Visions of the Past

Maya jolted upright in her chair, her breath uneven, heart racing. The cold air of her lab clashed with the lingering warmth of the vision she had just experienced no, lived. She could still feel the rough linen of the priest's robes, hear the murmuring chants of a long-lost ceremony, and smell the thick incense that had burned in the temple. It wasn't just a dream. It was too real.

Her eyes darted to the artifact resting on the table before her, its hieroglyphs faintly shimmering in the dim light. What was this thing? How had it pulled her mind across time, into the body of someone who had lived thousands of years ago?

Maya grabbed her notebook and began to scribble furiously, recounting every detail of the vision.the ceremony, the priest's whispered warnings about "sky visitors," the presence of an unseen power guiding their rituals. As an archaeologist, she had spent her life piecing together the fragments of the past, but this… this was something else entirely. She wasn't just studying history. She was living it.

A sharp knock on the lab door startled her.

"Maya?" A familiar voice carried through the door Dr. Elias Carter, her closest colleague and, at times, her fiercest skeptic. "You in there?"

Maya hesitated, glancing back at the artifact. If Elias saw the state she was in disheveled, hands trembling, eyes wide with exhaustion he'd demand answers she wasn't ready to give.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to steady. "Yeah, come in."

Elias pushed the door open, his sharp green eyes sweeping over her workspace. He was in his late forties, with graying temples and the air of a man who had seen too many promising theories crumble under the weight of facts. He frowned at the mess of papers, notebooks, and translation guides scattered across her desk.

"You look like you haven't slept in days," he said, stepping inside and crossing his arms. "Which, knowing you, probably isn't far from the truth."

Maya managed a weak smirk. "You'd be right. I've been working on translating the inscriptions on this." She gestured toward the artifact, careful to avoid touching it again.

Elias leaned in, examining the strange mix of hieroglyphics and unknown symbols. He whistled low. "I've seen a lot of Egyptian relics, but this? This is something else. Where exactly did you find it again?"

"Beneath the Sphinx," she said, keeping her tone neutral.

Elias raised an eyebrow. "You mean the Sphinx? As in, one of the most heavily studied sites in history? And yet, somehow, you found something no one else has?"

She exhaled. "It was in a sealed chamber, one that wasn't on any of the site maps. I think it was deliberately hidden."

Elias studied her face. "And why do I get the feeling you've already figured out more than you're telling me?"

Maya hesitated. She wanted to trust him, but how did she even begin to explain what had happened? That she had become an Egyptian priest in the past? That she had felt his memories, his fears? No. She needed more proof before she could confide in anyone even Elias.

"I just have a feeling this artifact is more than it seems," she said carefully. "I need more time to study it."

Elias sighed. "Maya, you know I respect your instincts. But if this thing is as important as you think it is, you can't keep it to yourself. Artifacts like these belong to the academic community. You need to publish your findings."

She forced a smile. "I will. Soon."

Elias didn't look convinced, but he didn't push further. Instead, he straightened and turned toward the door. "Just… be careful. You're not the only one interested in uncovering the past."

Maya frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Elias hesitated. "There have been rumors about a private corporation sniffing around ancient sites lately. High-level tech firms funding 'research' projects, but not exactly sharing their discoveries with the rest of us."

A chill ran down Maya's spine. "Do you have a name?"

Elias nodded. "Novus Corp."

The name struck her like a thunderclap. Novus Corp was one of the world's leading technology firms, known for its work in artificial intelligence and quantum computing. But why would a tech giant be interested in an ancient Egyptian artifact?

She forced herself to remain calm. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Elias."

He gave her one last skeptical glance before heading out the door. The moment it clicked shut, Maya exhaled, her mind racing. If Novus Corp was involved in archaeological digs, it wasn't for academic curiosity. They were looking for something something valuable.

And she had a feeling that whatever it was, she had just found it first.

Maya turned back to the artifact, her pulse quickening. She had to understand what she was dealing with before anyone else got their hands on it. And that meant one thing.

She needed to activate it again.

Taking a deep breath, she reached out and placed her fingers gently on the device. This time, she welcomed the sensation the warmth spreading through her fingertips, the pull at the edges of her consciousness.

The lab around her flickered and vanished.

When the world reassembled, she was no longer Dr. Maya Chen.

She was someone else.

And the past was calling her once more.