Chapter 5: The Clouds Before the Rain

Alec’s team gathers in their laboratory, pushing through the frustration of Lina’s abduction and the growing threats posed by the time anomalies. Each member—Ruson, Ulbert, and Snow—is tirelessly contributing their expertise, keeping morale high, while Yusen works in secret to solve the most pressing problem of all: how to send these time anomalies back to their original periods.

Suddenly, their alarm system blares, warning of intruders at the lab’s perimeter. Through the security monitors, Alec and his team witness an armed group approaching. They appear tribal, dressed in garments similar to those worn by the tribe that took Lina. Wielding primitive but deadly weapons, they advance with determined rage. To them, Alec and his team are intruders, demonic beings who have banished them to this hostile, futuristic time.

The lab is thrown into chaos. Alec and his team scramble to secure critical data, but the tribe has already breached the outer defenses. With each passing second, the attackers grow closer, determined to destroy the technology they don’t understand and end the lives of those they believe are responsible for their plight.

As Alec and his team prepare for the worst, Yusen remains in the lab’s depths, intensely focused on assembling a device. This device, if it works, will be able to send anomalies like the hostile tribe back to their proper place in time. He knows this is a high-stakes gamble; if he fails, the facility will be destroyed—and with it, their only hope of locating and rescuing Lina.

The clash intensifies. Ruson, Ulbert, and Snow work with Alec to create makeshift defenses, using any available resources to fend off the attackers. The lab shakes with the sounds of battle as their defenses weaken, and the team begins to fear the worst. Just as the attackers break through their final line of defense, Yusen emerges, holding a device pulsing with energy.

“Everyone, stand back!” he commands, activating the device with a flick of his wrist.

A shimmering portal materializes in the center of the room, pulling the attackers toward it with a powerful force. Alec and his team watch in awe as the tribe members are enveloped by the portal’s glow, one by one vanishing back to their rightful era.

In the aftermath, the lab is left in disarray, but the immediate threat has passed. Yusen, breathing heavily from the exertion, looks at Alec and his team, his gaze steady.

“This is only the beginning,” he says, knowing the price they’ll continue to pay to preserve the timeline.