The Man Who Came From Tomorrow
"Hello, Cassian. I see you've brought the Lantern Bearer to the wrong version of tomorrow."
Orion's words hung in the air.
Nobody moved.
Elara tightened her grip around the lantern. Its golden flame had become unusually still, as if even the light was afraid to flicker.
Cassian stared at Orion.
"You're supposed to be ahead of us."
Orion tilted his head. "I am."
"Then how are you here?"
"Because you're behind."
Iris folded her arms. "Can someone explain why every conversation with you sounds like a riddle?"
Orion glanced at her. "Because ordinary answers have become dangerous."
Adrian stepped forward, placing himself slightly between Orion and Elara.
"Start making sense."
For a moment, Orion studied him. Then his gaze shifted to Elara's lantern.
"Four truths," he murmured. "Memory. Truth. Hope. Accountability."
His expression darkened.
"You've collected them in the correct order. That's unfortunate."
Elara frowned. "Why?"
"Because the Fifth Archive was never designed to be reached by someone carrying all four."
Cassian stepped closer. "You knew this?"
"I knew it could happen."
"That's not an answer!"
"No," Orion replied. "It's a warning."
The ground trembled.
Outside, the red sky over the Kingdom of Ashes began turning grey. The black mountains blurred, their outlines stretching like paintings left in the rain.
The Aurora's voice interrupted.
"Temporal instability increasing. All passengers must return immediately."
Elara looked at Orion.
"Are you coming with us?"
He smiled faintly.
"I never left."
Before anyone could respond, his body flickered.
For a fraction of a second, Elara saw three versions of him standing in the same place.
One looked young.
One looked injured.
The third was old, with silver hair and a deep scar running across his face.
Then all three became one again.
Iris stepped back.
"Absolutely not. I refuse to pretend that was normal."
Orion ignored her.
"Get aboard the Aurora. And whatever happens, don't trust the clock."
He turned toward Cassian.
"Especially if it shows your birth date."
Cassian went still.
"What do you know about my birth?"
Orion's smile disappeared.
"More than you want me to."
Then he walked through the archway.
Not away from them.
Through it.
His body vanished into the darkness beyond the ruined palace.
Adrian immediately caught Elara's hand.
"We're leaving."
This time, she didn't argue.
The Aurora was waiting beneath the pale sky.
Its white hull glowed faintly, while strange symbols moved across its surface like living stars. As soon as the four stepped aboard, the entrance sealed behind them.
The ship lifted.
Below, the Kingdom of Ashes disappeared into a storm of grey dust.
Elara placed the lantern on the central table.
The four recovered treasures floated inside it, each glowing with a different light.
The Seed of Memory.
The Crystal of Truth.
The Blossom of Hope.
The dark crystal of Accountability.
But the fifth symbol—the eye—was no longer still.
Its outline opened and closed.
Like something breathing.
Iris approached cautiously.
"Is it supposed to do that?"
"No," Adrian answered.
Elara looked toward the Aurora's central display.
"Show us the Fifth Archive."
The ship responded immediately.
A circular image appeared above the table.
At first, it looked like an ordinary planet. Then the image expanded, revealing an enormous city suspended inside a transparent sphere.
Buildings stood frozen in different stages of construction. Rivers hung motionless in the air. Thousands of people were scattered across bridges, streets, and rooftops.
Nobody moved.
Not even the birds.
A clock tower stood at the city's centre.
Its hands pointed toward twelve.
Elara leaned closer.
"Is everyone dead?"
"No," Orion's voice answered.
Everyone turned.
He was standing near the observation window.
Cassian immediately reached for his weapon.
"How did you get inside?"
Orion glanced at him. "You ask that every time."
"Because you keep appearing where you shouldn't!"
"Fair."
Adrian didn't lower his guard.
"You said you never left. Explain."
Orion looked at the frozen city.
"The Fifth Archive is called the Still Hour. It exists outside ordinary time. Every moment that someone desperately wished would never end is preserved there."
Elara studied the motionless figures.
"Every moment?"
"Every farewell. Every first meeting. Every last breath. Every second someone wanted to hold forever."
Iris looked unsettled.
"And what happens to the people trapped inside?"
"They become memories that believe they're still alive."
Silence followed.
Elara looked at the lantern.
"Why did you say the Archive may already have ended?"
Orion turned toward her.
"Because the clock stopped a long time ago."
"And?"
"And something has started moving again."
