Three days later, United States Atomic Energy Research Center, High-Energy Particle Laboratory.
"Experiment record, second attempt."
"Begin!"
At Miles's command, the entire laboratory was once again enveloped by that familiar low hum.
"Hum—"
The air began to vibrate. That familiar low hum drew nearer and nearer, eventually becoming an invisible pressure that made everyone's chest feel slightly tight.
At the particle accelerator port, a highly condensed beam of energy tore through the air and struck the brand-new "Time Controller" on the test bench with perfect precision.
Ripples spread through space once more, but unlike the spectacular sight from last time that had seemed capable of tearing open a wound in the universe, these spacetime ripples vanished abruptly in less than a second.
Immediately afterward, spiderweb-like cracks appeared across the surface of the "Time Controller" on the test bench. It let out a sharp crack, rapidly disintegrated, shattered, and finally became a pile of wreckage with no energy reaction whatsoever.
"Stop!"
Miles immediately gave the order.
The humming faded away, and the laboratory returned to dead silence, with only the soft whir of the equipment's cooling fans remaining. A faint ozone-like smell lingered in the air.
He slowly stepped down from the command platform, put on insulated gloves, and picked up the largest piece of debris with tweezers. It felt icy cold, with none of that unusual energy texture from before. It was simply a piece of scrap metal.
"Looks like this attempt failed." Miles set down the fragment, his tone devoid of any noticeable emotion.
At the sight, the researchers, who had been brimming with enthusiasm moments earlier, could not help feeling discouraged.
"Continue organizing the materials and analyzing the data." Miles's voice remained remarkably calm, as if he had not taken this setback to heart at all. "Everyone, we