You are spot on that time dilation alone just means clocks tick at different rates. But the extended part of relativity is the Relativity of Simultaneity. Because there is no universal Now, a person simply walking down the street has a plane of simultaneity that intersects days into the future for someone standing still. For an event in your future to already be now for a walking observer, past, present, and future must co-exist as coordinates in 4D spacetime. It seems whacky but it’s all there to see! Option 2, conversational with the Andromeda example: That is a really common distinction! Time dilation (clocks ticking faster or slower) is only half the picture. The bigger half is the Relativity of Simultaneity. Einstein proved there is no absolute cosmic Now. If you start walking toward the Andromeda galaxy, your right now shifts to include events that are still days in the future for a stationary observer next to you. For that future event to be real for you while walking, it has to exist as a permanent coordinate in the 4D block.