The sterile, high-tech war room of the Hayes Group R&D facility hummed with the subdued thrum of powerful machinery. Outside, the city lights of Vienna, circa 1888, twinkled with a nascent glow, a stark contrast to the ancient, shadowed currents Zayn had just begun to understand. The air within the room, however, was thick with the acrid scent of ozone and the palpable tension of impending temporal displacement. Leo, his face illuminated by the flickering holographic display, was hunched over his console, a symphony of code and historical data scrolling before him. Scarlett stood beside Zayn, her usual composure a fragile shield against the enormity of their current undertaking.
"The system has completed the initial temporal integration," Leo announced, his voice raspy, betraying the hour
