Salem’s eyes flicked open to a ceiling that wasn’t his own. The familiar cracks of his dingy apartment replaced by polished panels that gleamed like they belonged in some sci-fi control room. He sat up, but the chair beneath him hummed softly, adjusting automatically to his posture like it knew him better than he did.
Great. Not a skip day. Just a full-blown glitch in reality.
His mind raced as he scanned the room — screens flickered with scrolling code, strange symbols, and looping timelines. One monitor flashed: ERROR 404: TIME NOT FOUND.
Salem groaned. “Oh, come on. Can’t even escape the timeline mess when I wake up?”
Before he could think further, a metallic voice interrupted.
“Welcome back, Salem Grey. Your current temporal stability is at 37%. Please proceed to recalibration.”
