Back in the Tockbox's dim command chamber, the atmosphere was thick with tension. Juno sat quietly, her thoughts tangled like threads of broken time. Milo hovered nearby, watching the data streams flicker across the holoscreens.
Idris paced, voice low but urgent. "The Chronodebt isn't just a myth. It's an enforcer from the dawn of time itself bound to preserve balance, no matter the cost."
Juno looked up. "So, it's like a cosmic debt collector, but it's real and it wants me on the hook."
Milo nodded. "Exactly. And the fact that it appeared means you're on its radar now. Every time you fix a loop or shift a timeline, you add to the debt."
"How do you even pay that off?" Juno asked, voice tight.
Idris grimaced. "You don't. Not really. You fight. You run. You try to outsmart the ledger. Or you lose what matters most."
Juno's thoughts flashed back to a memory she'd buried deep, a night before everything changed, a clock tower striking midnight, a figure lost to time.
"I've seen it before," she whispered. "In a dream, or maybe a memory... I'm not sure."
Milo stepped closer, concern in his eyes. "That could be a shard of your true past or a warning planted by time itself."
Suddenly, alarms blared.
"Temporal disturbance detected!" a voice called out.
Outside the chamber, holoscreens showed ripples spreading across the city time anomalies flaring up, growing chaotic.
Idris turned sharply. "They're coming. The timeline fractures are multiplying. The Chronodebt's presence is destabilizing everything."
Juno stood, determination burning in her eyes. "Then we don't wait. We take the fight to them."
Milo grinned. "Finally, the real fun begins."
As the Tockbox doors slid open, Juno felt the weight of countless moments pressing down but also the spark of a future she was ready to claim.