The Future That Must Never Exist
905 Words
The nursery remained silent long after Elias disappeared.
The single white feather rested in Lucien's trembling hand.
His face had gone completely pale.
Kael stepped closer.
"Tell me that's not what I think it is."
Lucien swallowed.
"It is."
He gently ran his thumb over the feather.
"I carved our family crest into Lyra's feathers the day she was born."
Kael examined it.
There, almost invisible to the naked eye, was a tiny raven engraved near the tip.
"No one could copy that..." Kael whispered.
Lucien nodded.
"No one."
Alina's heartbeat quickened.
"If Elias had one of Lyra's feathers..."
She couldn't finish the sentence.
There was only one possibility.
He had met Lyra.
---
EVA suddenly appeared beside them.
"Master."
"I've completed my analysis."
"And?"
"The feather is approximately..."
She paused.
"...seven hundred years newer than the others preserved inside the estate."
Silence.
Kael blinked.
"Newer?"
EVA nodded.
"It does not originate from the past."
"It originates..."
"...from the future."
---
Alina felt a chill run through her body.
"The future..."
"So Lyra survives?"
Lucien didn't answer.
His silence spoke louder than words.
"No," he finally whispered.
"If this feather comes from the future..."
"It means someone changed history."
---
Far beneath Beijing...
Inside the Seventh Gate...
The Devourer slowly opened another eye.
It smiled.
"Good..."
"The threads of time are beginning to break."
Dark tendrils spread across the ancient prison walls.
Every heartbeat weakened the seals a little more.
---
Back at Vale Estate...
Martha hurried into the nursery.
"My King."
"We have visitors."
Lucien frowned.
"I ordered the estate sealed."
"They didn't ask permission."
The ground suddenly shook.
Outside, engines roared.
Alina walked to the window.
A convoy of sleek black armored vehicles entered the estate without stopping.
Each bore the silver raven emblem of Vale Dynamics.
Dozens of armed security officers stepped out.
At their center stood a woman in a charcoal business suit, carrying a digital tablet.
She looked no older than thirty.
Sharp green eyes.
Black hair tied into a neat ponytail.
Professional.
Confident.
Beautiful.
The moment she saw Lucien, she bowed respectfully.
"Good morning, Mr. Vale."
Kael smirked.
"Perfect timing."
Alina looked confused.
"Who is she?"
Lucien sighed.
"My Chief Executive Officer."
---
A few minutes later...
Everyone gathered inside the manor's executive conference room.
Unlike the ancient chambers below, this room looked like the headquarters of a global technology empire.
Floor-to-ceiling holographic displays.
Interactive maps.
Quantum processors humming beneath transparent floors.
The woman placed her tablet on the table.
"My name is Victoria Chen."
She looked toward Alina.
"It is an honor to finally meet you."
Alina smiled politely.
"You know who I am?"
Victoria hesitated.
"I've known for six years."
Alina stared at Lucien.
"You never told me your company knew."
Lucien answered quietly.
"I trust Victoria with my life."
Victoria smiled.
"I've saved it often enough."
---
She activated the holographic display.
Vale Dynamics' logo dissolved into a map of the world.
Hundreds of red markers appeared.
"Our satellites have confirmed the locations of every antimatter crystal."
Alina frowned.
"Can we destroy them?"
Victoria shook her head.
"If one explodes..."
"The others will detonate automatically."
Kael crossed his arms.
"So it's a dead man's switch."
"Exactly."
Victoria zoomed in on Beijing.
"However..."
"I discovered something unusual."
One crystal beneath the city center glowed blue instead of red.
Lucien immediately stood.
"Enlarge it."
The image sharpened.
A hidden underground laboratory appeared beneath the subway network.
Victoria looked at Lucien.
"The blue crystal isn't a bomb."
"It's transmitting data."
"To where?"
She took a deep breath.
"Not where."
"When."
The room fell silent.
---
EVA completed the calculation.
"Confirmed."
"The signal is traveling through time."
Alina slowly sat down.
"So..."
"Elias wasn't lying."
Lucien looked toward the hologram.
"They're communicating with the future."
Victoria nodded.
"And someone in the future is answering."
---
Suddenly...
Umbra growled.
His ears flattened.
He rushed toward the balcony doors.
They burst open.
A black raven landed on the railing.
It wasn't ordinary.
Its feathers shimmered like obsidian.
Around its leg was tied a small silver scroll.
The bird looked directly at Alina.
Then bowed.
She carefully untied the scroll.
It contained only one sentence.
Written in elegant silver ink.
"Don't trust Victoria."
Alina looked up in shock.
Victoria was still standing at the opposite end of the room, calmly explaining the map.
She couldn't have written it.
No one had entered.
No one had left.
Alina quietly folded the note and slipped it into her pocket.
Should she tell Lucien?
Or was the message itself a trap?
Before she could decide...
Victoria's tablet suddenly beeped.
She glanced at the screen.
For just a fraction of a second...
Her composed expression disappeared.
Fear.
Real fear.
She looked toward the window and whispered so softly that only Alina heard it.
"They found me..."
At that exact moment...
Every screen inside the conference room turned black.
A single line of white text appeared.
HELLO, VICTORIA.
Then another.
DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD HIDE FROM ME ACROSS TIME?
Victoria's hands began to shake.
Lucien slowly turned toward her.
His voice was calm.
But dangerously cold.
"Victoria..."
"Who is looking for you?"
She looked at him with tears in her eyes.
Then whispered the words that changed everything.
"I don't work for you because you hired me..."
"I work for you because..."
"...you're the one who saves my life."
"But not until... twenty-three years from now."
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD