Aion still couldn't believe the old man sitting in front of him.
"My name is… Albert Einstein," the man in the wheelchair said, his eyes sharp, glimmering with an intelligence that seemed to pierce through time itself.
This has to be a dream, Aion thought. Einstein died decades ago… yet he's sitting right here.
The guards gripping Aion's arms hissed, "Sir, we caught him trespassing in the yard. He's probably a thief or a spy."
Einstein raised his hand calmly. "Let him go."
"But sir—"
"I said, let him go." His tone was soft, yet commanding enough that the guards immediately obeyed, though they still eyed Aion suspiciously.
Einstein looked him over carefully. "What's your name, young man? And where are you from?"
"A… Aion Blake. From London," he stammered.
"And how did you enter my yard? The gates are always guarded. Even the president would need an appointment," Einstein asked, sounding more curious than angry.
Aion took a deep breath. "I… I don't know how I got here. I was at the museum… in Bern. I saw an antique pocket watch behind the glass case, then suddenly, there was a flash of light and—next thing I knew, I was standing in your yard. I swear I'm not lying."
One of the guards sneered. "A classic thief's excuse—"
"Silence," Einstein interrupted, still staring at Aion. "Museum, you said? An antique pocket watch?"
Aion nodded quickly. "Yes, that watch… with intricate engravings. Its hands were stuck at 11:55."
Einstein stayed silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping Aion from head to toe. The boy's hoodie, sneakers, and messenger bag were clearly out of place in 1955.
"Leave us," Einstein ordered the guards and servants.
"But sir—"
"Now." His calm voice carried such authority that none dared to disobey. Soon, the room was empty except for Aion and Einstein.
The old man leaned back slightly in his chair, a faint smile tugging his lips. "If I were already dead in your time, and yet you can see me here… what year are you from?"
Aion froze. "W-what do you mean?"
"It's 1955," Einstein said casually, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "If I'm dead in your era, then how do you know my name?"
Aion's breath caught. "1955… That means… I really am in the past? I'm from 2025. London."
Einstein nodded slowly, as though he'd already guessed. "Interesting. Very interesting."
Aion sank into the chair Einstein pointed to, his hands trembling. "I came to the museum because… I wanted to understand why your history kept changing. Sometimes you were an astronaut, sometimes a president, sometimes the inventor of the nuclear bomb… Only I noticed. Everyone else thought it was normal."
Einstein's eyes sharpened. Slowly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bronze pocket watch identical to the one Aion saw at the museum.
"Is this what you saw?"
Aion's eyes widened. "Yes! That's the one! But… how do you know?"
Einstein leaned forward. "Or perhaps… you also own something like this? Or maybe… you too can rewind time?"
The question hit Aion like lightning. "Y-you… know I can rewind time? How—"
Einstein chuckled softly. "Because I can do it too."
Aion gaped. "You… can rewind time?"
"Indeed," Einstein replied calmly. "My hunch was correct. I am not the only one. This watch is no mere antique. It's my magical watch. By holding it, I can replay my life."
Aion's mind spun. "So… all the weird history about you… you caused it?"
Einstein smirked mischievously. "I once experimented—being an astronaut, a president, even a great football player —because I enjoyed testing my abilities. But I realized… this power isn't for playing around. My true legacy is the discoveries I leave behind to advance civilization."
His eyes drifted, as if seeing beyond the present. "Do you know? To crack the theory of relativity, I had to rewind my life countless times. If measured normally, it might have taken hundreds or even thousands of years. But with rewind, I solved it in only twenty."
Aion stared, awestruck. "That's… insane. But it makes sense."
Einstein's expression turned serious. "But there's something strange about your story, Aion. Time should flow straight. The bizarre shifting history you experienced should not happen… unless someone is altering the past."
Aion swallowed hard. "In my time, you're supposed to be a physicist, right?"
Einstein nodded. "Correct. If you saw me as an astronaut or a president in your world, that means there's a distortion we don't yet understand. And if you can arrive in my era without a medium like my watch, then perhaps you are a different kind of time rewinder."
Aion frowned. "Different…?"
"Yes," Einstein said with a thin smile. "I need this watch to rewind time. You don't. That means there's a greater mystery behind you. Perhaps there are others like you… or like me… shaping history without the world ever knowing."
Aion sat speechless, wanting to ask more. But before he could open his mouth, the air around him began to vibrate again.
The ticking of a clock echoed unnaturally loud. A blinding light erupted.
"No! Wait—" Aion reached toward Einstein, but it was too late.
He was sucked away once more.
Darkness.
Then, light.
Aion crashed onto the museum floor, right in front of the same glass display. Tourists gasped and stared at him in confusion.
He panted, trying to make sense of what just happened. The museum looked normal again. Einstein's exhibits were back to showcasing him as a physicist, complete with the famous E=mc².
"So… I really did go to 1955," Aion muttered under his breath.
That night, he returned to London, his mind a storm of questions.
But the next day, an even greater shock awaited him.
When he unlocked his phone, the news headlines almost made him faint:
"Global Energy Crisis Deepens—Theory of Relativity Was Never Discovered."
Aion ran to campus, frantically asking his professors about Einstein.
None of them recognized the name. There were no records of him as a scientist.
It was as if… Albert Einstein had never existed.
"What the hell is happening to this world?!" Aion clutched his head.
As he walked home in panic, two mysterious men in black suits appeared in a narrow alley.
Their faces were cold, their eyes sharp.
"Aion Blake?" one of them asked in a deep voice.
"Who… are you?" Aion stepped back.
"We are the Guardians of the Sacred Temple of Time," the man said. "And you must come with us… to Alexandria, Egypt. There's much you need to learn."
The air around them shimmered again.
Aion stood frozen, his heart pounding.
He knew, his true journey had only just begun.