London, 2025.
Aion ran through the rain-soaked streets, lungs burning, shoes splashing against the wet pavement. His heart pounded, not just from exhaustion but from fear. They were here again. The two men in black, always appearing no matter how many times he rewound the day.
"I've reset three times already," Aion muttered through clenched teeth, sweat dripping down his temple. He shut his eyes, letting time twist—
—and the world snapped back.
Morning again. The alarm buzzed, sunlight cut through the curtains.
This time, he didn't even leave his apartment. He sat on the floor, back pressed against the wall, trembling. "If I stay here… they won't find me."
But when he glanced out the window, the two men stood across the street, watching him silently. One of them raised his hand and wagged a finger, as if mocking his attempt.
Aion almost shut his eyes again, ready to rewind—when their voices thundered inside his skull.
"Stop! Every rewind tears this world apart!"
And the world did tear apart.
The sky shattered into streaks of red. Sirens wailed from every direction. Buildings cracked, glass rained from shattered windows. And then came the sound—the chilling hiss of something not human.
They emerged from alleys, from broken streets, from the dark sky itself: figures shaped like humans, but wrong.
Their skin was pale, almost translucent. Their eyes were gray voids without a trace of life. Their movements were unnaturally fast, but jerky, as if pulled by invisible strings. No voices, no screams—only low hissing breaths.
Bio-engineered humans.
They attacked without hesitation. They grabbed people by the throat, slammed them into walls, tore through flesh as if it were paper. London became a silent slaughterhouse.
Aion froze, terror flooding his veins.
His phone rang. The name "Mom" flashed on the screen. With trembling hands, he answered.
"Mom?! I'm here! Hold on!"
Her voice cracked with fear, screams and shattering glass in the background. "Your father—they killed him! They broke in! Aion… they're not human!"
"What?!" Aion's voice broke, panic rising like fire in his chest.
Her final scream pierced his ears. Then silence. The call dropped.
The phone slipped from his hand, crashing onto the pavement. Aion staggered, tears blurring his vision. "No… No… NO!!!"
He ran. He didn't care where. He had to see someone alive. Lisa. Professor Morgan. Anyone.
But the university was gone—nothing but fire and rubble. Students' bodies littered the courtyard, faces he recognized twisted in death.
Another explosion shook the ground. He turned. His apartment tower collapsed in flames, the place he called home gone forever.
Aion fell to his knees. His chest tightened until he could barely breathe. His entire world was gone in a single day.
Shaking, he closed his eyes. "I can fix this… I'll rewind… I'll bring them back!"
But before time could shift, a hand seized his shoulder.
"Stop!" one of the men in black roared.
Aion whipped his head around, eyes swollen from tears. "Let me go! They're dead—I can still save them!"
"You'll only make it worse," the second man said, his voice cold, unshakable.
And then—they were surrounded. Three bio-engineered humans lunged from the ruins, their hollow eyes locked onto prey.
Aion stumbled back, terror-stricken.
But the men didn't flinch.
The first raised his hand, and a glowing sigil erupted in the air. Light split into razor-sharp shards that sliced one of the creatures into fragments.
The second drew a thin blade from his coat, his movements fluid, precise. One slash—one head rolled to the ground. Another stab, another body crumpled. Black blood stained the earth.
In seconds, the monsters were dead. Silence fell, broken only by Aion's ragged breathing.
He stared at them in horror and awe. "What… who are you?"
The first man's gaze pierced through him. "We are Keepers of the Sacred Temple of Time. And you… you are the reason this world collapses."
Aion's lips trembled. "The reason? No—I just wanted to save them! I only wanted my family back!"
His knees gave out. Tears streamed down his face, dripping onto the broken ground. "I lost everything. I'm all alone…"
The second man's expression softened only slightly. "Not yet. You still have a chance to restore it. But not through your rewinds. You're only a fragment of something much greater."
Aion raised his head slowly, eyes red and swollen. "What do you mean?"
The man leaned close, his voice low, deliberate. "This all began because of one thing—Einstein vanished from history. Without him, the world turned down a darker path. Science did not guide humanity… it twisted it into this."
The words struck him like thunder.
"Einstein… vanished?" Aion whispered.
The first man nodded. "And the answer lies in Alexandria, Egypt. Beneath its ancient streets lies a city where time itself is hidden."
Another explosion rocked the city. Dozens of bio-engineered humans poured into the streets, hunting survivors.
The second man extended his hand toward Aion. "Come with us. If you truly want to save your parents, your friends, your world… Alexandria is the only path."
Aion looked at the hand, then at the burning remains of London. He saw his father's laugh, his mother's warm voice, Lisa's teasing smile—all swallowed by fire.
His tears fell again, but this time with resolve. With trembling fingers, he took the man's hand. "If this is the only way… then I'll go."
The first man drew a circular seal from his coat. It glowed with pale blue light, the air humming as reality itself warped.
A portal tore open before them, swirling with impossible energy.
"Welcome to the true path, Aion," the second man said. "In Alexandria, you'll learn who you really are… and why time chose you."
With one last glance at his destroyed city, Aion stepped into the light.
The world vanished into darkness.