Outside, it was pitch black, with a vibrant, light snowfall, a stark contrast to the heavy, silent atmosphere inside the room. A 40-year-old woman with golden hair tied back and blue eyes sat motionless at the dining table, staring intently at an open metal box containing vials of emerald green fluorescent substance and a syringe.
Further along, at the coffee corner, stood a middle-aged man with dark blond hair and a beard… Hal… leaning against the counter, his hand gripping a coffee cup trembling so much that the dark drink splashed onto his hand, but he remained unfazed by the heat.
His gaze was fixed on the woman in front of him with anguish.
"Don't do it..." Hal said, his voice trembling. "You don't need to do this, Joanie."
"If not today, then there will be no other chance, Hal," the woman replied without looking up. She was carefully filling a syringe with the fluorescent green liquid. The light from the glass tube reflected in her eyes, revealing a terrifying determination.
"We don't even know if it will work," Hal tried to reason with her one last time, his voice beginning to crack. "The ancient Falunet texts... these nanoparticle accelerators... they might just tear her apart instead of sending her back in time."
"Jacob did it, and he's survived for 88 years, so it has to work."
The young woman took a deep breath. She stood up, slung her old backpack over her shoulder, and walked towards the man she loved. But…it wasn't the kind of love that ordinary people could understand. Hal sighed heavily, meeting the sad, smiling gaze of the woman before him.
"Please... let me see him again." She raised her hand to cup his tear-stained face.
"If I succeed, we will meet again," she smiled sadly.
"But if it doesn't work out... that's why I don't want you to go..." Hal sobbed.
"Be strong… Hal… Please help me get through this," Joanie gently patted his cheek.
She handed him a syringe, her eyes pleading yet demanding.
"Thank you for everything. Please take care of the boys…" Joanie glanced away at the photograph on the wall. It showed this man with two young men, probably in their late teens, who looked very similar. The only difference was that they had black hair and were wearing gray-purple uniforms.
They made eye contact.
Hal grabbed the syringe with trembling hands. He gritted his teeth before pressing the needle into her neck.
The moment the green substance entered her bloodstream, the nano-accelerator began to work. It infiltrated at the cellular level, generating a fiery heat that engulfed her body. The girl screamed silently in excruciating pain before collapsing to the ground. Hal dropped the needle and embraced her tightly.
Suddenly, a blinding flash of light exploded.
As the light faded, Hal's arms were empty.
"Goodbye, Joanie..." Hal murmured, tears welling up in his eyes.
But when he bent down to look at what was lying on the floor, he gasped in shock and despair.
"Damn it!"
All that was left was the pile of clothes she was wearing and all her belongings...
The particle accelerator can only travel back in time to the point of having a naked body.
Everything around me is covered in white...
Empty and desolate, as if the whole world had vanished, leaving only a thick fog that enveloped Jacob on all sides. A strange coldness gripped him to the core.
In the silence, a faint sob drifted on the invisible wind.
The young man strained to peer through the blinding whiteness until he saw the shadowy figure of a young woman standing huddled together. She looked so lonely and desperate.
"Jacob…" the voice called, soft yet echoing in his mind. Jacob tried to move forward, but his legs felt heavy, as if they were frozen in place.
"Who's there!" Jacob shouted, his voice echoing through the silence.
"I'm here…" the figure in the mist shouted back, her voice trembling and filled with fear.
"Come on then! I'm right here!" Jacob shouted back. He tried to gather all his strength and push himself forward, struggling to focus his gaze, but the thick fog obscured his face, leaving only a blurry silhouette.
No matter how hard he tried to reach her, the distance between them wouldn't lessen. It was as if an invisible wall stood between them—a cruel wall of time.
Jacob stretched out his arm as far as he could, and the girl reached out hers as well. Their fingertips slowly moved closer… closer… closer…
"miss very much"
Until their fingertips touched lightly…a warm feeling and an electric current coursed through their fingertips into their hearts.
The girl kissed him softly.
Longing and pain overwhelmed me in that instant...
"It's about to fall."
As soon as she finished speaking, it was as if some force pushed Jacob hard into the chest.
The force was so real and palpable that his body swayed.
Crunch !
Then her figure faded into the mist, and darkness enveloped everything.
Jacob jolted awake, his eyes snapping open... In the pitch-black silence, the rustling of treetops and the howling of wild animals echoed. The trance of dreams fades away…leaving only the reality before me.
Pain shot through Jacob's body. He felt dizzy and confused.
"How long have I been asleep...?" he murmured to himself, trying to gather his thoughts and looking up at the sky.
Hours passed... Jacob lay unconscious between the branches of giant pine trees, his body teetering on the brink of falling to his death below. The young man jolted awake, realizing the height. He cautiously retreated to the thick, rough trunk to compose himself. The irritation of the bark helped bring back his memories.
The giant nymph, the snapping cable, and the immense force that sent him tumbling to the top of this tree... He wasn't worried about himself at all; his mind was solely preoccupied with the people below.
"Uncle Breeze!" Jacob exclaimed, his voice trembling.
Suddenly, the night sky tore open, and a blinding flash of light pierced the darkness above the thousand-year-old pine forest!
BOOOOOM!
A deafening explosion rocked the area, sending shockwaves crashing down that shook the giant pine trees violently, as if they were about to snap. Flocks of birds scattered in panic, flying across the forest.
"Agh!" Jacob screamed, clinging tightly to the tree trunk to prevent himself from falling.
When the tremors subsided, he gasped for breath, peering into the darkness. The sight that greeted him left him stunned...
A massive plume of smoke and flames erupted from the spot where the mysterious object crashed to the ground, not far from where the scooter had landed.
"What's that...?" Jacob muttered. "A meteorite? Or a crashed spacecraft?"
His heart sank at the thought of Uncle Fabreeze, or 'Uncle Breeze'. That explosion... if he were nearby... In a panic, he hastily grabbed the crystal communication device, his hands trembling as he pressed the button to search for signs of life from his only relative.
"Find... scooter number 2445. Signed, Fabreeze," he ordered, his voice trembling. A blue holographic light flashed in the darkness, followed by a warning message...
"Damn it! You stupid machine, get to work!" Jacob cursed, frustrated and desperate. His voice echoed through the vast forest. He swiped the screen, instantly changing the operating mode. "Switch to Observation Mode!"
At the command, a tiny white ball of light shot up from the tip of the metal rod, acting as a third eye, projecting a real-time aerial view onto a holographic screen. The Bledizzico pine forest at night appeared even darker and more terrifying from this vantage point. Towering trees stretched as far as the eye could see, like a natural wall trapping him. Far in the distance to the right, the flickering lights of the 'Tower of Horathea,' a vertical realm towering into the sky... yet it was almost ten kilometers away, far too far for him to survive and return on foot in his current condition.