Echoes of Eternity

Back at the Vanguard base, Sam found herself unable to sleep. The events in Babylon haunted her—the Ancient One, the Rift, the overwhelming power of the timelines. She had been thrown into a world beyond her understanding, but she knew one thing for certain: she couldn't turn back now.

In the Vanguard's vast library, Sam pored over ancient texts and futuristic data logs, trying to piece together what she had witnessed. The Rift wasn't just a tear in time; it was a doorway, and something was pushing from the other side.

"Can't sleep either?"

Sam looked up to see a young man, the same one who had reported the Rift disturbance earlier. He smiled nervously, holding a stack of data tablets under his arm.

"No," Sam admitted. "Too much to process."

He sat down across from her, dropping the tablets on the table. "I'm Finn. I handle most of the timeline analysis around here."

"Sam," she said, offering a tired smile. "You've been with the Vanguard long?"

"Long enough to know we've got our hands full," Finn said. "What we saw in Babylon… it's bad. Really bad. The Ancient One—he's a temporal anomaly, something outside of our control. We've been chasing rumors of beings like him for years, but we've never had confirmation until now."

Sam leaned forward, intrigued. "Do you think he's the cause of all the anomalies? The rifts?"

"Possibly," Finn said, scratching his head. "But I don't think he's working alone. There's a pattern to the disturbances, like they're being coordinated from different points in history. It's like a game of chess, and we're the pieces."

Sam frowned, her mind racing. "So, if he's manipulating the timeline… what's his endgame?"

Finn's face darkened. "That's what we're trying to figure out. But whatever it is, it's not going to be good for anyone—past, present, or future."

Before Sam could respond, the room's lights flickered, and an alarm blared through the base.

Another rift.

Lyra's voice echoed through the intercom. "All units, report to the temporal gate. Prepare for immediate deployment."

Sam's stomach clenched. The fight wasn't over. In fact, it was only just beginning.

As she followed Finn and the others to the gate, she couldn't shake the feeling that time itself was unraveling. The Ancient One had warned them that this was only the beginning.

And now, it was up to them to stop the end.