Time Travel

Rakien squinted his eyes, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound from the darkness. As they approached, the buzzing sound gradually became clearer—it felt like some device was emitting a low hum, like a generator tirelessly running.

"There might be... something there," Rakien whispered, his intuition telling him that something remarkable might be hidden ahead.

They continued forward, and gradually a massive ancient device came into view, half-buried in the ground, covered in thick dust, yet emitting a faint glow through the dirt, appearing to have been abandoned for years. Kahn slowly approached, wiping the dust off the surface of the device to reveal complex symbols that had a strange sheen, as if responding to them.

"What is this?" Kahn asked in surprise, his fingers gently touching the symbols.

Rakien gazed at the symbols, a sudden sense of familiarity welling up inside him. These symbols seemed like he had seen them in some dream. A vague snippet flashed in his mind: in the dream, he stood on a huge platform, with this device in front of him, and the symbols flickered before him, his fingers had unconsciously glided over these symbols, as if entering some kind of key.

"I... I think I've dreamed of these symbols," Rakien whispered, his brow furrowed.

Kahn glanced at him, frowning slightly, "You've dreamed of this too?"

Rakien nodded, closed his eyes, and tried to recall the details of the dream. That dream was so clear, as if it were some profound memory, yet distant and blurry.

"These symbols seem to be some kind of key," Rakien said, a hint of determination flashing in his eyes. He reached out and lightly slid his fingers over the symbols, his fingertips following the sequence from his dream across many complex symbols, which emitted a faint blue light as they were traced.

Suddenly, the entire device jolted, emitting a powerful hum, the deep vibration seeming to make the very ground beneath them tremble. After a moment, the large crystal at the center of the device suddenly lit up, bursting with blinding light, which then quickly spread, enveloping the entire space in a dazzling radiance.

"Good heavens... it's really started up," Kahn exclaimed, the sight before him almost unbelievable.

The crystal continued to release powerful energy, and all the devices in the room seemed to start functioning again, the air filled with some potent force fluctuations. Rakien's heart pounded in his chest; they had successfully activated this massive energy source, but what exactly was this energy? What facility did it power?

The huge screen in front of them suddenly flickered to life, displaying a dynamic image—a massive machine, standing quietly deep underground. They felt a sense of familiarity and upon closer inspection, recognized the machine on the screen as the giant time device they had discovered earlier!

"So that's it..." Rakien murmured, "This energy crystal is what powers that time machine."

Kahn was astounded; they might actually be able to use this energy to start the massive time machine.

"If, if we could start that time machine... could we go back to before the nuclear war broke out? Try to change our history?!" Kahn's bold idea filled his voice with excitement and hope.

Rakien looked at Kahn in shock, nodding, unable to believe he agreed with this crazy idea, but there was also a hint of worry in his eyes: "But how do we operate it? I can't remember, if we make a mistake, who knows what could happen."

Kahn was silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Living here is worse than dying, let's give it a shot!"

Without further hesitation, they quickly returned to the location of the time machine, and relying on Rakien's memory from his dream, they actually managed to restart the massive device. A deep hum sounded, and the entire time machine slowly awoke, the huge machine started turning, the central transport platform slowly rose, and a dazzling light screen began to form, with the surrounding instrument panels and control consoles flickering with light.

They sat in the time cockpit, setting the time to 2086, the timeline of the year before the nuclear war.

"Ready," Rakien said gravely, exchanging a glance with Kahn, both nodding to each other, their fingers trembling as they pressed start, their gaze sweeping over the time scales inside the cockpit.

The machine began to operate at high speed, the surrounding space started to distort, and then, their bodies were enveloped by an intangible force, the light flickered again, and they disappeared instantly into the torrent of time.

The world spun around them, a flash of lightning and fire...

They were torn by a powerful force, followed by intense pain like electric currents shooting through their limbs. The two of them curled up in the time cockpit in agony, as if every cell in their bodies was protesting this supernatural displacement.

After a while, everything quieted down.

It took a long time before the two slowly came to their senses. The instruments in the time cockpit emitted a faint light, showing that the energy was depleted. They slowly opened the door to the return cockpit, and to their delight, the air around them was fresh, with a hint of grassy fragrance, completely different from the dilapidated world they had just come from.

"Where are we?" Kahn struggled to stand up from the seat, holding his ribs, his eyes still dazed. His ears were buzzing, as if the aftermath of the time travel was still echoing.

Rakien also struggled to support himself as he stood up, his legs trembling slightly from the pain. He looked around and realized that he and Kahn were in a wilderness. In the distance, they could see some sparse woods, the ground covered with soft grass, the surroundings quiet and peaceful, in stark contrast to the world they had just left.

"We actually made it!! This must be before the nuclear war! The sky is actually blue! That's great!" he said hoarsely, still panting, "But the question is... where are we?"

Kahn looked up and gazed into the distance. His gaze fell on the faint outline of a city in the distance, clean and tidy high-rise buildings shimmering with silver light in the sun. These were not the ruins of the wasteland, but the buildings of a modern city, intact and vibrant. There were no signs of war or destruction anywhere, and even the air seemed so calm.

"...This really is the world before the nuclear war," Kahn murmured in disbelief.

They soon realized an urgent problem: their appearance. Both of them were still wearing the tattered clothes from the future world, clothes covered in dust and bloodstains that made them look like they had crawled out of hell. Their hair was disheveled, their faces dirty, and anyone who saw them would think they were madmen or beggars.

"We must find some clothes right away, and we need to find a place to hide the time return cockpit, it can't be discovered by anyone," Kahn whispered, his voice filled with caution. They didn't know the exact time, but they knew they were in a world that didn't belong to them.

"You're right," Rakien nodded, suppressing his doubts and trying to calm himself down.

They staggered towards the distant city, walking with difficulty, filled with vigilance. Every step was like walking on a knife's edge; they had to be careful all the time. After passing through a small grove of trees, they found a weed-covered path that wound towards a distant abandoned building. Although it looked dilapidated, it might provide them with a temporary hiding place.

"Let's go check it out," Kahn said, pointing to the distant building.