The Edge of Time

The glow of the portal gradually dimmed, leaving an eerie silence around them.

As the darkness faded, Ricky, Sophie, Kieran, and Keeper slowly opened their eyes. They were no longer inside the dark old tunnel but in a strange place. The sky above them was a deep shade of purple, with black clouds drifting as if concealing something far greater. In the distance, they could see tall structures rising, their shapes odd made of gleaming metal that reflected different colors with each gust of wind.

"Did everyone make it through?" Sophie asked with a trembling voice, her eyes fixed on where the portal had been.

Ricky slowly stood, his gaze scanning the faces of those who survived. There were some villagers they recognized, but…the old man and several others were nowhere to be seen.

"No…" Ricky whispered, his face tightening in despair. "Not everyone made it."

Kieran clenched his fists in frustration. "They must've been left behind during the last attack. I should've done more to help them!"

"We all did our best," Keeper said solemnly. "But I can't reopen that portal to the same place. The energy is too unstable."

Sophie lowered her head, holding back tears. She remembered how the old man had offered them shelter, food, and stories of the past. Now, they might never see him again.

"We can't just leave them behind," Sophie finally said, her voice trembling but determined. "There must be another way. There has to be a way to go back."

Keeper let out a long sigh. "Maybe… but it will take time. We need to find a new energy source strong enough to open another portal, and that won't be easy."

Ricky stared into the distance, guilt gnawing at him. "We have to find a way back. We owe it to them."

Kieran placed a hand on Ricky's shoulder. "We'll find a way. But first, we need to figure out where we are now. This place…it's not the same as before."

"Is this… the future?" Sophie whispered, still adjusting her sight to the unfamiliar surroundings.

Keeper nodded slowly. "It seems like we're at the boundary between known time and unrecorded time."

"The boundary of time?" Ricky frowned. "I thought we'd be back in our time, not… here."

Kieran checked his weapon, ensuring everything was still functional. "We're alive. That's what matters right now. But we need to figure out exactly where we are."

As they walked down a cobblestone path that appeared to be remnants of a forgotten past, they began to sense something wrong. There were no sounds of animals, no signs of human life just the cold wind carrying the metallic scent of the air.

"Do you feel that?" Sophie halted, scanning the surroundings with unease.

Keeper closed his eyes, trying to sense the energy around them. "Something's watching us. But… it's not the Remnants."

Suddenly, a soft rumbling sound echoed from behind the ruins. Ricky raised his weapon, prepared for whatever might emerge. From the thin fog, a figure appeared not a feral creature like the Remnants, but someone who looked human, dressed in a long silver robe adorned with glowing symbols.

"Who are you?" the robed man asked in a calm yet firm tone, his sharp gaze fixed on them with no visible emotion.

"We're not enemies," Ricky responded quickly. "We're just trying to survive and find our way home."

The man stepped closer, followed by two others who appeared similar to him. "Not many can cross the edge of time and arrive here alive. You're… different."

"If you know this place, can you help us return to our time?" Sophie asked, a hint of hope in her voice.

The robed man remained silent for a moment before answering, "There's a price for crossing time. And more than that, there's a danger you must face before you can return."

"What danger are you talking about?" Kieran asked sharply, disliking the vagueness of the answer.

The man studied them one by one, then said, "Follow us. There's something you need to see first."

****

As they followed the robed man, the atmosphere grew even stranger. They passed ruins that appeared to be a blend of advanced technology and ancient architecture. Sophie felt the unease growing stronger in her chest.

"Have you ever been to a place like this before?" Sophie asked, trying to distract herself from the mounting fear.

"No," Keeper replied softly. "This is the first time I've heard of the boundary of time. If this place truly exists, history has never recorded it."

"History doesn't record many things, Keeper," Kieran said. "We only know what we're allowed to know."

After a few minutes of walking, they arrive at a large hall that looked like a command center. The walls were lined with holographic screens displaying various scenes from different periods past, present, and even futures they didn't recognize.

"Welcome to the Nexus," the robed man said, his voice echoing in the silent hall.

"The Nexus?" Ricky repeated, trying to grasp the significance of the place.

"This is the meeting point of all time," the man explained. "Here, we can observe, monitor, and even influence the flow of time. However, not everyone who comes here can return safely."

"You said earlier there's a danger we must face," Kieran reminded. "What exactly do you mean?"

The man pressed a button nearby, and one of the holographic screens displayed the giant metallic creature they had seen before jumping into the portal. "This being is the result of an ancient experiment that should never have existed. But because of the disturbance in time caused by your presence, it awakened earlier than it should have."

"We didn't mean to disrupt anything!" Sophie protested. "We were just trying to survive."

"And that's the problem," the man said, his gaze piercing. "Now that creature is unbound from the timeline. If left unchecked, it could destroy all of time itself."

"So what do we have to do?" Ricky asked seriously.

"You must stop it before it reaches the core of time," the man answered. "If not, everything you know will be erased."

***

Will they accept the dangerous mission to save time? Or will they seek another way home without risking their lives? The answer can only be found if they dare to step further into the deeper mysteries of the Nexus.