The moment the countdown reached zero, the city changed.

Every tower surrounding Kael lit up at once.

Blue lines raced across the streets.

Bridges unfolded from buildings that had appeared completely lifeless only seconds earlier.

Above them, thousands of small machines rose into the sky.

They moved in perfect circles.

Then the sky itself began to glow.

Mira stared upward.

“What is that?”

Kael didn’t answer.

The stars were disappearing.

Not because of clouds.

Something was covering them.

A massive transparent structure was forming above the city.

Jonas stepped backward.

“Is that a shield?”

Mira checked her scanner.

“No.”

“What then?”

She looked at the readings.

“I don’t know.”

Kael turned toward the room they had entered.

The mysterious man was gone.

Only the giant clock remained.

Its numbers were still moving backward.

2189

2188

2187

Kael walked toward it.

Mira grabbed his arm.

“Don’t touch it.”

“Why?”

“Because everything we’ve touched so far has known who you are.”

Kael looked at her.

“And you think that’s a coincidence?”

Mira hesitated.

“No.”

A sound came from behind them.

Click.

The door opened.

A mechanical voice announced:

“Temporal synchronization complete.”

Jonas looked around.

“Temporal what?”

The machine answered:

“Earth has lost one day.”

Kael stared.

“What?”

The machine repeated:

“One day removed.”

Mira rushed toward the console.

“What day?”

The display changed.

EARTH CALENDAR

MARCH 14, 2190 — REMOVED

Kael frowned.

“That’s tomorrow.”

Mira looked at him.

“Not anymore.”

---

They returned to the ship.

Or tried to.

The city had changed.

The street they had used to enter was gone.

In its place stood a huge silver wall.

Jonas stared at it.

“Where did that come from?”

Mira scanned it.

“It wasn’t here.”

Kael looked around.

“Find another route.”

They walked for twenty minutes.

Every path led somewhere different.

A building would stand in one location.

Then they would look away.

When they looked back, it would be gone.

Jonas finally stopped.

“This city is moving.”

Kael shook his head.

“Cities don’t move.”

“This one does.”

Mira looked at the buildings.

“No.”

Kael turned.

“What?”

“The city isn’t moving.”

She pointed at the ground.

“We are.”

---

The ground beneath them suddenly disappeared.

All three fell.

Kael grabbed a metal railing.

Mira caught his hand.

Jonas grabbed Mira.

For several seconds, they hung above darkness.

Then a platform rose beneath them.

They landed hard.

Jonas groaned.

“I officially hate this planet.”

Kael stood.

“Where are we?”

Mira scanned the area.

“Underground.”

The platform began moving downward.

Kael looked at the walls.

Thousands of photographs appeared.

People.

Cities.

Ships.

Earth.

Then he saw something familiar.

His own face.

A photograph showed Kael standing beside an enormous machine.

He looked older.

Much older.

Mira noticed it too.

“That’s him.”

Kael stared.

“The older me.”

Another photograph appeared.

Kael was holding a child.

The child had dark hair.

A small silver mark was visible on her forehead.

Mira whispered,

“Who is that?”

Kael shook his head.

“I don’t know.”

The photograph changed.

The child was older.

Then a teenager.

Then an adult.

Then she disappeared.

The final image showed an empty chair.

Underneath it were four words:

SHE NEVER ARRIVED.

Mira frowned.

“Arrived where?”

The platform stopped.

A door opened.

Beyond it was a massive underground city.

Jonas stared.

“There’s another city.”

Kael stepped forward.

But this city was different.

It wasn’t abandoned.

Thousands of people walked through its streets.

Human beings.

They wore strange clothing.

Some carried glowing devices.

Others moved between buildings using small floating platforms.

Kael looked at Mira.

“Where did all these people come from?”

A woman behind them answered.

“They’ve been here for centuries.”

They turned.

An elderly woman stood in the doorway.

She looked at Kael.

Then smiled.

“You’re finally here.”

---

The woman led them through the underground city.

Kael couldn’t stop looking around.

Everything seemed advanced.

Machines repaired themselves.

Walls changed shape.

People walked through doors without opening them.

Children played with floating holograms.

But nobody looked surprised to see them.

Everyone seemed to know Kael.

One man bowed as he passed.

Another whispered:

“The creator.”

Kael stopped.

“What did he call me?”

The woman continued walking.

“Don’t worry.”

“I’m worried.”

“You should be.”

They entered a large circular room.

The walls were covered with maps.

Not maps of countries.

Maps of time.

Thousands of glowing lines crossed the walls.

Some were bright.

Others were almost black.

Kael stared.

“What is this?”

“The history of Earth.”

Mira stepped closer.

“Why are there missing sections?”

The woman looked at her.

“Because they were stolen.”

“By this planet?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

The woman looked at Kael.

