Sea of Unraveling Hours

Back in the present, Linh sat before a wall of shimmering displays, her eyes darting between timelines as the knot's pulse steadied. For a moment, relief washed over her—each anomaly had been contained, and the tapestry's weave was strong. Yet, beneath the surface, something felt… off.

She ran diagnostics, watching the golden and blue threads flow through the knot's core. Then, a subtle fluctuation—a ripple that shouldn't be there—caught her attention. It was faint, almost imperceptible, but unmistakably real.

Linh enhanced the signal, isolating the anomaly. The data formed a pattern: a sequence of symbols she'd never seen, woven into the very foundation of the tapestry. It pulsed with a rhythm that didn't match any known timeline.

Her heart pounded. "This isn't from the Severer, or the Origin Hunger," she murmured. "It's something older. Or… something outside."

As she traced the pattern, a cold realization settled over her. The anomaly wasn't just in one timeline—it was touching all of them at once, like a hand reaching through the fabric of reality itself.

Suddenly, the lab lights flickered. The knot's pulse stuttered, then surged, as if reacting to an invisible presence. On the main display, the symbols rearranged themselves into a single word:

AWAKENING

Linh's breath caught. She activated the team's comms, her voice urgent. "Felix, Kiran, Arjun—return to the present, now! There's a new threat, and it's not bound by time. The tapestry is being watched… or called."

The knot glowed with an eerie, shifting light. For a fleeting moment, Linh saw a vision: a vast loom in endless darkness, and a shadowy figure weaving threads that stretched into countless worlds.

She steadied herself, determination burning in her chest. "We've faced the Severer. We've mended the fractures. Whatever's coming next, we face it together."

The team's portals opened, and her friends stepped through, battle-worn but united.

As the knot's pulse synchronized with their presence, the lab filled with a sense of anticipation—and dread.

A new chapter in the tapestry's saga was about to begin.