Curt Goetz
Time is a great teacher. Unfortunately, it kills all of its students.
***
When Alex opened his eyes, he realized he was still in the same place. But everything was different. This magnificent place, once ruled by silence, was now filled with the sounds of people. Groups of people wandered around, and guards rotated their posts, watching everyone carefully. As Alex looked around in awe, he raised his eyes upward. He had started moving toward the top almost involuntarily. The people passing by talked about the splendor of Babylon and the Queen as if Alex wasn't even there.
It was impossible not to notice the change around him. The walls, once covered in moss and dust, now shone almost brilliantly. Every surface was adorned with intricately crafted carvings. The floor sparkled with breathtaking splendor, decorated with golden embroideries. The texture of the walls no longer bore the mark of a decaying history but rather the grandeur worthy of a palace.
As Alex climbed higher, security became even tighter, but he kept moving upward with growing concern. When he reached the top layer, he stopped, stunned by what he saw. In the center stood a dazzling royal throne adorned with rare jewels. But what really caught Alex's attention were the figures sitting on the throne. Their faces were covered with a cloudy blur, making them hard to define, but as he approached, the details started to emerge. The girl's face was unfamiliar, but the boy... he was none other than Kai.
Looking at the girl with an indescribable loyalty in his eyes, Kai began to speak."How does 'The Hanging Gardens of Semiramis' sound to you?"The girl looked into Kai's eyes as she answered. Even Alex, just watching, could feel the deep bond between them.
"Who cares about the name? Even our real names don't matter. What's important is that this is our first home. My only wish is that people won't destroy it in the future. I hope it will always keep its beauty just like this."The girl's presence was mesmerizing. Alex could swear he had never seen such a beautiful being before. Her long black hair cascaded over her shoulders, and the crimson brilliance in her eyes radiated a splendor Alex had never witnessed.
"I promise you, my love. Even if Babylon falls, I will keep our home standing. No one will take it from us."
With a loving smile, the girl wrapped her arms around Kai's neck. In that moment, they seemed to have forgotten the rest of the world; they belonged only to each other. She whispered, her voice both fragile and full of belief:
"I will love you forever."
Kai, his eyes sparkling with determination, looked into the girl's eyes, cupping her face gently with his hands. He answered with a voice reflecting his growing loyalty and endless devotion:
"I will love you through all time."
As Kai leaned toward Sandra, the light around them rapidly faded, and darkness slowly began to swallow everything like a wave. Alex squinted his eyes, the change happening so quickly it caught him completely off guard. In an instant, everything around him seemed to blur and disappear.
He felt himself being dragged into the depths of his mind. It was as if he was passing through a tunnel, being pulled deeper into a darkness that grew with every second.
***
Paul Claudel
Time is never lost. It is we who are lost.
***
Alex found himself in a dark room, surrounded only by cold stone walls and heavy silence. The air carried a faint earthy scent, but the coldness was suddenly broken by the crackling of a fireplace. As the fire flickered dimly but steadily, everything around him slowly began to light up. This was a place Alex had never seen before.
The room had the grandeur of the Middle Ages. High ceilings were supported by dark wooden beams. The floor was covered with handwoven carpets. Everything had its own kind of elegance. In the center of the room stood a massive dining table. Around it, plates and copper candelabras were meticulously arranged. At the head of this grand table, Kai and Sandra were dining together.
While Alex, feeling like a ghost once again, hid in a corner, the voices of conversation grew louder.
"Even though we've forgotten how many years it's been, being with you in every era has always made me happy."Sandra spoke with a slight sparkle in her eyes, but the weight behind her words was evident.
Kai placed his right hand on the table, gently took the girl's hand, and replied:"I couldn't have made it this far without you. It's all thanks to you."
"No, Kai. We made it together." Sandra continued, her voice trembling slightly as if struggling to hold back her emotions. "But now we have bigger problems, and you know it."
An expression of displeasure crossed Kai's face; he withdrew his hand and placed it back under the table."We've already talked about this. Now is not the time."
Sandra chose not to retreat. Instead, she pressed on, her eyes locking deeply onto Kai's:"Logan says preparations for the Change Process must begin soon across all academies. If people continue this way, think about how much they can advance in technology. Technology means population. Population means..."Sandra couldn't finish her sentence, but Kai interrupted her and completed it.
