At 3:17 in the morning, seventeen-year-old Noah Vey woke up because someone was calling his name.

“Noah.”

He opened his eyes.

The room was dark.

“Noah…”

The voice came again.

He sat up.

Outside his bedroom window, the city of New Avalon was sleeping beneath a blanket of rain. Towering buildings disappeared into the clouds. Flying vehicles moved silently between skyscrapers, their lights shining through the storm.

Noah looked around his room.

Nobody was there.

He reached for his phone.

The screen showed one new notification.

UNKNOWN MESSAGE

Noah frowned.

He opened it.

There was only one sentence.

DO NOT GO TO SCHOOL TOMORROW.

Noah stared at the message.

Then another message appeared.

YOU WILL DIE AT 8:42 A.M.

His heart stopped.

“What?”

He quickly checked the sender.

There was no number.

No identification.

Nothing.

Noah immediately deleted the message.

He told himself it was a joke.

Someone had hacked his phone.

That was all.

He went back to sleep.

The next morning, Noah almost stayed home.

Almost.

But he had an important science examination.

And his mother would never allow him to miss school without a reason.

So at 7:30 A.M., Noah left his apartment.

The rain had stopped.

The streets were crowded.

People moved through the city wearing smart clothing that automatically adjusted to the weather. Delivery drones flew between buildings. Holographic advertisements floated above the roads.

Everything seemed normal.

But Noah couldn’t forget the message.

YOU WILL DIE AT 8:42 A.M.

At 8:30, he reached school.

At 8:40, he entered the science laboratory.

At 8:41, he heard a strange sound.

A deep vibration.

The entire building shook.

Students screamed.

Noah looked toward the windows.

Something enormous was appearing above the city.

At first, he thought it was a cloud.

Then the shape became clearer.

A city.

A gigantic city was floating in the sky.

Noah stood frozen.

Thousands of buildings hung above New Avalon.

Roads stretched through the clouds.

Bridges connected skyscrapers.

Millions of lights illuminated the strange civilization.

But the city was impossible.

No aircraft could carry something that large.

No technology on Earth could create it.

The entire school ran outside.

Everyone was staring upward.

Noah’s phone vibrated.

He looked down.

Another message had arrived.

YOU HAVE 60 SECONDS.

Noah looked at the clock.

8:41:10.

His hands began to shake.

8:41:20.

A teacher shouted for everyone to move away from the building.

8:41:30.

The floating city suddenly opened.

A massive beam of white light descended from the sky.

It struck the center of New Avalon.

The world disappeared.

Noah felt himself falling.

He couldn’t see anything.

He couldn’t hear anything.

Then…

Silence.

When he opened his eyes, he was standing in the middle of an empty street.

The school was gone.

The city was gone.

His classmates were gone.

Everything had disappeared.

Noah looked around.

He was still in New Avalon.

But something was wrong.

The buildings were older.

The roads were cracked.

The sky was red.

And there were no people.

Not one.

Noah checked his phone.

The time was still 8:42 A.M.

But the date had changed.

August 14, 2174.

Noah’s hands went cold.

He looked at the year again.

He had been transported 150 years into the future.

Then he heard footsteps.

Someone was walking behind him.

Noah turned.

A girl stood in the middle of the street.

She looked about his age.

She wore a black jacket covered with strange silver symbols.

In her hand was a weapon Noah had never seen before.

She pointed it at him.

“Don’t move.”

Noah raised his hands.

“Who are you?”

The girl stared at him.

Then her eyes widened.

“You survived.”

Noah frowned.

“Survived what?”

The girl slowly lowered her weapon.

“The Collapse.”

“What Collapse?”

She looked toward the sky.

The floating city was still there.

But now Noah could see it clearly.

The city wasn’t floating.

It was suspended by enormous machines that extended into the clouds.

The girl spoke quietly.

“Your time is over.”

Noah shook his head.

“What are you talking about?”

She looked directly into his eyes.

“Everyone in your century is dead.”

Noah couldn’t breathe.

“That’s impossible.”

The girl stepped closer.

“My name is Lyra.”

She pointed toward the floating city.

“That city appeared above Earth 150 years ago.”

“Why?”

Lyra’s expression became serious.

“Because humanity built it.”

Noah stared at her.

“Humanity?”

Lyra nodded.

“The people of your time created a machine that could predict the future.”

Noah looked at the strange city.

“What does that have to do with me?”

Lyra hesitated.

Then she said something that terrified him.

“The machine predicted that you would destroy the world.”

Noah felt his heart sink.

“What?”

Lyra looked at the sky.

“The people of the future have spent 150 years trying to find you.”

Noah stepped backward.

“Why?”

“Because every future we have calculated ends the same way.”

She looked at him.

“You become the reason humanity disappears.”

A loud sound suddenly echoed across the city.

The ground began to shake.

Lyra looked frightened.

“They found us.”

“Who?”

She grabbed Noah’s arm.

“We have to go.”

“Where?”

“Somewhere they can’t see.”

Noah followed her through the empty streets.

Behind them, machines descended from the floating city.

Hundreds of drones filled the sky.

A voice echoed through the city.

TIME TRAVELER IDENTIFIED.

Noah stopped.

Lyra pulled him forward.

The voice continued.

SUBJECT NOAH VEY MUST BE CAPTURED ALIVE.

Noah looked at Lyra.

“Why do they want me alive?”

Lyra didn’t answer.

They reached an underground entrance.

Lyra opened a hidden door.

Before Noah entered, he looked back.

The sky above New Avalon was filled with machines.

The floating city had begun to move.

And for the first time, Noah noticed something terrifying.

The city was shaped exactly like the city he had seen in his own time.

It wasn’t a future city.

It was his city.

His New Avalon.

Only older.

Much older.

Noah looked at Lyra.

“Why does this place look like my home?”

Lyra stared at him.

“Because it is your home.”

Noah stepped into the darkness.

Lyra closed the door.

Then she whispered:

“And tomorrow morning, you will build it.”

The door locked.

Above them, the future city disappeared into the clouds.

And somewhere deep beneath the ruined Earth…

a machine that had been waiting for Noah for 150 years suddenly turned on.

Its screen displayed a single message.

THE CREATOR HAS RETURNED.