There is evidence for a multiverse. The other timelines aren’t what you think they are. The Winnower explained this is Unveiling, page T=O “…in the perturbation of the field that was the garden before the first tick of time and the first point of space—were the detonations that made the universes. [b]Each universe was pregnant with its own inflationary volumes and braided with ever-ramifying timelines. Each volume cooling and separating into domains of postsymmetric physics[/b]” Each universe has multiple volumes, these are planes. Like the material and ascendant and throneworlds. Each universe has ramifying timelines, endless branching. Basically every possible choice births a new timeline branch, with each branch having their own branching. This means the other timelines we see are from our universe, branches off the main trunk of time. Bob sees a fork in the road. In the main trunk, he goes left. Four branches spring up; he stays, he goes back, he goes right and he goes straight. Then each other those see their own branches, etc The primary timeline is the one we exist in. Elsie doesn’t hop timelines, that’s her old D1 lore. The Dark Future lore states she is in a time traveling reset. The Traveler goes BOOM and sends her back in time. She stays in the timeline until she fails and is sent back. This isn’t hopping timelines. This is real time travel. Hence why the Traveler is the trigger. It takes god tier power to pull it off.