6:03 A.M. – Underground Lab, Teleportation Chamber
Elias stepped onto the circular platform, the metallic surface buzzing faintly under his feet. The entire time machine structure was wired into the underground lab's systems, glowing with an eerie blue-white energy.
Callum checked his tablet, muttering to himself as numbers flickered across the screen. "Coordinates locked. Time vector stabilized. Tachyon displacement at 0.002%—acceptable margin."
Dr. Voss adjusted his wrist device. "We'll have exactly 2 hours in the past before the system forces us back. No second chances."
Zane cracked his knuckles. "Then we better make it count."
Kai smirked, rolling his shoulders. "Can't wait to steal from the past."
Elias just focused. His heart pounded in his chest. Three years ago. He had to see it for himself.
"Engaging sequence."
The room shook as the time machine roared to life. The lights flickered, and a powerful gravitational force pulled at Elias' body—
Then—
A blinding flash.
6:04 A.M. – March 20, 2027 – The Initiative HQ
The five of them materialized inside a maintenance tunnel.
The first thing Elias noticed was the air. It was different. Cleaner. Less heavy. Like the weight of the apocalypse hadn't settled over the world yet.
Dr. Voss checked his device. "We're in. Systems say we're exactly where we planned."
Zane grinned. "Damn. Time travel's kinda fun."
Kai elbowed him. "Don't jinx it."
Elias took a deep breath. "Alright. Everyone knows their roles." He turned to each of them.
Voss and Callum → Secure the data logs from the Initiative's servers.
Zane and Kai → Infiltrate the weapons research sector.
Elias → Locate classified government files.
They all nodded. No words were needed.
The mission had begun.
Till now they all just saw the map of this whole place which they got through the spy, but now they were in that place.
Elias in the search of the files, found a room where there were a lots of data stored which wasnt written in a human language and in that room he heard a roar and felt a hard wind blow, there he saw a huge chamber too.
But he preferred not focussing on that room much since it could have creatures which he would'nt want to see.
They all kept looking for what they came here to get.
But,
6:39 A.M. – March 20, 2027 – Initiative HQ, Control Room
The Hidden Phoenix sat slumped in his chair, his breaths slow and strained. Sweat dripped from his forehead, staining the pristine white fabric of his uniform. His body was heavy, his limbs sluggish.
The exhaustion was beyond physical—it was absolute.
His head throbbed. His muscles ached like his very bones were rejecting him. He could barely move.
He had pushed himself too far. Again.
Yet, his mind never stopped working. Never.
His half-lidded eyes flickered over the holographic screens before him. Security feeds showed the Initiative's pristine halls, the clean, white corridors stretching into endless symmetry.
For now, all was calm.
Then—
An alert flashed red.
⚠ UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY DETECTED – WEST WING MAINTENANCE TUNNELS
His breath hitched.
His fingers trembled as he pressed a command on the interface. Surveillance feed – ON.
The screen flickered.
Five figures moved in perfect coordination, slipping through the shadows. The moment he saw them, his body went cold.
Voss.
Callum Richter.
Zane Calloway.
Kai Mercer.
And in the lead—
Elias Moreau.
The screen blurred for a second. His vision was fading again. His body was rejecting him—screaming at him to stop.
But he couldn't stop.
His fingers clenched into fists.
"They're here."
He forced himself upright, his body screaming in protest.
⚠ ALERT LEVEL: MAXIMUM SECURITY
⚠ ALL UNITS, FIND THEM NOW.
The loudspeakers crackled to life.
His voice came through the entire facility, low, strained, and filled with quiet fury.
"We have intruders. Secure every sector. Now."
6:45 A.M. – Initiative HQ, Lower Levels
Elias heard the alarm before he saw the flashing red lights.
"Shit."
Dr. Voss's voice crackled through their earpieces. "They know. Get what you need, then get out. No hesitation."
Zane cursed. "We're moving."
Elias ran.
The hallways stretched before him in a blur of white walls, metallic doors, and red emergency strobes. His breath was steady, his movements calculated. He had done too many missions like this to make mistakes.
But something was wrong.
A presence.
A predator.
Elias skidded to a stop, pressing his back against the wall. His instincts screamed. He wasn't alone.
Then, from the far end of the hall—
A shadow moved.
Slow. Unsteady. Almost limping.
Elias' eyes widened slightly. He knew that posture. That presence.
Then—
The Hidden Phoenix stepped into the light.
And Elias felt his blood run cold.
He looked horrible.
His usually perfectly controlled stance was slightly unbalanced. His face was pale, his body barely holding itself together.
Yet—
His eyes burned with unrelenting fire.
For a moment, they just stared at each other.
"…You."
Elias barely breathed the word.
The Hidden Phoenix's eyes flickered, a strange emotion passing through them.
Then—
He moved.
Faster than exhaustion should have allowed.
Faster than logic.
Elias barely had time to react before the Hidden Phoenix was on him.
6:50 A.M. – Initiative HQ, Central Research Sector
Elias crashed through a glass window, rolling onto the cold steel floor of the research lab. Pain exploded through his body, but he didn't stop moving.
The Hidden Phoenix stepped through the shattered glass with slow, precise movements. His exhaustion was still there—Elias could see it.
But the man refused to fall.
"You don't understand what you're doing." The Hidden Phoenix's voice was low, ragged.
Elias gritted his teeth. "I understand enough."
A flicker of something unreadable passed through the Hidden Phoenix's expression.
Then—
The floor beneath Elias shifted.
A metallic panel opened beneath him, and before he could react—
A machine rose from the ground.
A massive circular construct, made of dark, pulsing energy. A gravitational field twisted the air around it.
Elias' stomach dropped.
He had no idea what this thing was.
A scientist—a stranger in a lab coat—rose from the hidden compartment below, standing on a hovering platform.
And then, the machine started pulling him in.
A void.
A vortex.
Elias fought it.
He dug his fingers into the metal floor, gritting his teeth.
The Hidden Phoenix moved instantly.
A blur.
His hand shot out—
He almost grabbed Elias' wrist.
Their eyes met.
And in that split second, Elias finally saw it.
The look in his eyes.
The exhaustion.
The desperation.
The fear.
"D—Dad?"
And then—
He lost his grip.
The vortex swallowed him whole.
The last thing he heard was the Hidden Phoenix's voice.
A single, ragged, broken word—
"NO."
Elias was falling.
Falling into nothing.
The world around him wasn't black. It wasn't even a color. It was an absence. A place where time bled, where light curled and twisted before vanishing into itself.
The void screamed.
Not with sound, but with memories.
His past. His present. His possible futures. They flickered in and out of existence—thousands, millions, infinite possibilities collapsing and reforming in an endless cycle.
And then—
His body shattered.
Not his flesh. Something deeper.
His soul.
It tore apart like fragile glass, splitting into three, each fragment spiraling into a different timeline.
And as he broke—