The moment Nyra touched the key
It wasn’t the room that shifted.
It was time.
Not literally.
Not physically.
But something in her perception slipped.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the metal, and for a second, the cold wasn’t just temperature.
It was familiarity.
Too familiar.
Nyra inhaled and the air changed.
Not the same air.
Not the same room.
A hallway.
Not this one.
Narrower.
Brighter.
Voices in the distance.
Not clear.
But present.
Nyra stood still.
Watching.
Except
She wasn’t watching.
She was there.
“Don’t hesitate.”
A voice.
Close.
Behind her.
Firm.
Controlled.
Nyra’s jaw tightened.
She knew that tone.
Even if she didn’t want to.
“You said we had time,” she heard herself reply.
Younger.
Sharper.
Less measured.
“We don’t,” the voice answe