"Population will accelerate the Corruption Process, and that will be the end of us. I know, my love. Logan has warned us countless times. But we cannot just give up on finding another way, can we? We don't have to initiate the Change Process. We must free people from these cycles."Kai's voice seemed firm on the surface, but it trembled as if hiding another truth beneath it.
Alex wanted to believe Kai's reluctance to start the Change Process was purely out of moral principle. But deep down, he sensed something else—the echo of an unspoken fear buried in the past.
"We've tried balancing the Corruption Process many times, you know that. If you don't initiate the Change Process, you'll drive the entire planet to extinction without giving it another chance. I only ask one thing of you: When the time comes, if we can't find another way, please let go of your stubbornness."Sandra's voice had risen slightly, but she took a deep breath and calmed herself again. Still, a tear sliding down her cheek revealed her inner fear and helplessness.
"All I want is to share one more cycle with you, my love..."Sandra gently held Kai's hand again—the same hand he had just let go of. Her fingers were warm, trying to break through his indifference. Her eyes, pleading, locked onto his.
"Please..."
The images darkened once again. Alex found himself once more in a black void.
With the cold moonlight striking his eyes, Alex realized he had moved on to the next memory. This time, he found himself in the garden of a private house that resembled a small castle. The house stood out with its stone walls and gothic architecture. In the very center of the garden stood Sandra and a man Alex didn't recognize. In the deep silence of the night, the stranger's voice suddenly echoed, bringing the memory to life.
"We need to initiate the Change Process," said the stranger, his voice filled with worry and anger. "Kai is altering the Corruption Process data Logan provided and making everything appear normal. That idiot is going to destroy all of humanity! We have to do something."
Sandra responded quietly, her eyes still locked onto the man. "I trust him. He promised he would do it."
The stranger replied to Sandra's words with a cold smile, clearly unable to hide his anger. "He promised? Kai is not the same anymore. And what about the lie he told you about that girl from the future? He said she was insignificant, but it turns out she's a carrier. What if he chooses her for the next cycle instead of you? Maybe that damn bastard refuses to initiate the Change Process because he loves you both and can't bear to see either of you vanish."
Sandra's heart skipped a beat, but deep down, she knew the man could be right. "You can't know that for sure. He must have a reason. We've always trusted each other."
The stranger placed his hand on his chin and answered with a deep gaze. "Clearly, that trust is one-sided..."
As the darkness slowly began to retreat again, Alex could feel Kai's presence at the corner of the house. Before moving on to the next memory, whispers echoed in his ears—perhaps the voice belonged to him.
"I can't tell her who Jessy really is..."
This time, the place wasn't to Alex's liking. The environment resembled a battlefield; his only comfort was that he could move freely. Around him, storms made of various materials clashed towards one another, while the rain and lightning intensified, covering his entire field of vision. Sudden tremors made walking difficult. When he finally reached a hilltop, he could somewhat grasp the scale of the war. This was the great rebellion against the administration led by Kai. Every class in Kaizen had joined this war. Alex realized he hadn't come to this hill by coincidence, judging by the voices behind him.
"It's over, Neon! Give up already, you bastard!" Kai shouted, standing in black armor, determination etched across his face. His armor was made of a metal Alex had never seen before. Neon, meanwhile, was clad in armor covering his entire body, including his head. The intricate mask details gave him a terrifying aura.
Neon had fallen to the ground, and Kai was on top of him, repeatedly punching him in the face. It was as if the two were locked in a battle that had lasted for years. Kai had likely long stopped feeling the raindrops falling on his face. His body grew more exhausted with each blow, but somehow, he kept fighting relentlessly.
In between the punches, Neon managed to speak. "This is all your fault! I told you to initiate the process!" Underneath Neon's shattered mask, his face was now visible—the same face that spoke to Sandra in the moonlight just moments ago.
"Do I look like someone you can stall by talking, you damn fool!" Kai roared, clasping both hands together for the final blow, slamming them hard into Neon's chest. The force of the punch echoed from the depths of the mountain. Alex could have sworn he saw the hill crack from within. The increasing rumbling sounds seemed to confirm that, yet despite everything, Neon managed to utter his final words.
