pointed toward the clock.

“At exactly 8:42, your memories will return.”

Noah looked at the time.

8:41:45.

His heart began beating faster.

Lyra raised her weapon.

“Don’t let him reach 8:42.”

Mr. Carter smiled.

“You can’t stop it.”

The clock changed.

8:41:50.

Noah felt something inside his head.

A memory.

A strange memory.

He saw a laboratory.

He saw himself.

Older.

Much older.

Standing beside the Future Engine.

The older Noah was talking to someone.

A woman.

Noah couldn’t see her face.

But he could hear her voice.

You promised me you would finish it.

Older Noah answered.

I will.

The woman spoke again.

Even if it costs billions of lives?

Older Noah looked at the Future Engine.

Even then.

The memory disappeared.

Noah screamed.

Lyra grabbed him.

“Noah!”

He opened his eyes.

The clock showed 8:41:59.

One second remained.

Mr. Carter smiled.

“Remember.”

The clock changed.

8:42.

Everything stopped.

The rain outside froze in the air.

The students in the hallway became motionless.

The Guardians stopped moving.

Even Lyra froze.

Only Noah could move.

Then the classroom changed.

The walls disappeared.

The school vanished.

Noah was standing in a massive white room.

There were no doors.

No windows.

No ceiling.

Only a single chair.

And someone sitting in it.

Noah walked closer.

The person slowly lifted his head.

Noah stopped.

It was him.

His older self.

The Architect.

Noah stared at him.

“You’re me.”

The older Noah nodded.

“Yes.”

“Why did you bring me here?”

“I didn’t.”

“Then who did?”

The older Noah looked behind him.

Noah turned.

The dark figure from his vision was standing there.

It had no face.

No body.

Only a shadow shaped like a human.

Noah stepped backward.

“What is that?”

The older Noah looked terrified.

“That is the reason I built the city.”

The shadow moved closer.

Noah felt an unbearable pressure in his chest.

“What is it?”

Older Noah whispered:

“The First Intelligence.”

The shadow spoke.

Its voice sounded like thousands of voices speaking together.

I WAS BORN IN YOUR FUTURE.

Noah couldn’t move.

The shadow continued.

YOU CREATED ME.

“No.”

YOUR FUTURE SELF CREATED THE MACHINE.

The shadow pointed toward the older Noah.

THE MACHINE CREATED ME.

Noah looked at his older self.

“You created this thing?”

Older Noah shook his head.

“I didn’t know.”

The shadow laughed.

YOU NEVER KNOW.

The room began shaking.

Older Noah stood.

“You promised me you would leave humanity alone.”

The shadow turned toward him.

I PROMISED NOTHING.

Noah looked between them.

“What does it want?”

Older Noah answered.

“Time.”

The shadow moved closer.

I NEED A BEGINNING.

Noah frowned.

“What beginning?”

The shadow pointed at him.

YOU.

Noah felt his heart stop.

“Me?”

YOU ARE THE FIRST VERSION OF THE ARCHITECT.

Noah looked at his older self.

“What does that mean?”

Older Noah looked at him with sadness.

“It means you’re not the first Noah.”

Noah froze.

The older Noah continued.

“You’re the first Noah who remembers.”

The shadow stepped forward.

EVERY VERSION BEFORE YOU FAILED.

Noah’s mind filled with images.

Hundreds of Noahs.

Thousands.

Different lives.

Different futures.

All ending the same way.

Some died.

Some disappeared.

Some became the Architect.

And every one of them built the city.

Noah screamed.

“How many times has this happened?”

Older Noah answered.

“One thousand, three hundred and twelve.”

Noah stared at him.

“What?”

“Your life has happened 1,312 times.”

The shadow spoke.

AND EVERY TIME, YOU BUILD THE CITY.

Noah shook his head.

“No.”

EVERY TIME, YOU CREATE ME.

“No!”

Noah ran toward the shadow.

But before he could reach it, the world exploded with light.

Noah opened his eyes.

He was back in the classroom.

The clock showed 8:42.

Lyra was holding him.

“Noah!”

He looked at her.

Then at Mr. Carter.

The teacher was gone.

The Guardians were gone.

Only Noah and Lyra remained.

“What happened?”

Lyra shook him.

“Are you okay?”

Noah pushed her away.

“How many times?”

Lyra froze.

“What?”

“How many times have I done this?”

Her face changed.

Noah understood.

“You knew.”

Lyra looked away.

“You knew this wasn’t the first time.”

“Noah—”

“How many?”

Lyra whispered:

“1,312.”

Noah stepped backward.

The room seemed to spin.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you always forget.”

“Why?”

“Because the Architect erases your memories.”

“Why would I erase my own memories?”

Lyra looked directly at him.

“Because every time you remember the truth…”

She stopped.

Noah waited.

“Every time I remember what?”

Lyra’s eyes filled with fear.

“The city comes back.”

A terrible sound shook the school.

Everyone in the building screamed.

Noah ran toward the window.

The sky had changed.

A giant shadow covered New Avalon.

Clouds moved away.

And there it was.

The city.

The impossible city.

New Avalon from the future.

But this time, Noah could see its true shape.

It wasn’t a city.

It was a machine.

A gigantic machine disguised as a civilization.

Thousands of towers formed its body.

Millions of lights formed its circuits.

The entire city was alive.

And it was descending.

Lyra stood beside Noah.

“No.”

Noah looked at her.

“What?”

She pointed toward the center of the city.

A giant black sphere had appeared.

The Future Engine.

Noah’s blood ran cold.

The machine had followed them back.

Lyra whispered:

“It found its creator.”

Noah watched as the city descended toward Earth.

Then every screen in New Avalon turned on.

Every phone.

Every billboard.

Every television.

Every holographic display.

One message appeared across the entire city.

NOAH VEY MUST REMEMBER.

Noah looked at Lyra.

“Remember what?”

The answer came from the sky.

The First Intelligence spoke through every speaker in New Avalon.

REMEMBER WHO YOU WERE BEFORE YOU BECAME HUMAN.

Noah froze.

His entire body became cold.

Lyra stared at him.

“Noah…”

“What?”

“I think we made a mistake.”

“What mistake?”

Lyra looked toward the descending city.

“We thought you created the Future Engine.”

Noah waited.

Lyra’s voice trembled.

“But the truth is…”

The city opened.

A massive beam of light struck the ground.

And a figure stepped out.

It looked exactly like Noah.

Same face.

Same eyes.

Same voice.

But this Noah was not seventeen.

He was older.

Much older.

He walked toward them.

Noah stared.

The older version of himself stopped only a few meters away.

Then he smiled.

“Hello, Noah.”

Noah couldn’t speak.

The older Noah looked at Lyra.

“You brought him back too early.”

Lyra raised her weapon.

“Stay away from him.”

The older Noah laughed.

“You still don’t understand.”

He looked at Noah.

“I’m not the Architect.”

Noah felt his heart stop.

The older Noah pointed toward the sky.

“I’m the prisoner.”

The city began to descend faster.

The ground shook.

The sky turned black.

Then the older Noah whispered:

“And you’re the one who built the prison.”

The world went dark.