“Ask him.”

Kael frowned.

“I don’t know anything about this.”

“You will.”

She touched the wall.

A timeline appeared.

2026

2050

2100

2150

2189

Then the line suddenly broke.

A section disappeared.

The woman said:

“Every year, Veyra-9 removes one day from Earth’s future.”

Jonas frowned.

“Why would anyone build something like that?”

The woman looked at Kael.

“Because Earth was dying.”

Kael’s expression changed.

“What happened?”

“War.”

“Which war?”

“All of them.”

The woman continued.

“By 2189, Earth had entered its final century.”

Mira looked at the timeline.

“So Kael built this planet.”

“Yes.”

“To save Earth?”

The woman nodded.

“He believed he could create a machine capable of removing bad days from history.”

Kael stared.

“Bad days?”

“The days containing disasters.”

Jonas understood.

“So he wanted to erase disasters before they happened.”

“Exactly.”

Kael looked at the timeline.

“But it didn’t work.”

The woman shook her head.

“No.”

“It made things worse.”

---

The lights suddenly turned red.

A warning echoed through the room.

TEMPORAL BREACH DETECTED.

The woman looked alarmed.

“What happened?”

A voice answered from the ceiling.

“Unauthorized arrival.”

Mira looked at Kael.

“Who?”

The machine answered:

“Earth military vessel.”

Kael frowned.

“Our ship?”

“No.”

The woman ran toward the window.

“That’s impossible.”

Kael followed.

Above the underground city, the ceiling became transparent.

A massive spaceship appeared.

It carried Earth’s military insignia.

Jonas stared.

“How did they get here?”

Mira checked her scanner.

“They’re broadcasting.”

A message appeared.

KAEL ARDEN, SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY.

Kael looked confused.

“Why are they after me?”

The woman answered:

“Because they believe you destroyed Earth.”

Kael turned.

“What?”

She pointed toward the timeline.

“The future version of you.”

Kael stared at her.

“What did he do?”

The woman hesitated.

“He succeeded.”

“At what?”

“Saving Earth.”

Kael waited.

She looked away.

“And destroyed everything else.”

---

The military ship fired.

The underground city shook.

People screamed.

The woman shouted,

“Move!”

Kael, Mira, and Jonas ran.

Explosions tore through the ceiling.

Buildings collapsed.

The floating platforms fell.

Kael grabbed Mira’s hand.

“Where are we going?”

“To the time core!”

“What is that?”

“The only thing powerful enough to send you home.”

Jonas ran behind them.

“And why do I feel like we’re not going to like the answer?”

The woman shouted:

“Because it requires a sacrifice!”

Kael stopped.

“What sacrifice?”

She looked at him.

“Your future.”

---

They reached a massive chamber.

At its center floated a sphere of white light.

The time core.

It was surrounded by hundreds of rings.

Kael approached.

The machine recognized him.

CREATOR IDENTIFIED.

Kael stared.

“Open.”

The rings began rotating.

A portal appeared.

On the other side was Earth.

Beautiful.

Blue.

Alive.

Kael stepped toward it.

Then stopped.

Something was wrong.

The Earth in the portal looked unfamiliar.

No giant cities.

No pollution.

No war.

No satellites.

It looked like Earth from centuries ago.

Mira stared.

“That’s not our Earth.”

The woman shook her head.

“No.”

Kael looked at her.

“Then whose is it?”

She whispered:

“The Earth before you were born.”

Kael turned toward the portal.

The woman continued:

“Veyra-9 doesn’t send people through space.”

“It sends them through time.”

Kael’s face changed.

The older version of himself suddenly appeared inside the portal.

He looked directly at Kael.

“Don’t go back.”

Kael froze.

“Why?”

The older Kael looked at Mira.

Then Jonas.

Then back at him.

“Because if you return to Earth…”

He paused.

“…you will create me.”

The portal began collapsing.

Mira shouted,

“Kael!”

The older Kael spoke one final sentence.

“The girl in the photograph is your daughter.”

Kael stared.

“What girl?”

The portal vanished.

Silence.

Then the woman whispered:

“Her name was Lyra.”

Kael looked at her.

“Was?”

The woman’s eyes filled with sadness.

“She was never born.”

Kael frowned.

“Why?”

The woman looked at the time core.

“Because you chose to save Earth.”

The chamber shook.

A new message appeared.

TEMPORAL COLLAPSE IN 10 MINUTES.

Jonas looked at Kael.

“What do we do?”

Kael stared at the time core.

Then at Mira.

Then at the photograph of the little girl.

For the first time since arriving on Veyra-9, he wasn’t thinking about going home.

He was thinking about a daughter he had never met.

And somewhere far away in time…

a little girl opened her eyes.

She whispered:

“Dad?”

TO BE CONTINUED…