"Bad news for you... Sandra knows that girl is a carrier and that you love her. Since you couldn't choose, she made the choice for you. You bastard son of a—" Neon couldn't finish the insult before he drew his last breath.
After a moment of silence, lightning struck as Kai crouched beside Neon's body. Logan appeared. Kai, filled with rage, shouted at him.
"Neon's final words were about Sandra! She was behind this all along! Tell me, where did I go wrong!"
"This happened because you couldn't choose between the two. Whether you like it or not, the Change Process has begun. You must choose. Go to Sandra and tell her who the girl really is, son!" Logan said, approaching Kai and placing a hand on his shoulder. Feeling the genuine touch, Kai finally let his heartbreak pour out through tears. And while crying, he noticed something: he could once again feel the raindrops...
The images faded once more. Alex could sense that he had reached the end of the memories. Only the final chapter of the story remained.
***
Henry Van DykeTime is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice; but for those who love, time is eternity.
***
The final act had begun. The atmosphere resembled the battlefield he had just seen, but this time the setting was different. The story would end where it had begun. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were now shrouded in silence. With darkness consuming everything, the beauty of the place no longer mattered. Alex navigated by the flashes of lightning illuminating the sky every second. When he entered the library, he saw Sandra lying on the floor, covered in blood. Kai knelt beside her, pressing his forehead against hers. Both were crying. It was the time of farewell after perhaps thousands of years of being together.
Sandra wiped her tears with a weak smile and looked into Kai's eyes one last time. "So her name is Jessy... I'm sorry. Even if you were right, I had to do this."
Kai, filled with anger and sorrow, asked: "We could have died together, disappeared along with the planet. Why did you do this?" This had always been Kai's preferred choice—to watch the planet perish rather than choose between them.
Sandra reached out to touch Kai's cheek, wiping away his tears with her fingers one last time. "Even if I don't remember my past life in the previous cycle, I know all this struggle wasn't in vain. We've always been selfish, always thinking of ourselves... I guess it's finally time for sacrifice." She took a deep breath but continued speaking. "If I had kept living, I would have only increased your guilt. But there's one thing I don't want you to forget... I will love you forever, my love..." With her last words, Sandra's hand fell to the ground.
Kai leaned in and gently kissed her lips, responding to her final words. "I will love you through all time..."As Kai spoke those words, the surroundings began to collapse—the memory book was crumbling. However, something unexpected happened—or maybe Alex simply imagined it. At the corner of the room, he saw a reflection of himself. But why was it there?
Alex had returned. The book lay closed on the ground. Logan sat across from him, still watching him. Alex was still under the spell of the memories he had witnessed. The first question that came to his mind was about Kai. "What happened to him?"
Logan, gazing at the rare flowers in the garden, finally spoke after a deep silence. "He turned his back on everything for years and locked himself away here. Even the white color he once loved means nothing to him anymore. Even now, everyone thinks Kai killed Sandra. Don't ask if it's true—I don't know the answer."
With these words, Alex had illuminated a little of the mystery surrounding Kai. The memories he had seen triggered complicated feelings about love within him. Yet there was still something missing—how exactly Sandra had died remained a mystery. That missing piece left a hollow ache inside Alex. "Then why did you show me all this?"
"Because, even though he knows he can't change time, my son is still trying to stall you here. Before meeting him, he was planning to put you through a month of special training and then send you into the past. But a small hope inside him stopped that. He would rather do nothing and just wait for Change Day."
"But how can I have any effect on his past?"
Logan picked up the book from the ground and answered. "You'll find that out for yourself. I'm the only one who believes you can find an alternative way to save the planet. Trust me, and leave this place to seek the truth."
"But where should I go?" He actually already knew the answer but still asked.
"The answer is simple: two words—Peace Point. I was waiting for you to pass this lesson to set you in motion. You've succeeded. Now just trust your abilities. You are the Heir of Time and the planet's last hope."Logan was right. He had to trust in his own abilities. Instead of answering, Alex crouched down where he stood and began to mumble the same words over and over.
"If making others happy makes you happy, then there's still hope for humanity."Alex knew he couldn't go back to the time he wanted. So he simply clung to the words his father had once told him. As he reached his goal, a burst of light surrounded him, almost as if celebrating Alex's victory.Of course, once again, he had been thrown straight into events before he could even start his Academy career.