The Aurora suddenly shook.
A warning flashed across the display.
TEMPORAL COLLISION DETECTED.
The frozen city appeared again.
This time, one of its streets had changed.
A woman was walking.
Her long black hair moved in the wind. She carried a small red umbrella, despite the absence of rain.
Elara stared.
"Someone's moving."
Orion's expression tightened.
"That's impossible."
The woman stopped beneath the clock tower.
Then she looked directly toward the image.
Toward them.
Her lips moved.
The Aurora translated her words.
"The Lantern Bearer has arrived."
Elara felt a chill.
The woman lifted her hand and pointed at the clock.
Its hands moved.
One second.
Then another.
The Aurora's lights went out.
For a moment, the entire ship was swallowed by darkness.
Then a bell rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
And a voice spoke through the ship's communication system.
"Welcome back, Elara."
Her heart stopped.
Adrian turned toward her.
"Do you know that voice?"
"No."
The voice returned.
"You promised you would come back."
Elara slowly stepped away from the table.
"I've never been there."
Orion stared at the frozen city.
"That's what you believe."
Cassian grabbed his coat.
"Orion, what is happening?"
The traveler didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at Elara with an expression she had never seen on his face before.
Fear.
"Listen carefully," he said. "When we enter that city, you may meet people who remember you. Some will tell you that you lived there. Some will tell you that you died there."
Adrian tightened his hold on her hand.
"And which version is true?"
Orion looked at the clock tower.
"That's the problem."
The clock struck four.
"All versions are true."
A few minutes later, the Aurora descended toward the Still Hour.
The transparent sphere surrounding the city opened like a giant eye.
A path of silver light extended from the ship to the entrance.
Elara stood at the edge of the landing platform.
The lantern burned brighter than ever.
Adrian came beside her.
"Whatever we find there, we face it together."
She looked at him.
"You don't have to follow me into every dangerous place."
He gave her a faint smile.
"I know."
"Then why do you?"
"Because choosing to stay is also a choice."
Elara's expression softened.
She squeezed his hand.
Behind them, Iris adjusted her equipment while Cassian watched Orion carefully.
"You're hiding something," Cassian said.
Orion didn't deny it.
"Of course I am."
"Is it about the Fifth Archive?"
"Partly."
"Is it about me?"
Orion finally turned.
"Yes."
Cassian's jaw tightened.
"Then tell me."
"Not here."
"I'm tired of your secrets."
For the first time, Orion looked genuinely regretful.
"I know."
He glanced at the lantern.
"And I promise you, Cassian, the truth will be worse than the silence."
The silver path brightened.
Elara took the first step.
The others followed.
As soon as her foot touched the city's ground, the world changed.
The frozen streets stretched into the distance. The buildings rose higher than the clouds. A thousand clocks hung from the walls, each displaying a different time.
But something was wrong.
The people were no longer completely still.
A man turned his head.
A little girl blinked.
An old woman lifted a cup toward her lips.
The city was waking.
And every person was looking at Elara.
A young boy ran toward her, laughing.
"She's here!"
A woman dropped her bag.
"It's really her!"
An old man began crying.
"The Lantern Bearer has returned!"
Elara stepped back.
"Why do they know me?"
Orion remained silent.
Then the woman with the red umbrella appeared at the end of the street.
She walked toward Elara slowly.
Her face was pale, her eyes strangely familiar.
When she reached them, she looked at Elara's lantern.
Then at Elara.
And whispered:
"You're late, my child."
Elara's breath caught.
The woman reached out and touched her cheek.
"Do you remember me?"
Elara shook her head.
The woman's eyes filled with tears.
"Of course you don't."
She turned toward the clock tower.
"After all, you're the one who asked us to stop time."
Adrian immediately stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The woman looked at him.
Then her expression changed.
"You brought him back too?"
She looked at Elara with sudden terror.
"Oh, no…"
The clocks began ringing.
Every single one.
The woman grabbed Elara's wrist.
"Listen to me. You must leave before the clock reaches thirteen."
Elara looked up at the tower.
Its hands were moving rapidly.
"But there are only twelve hours!"
The woman stared at her.
"Not in this Archive."
Then she whispered the words that made Orion step backward.
"At thirteen, the person who was erased will return."
And from somewhere inside the clock tower, a familiar voice began laughing.
"I have waited long enough, Elara."
The Fifth Archive
The Thirteenth Hour
The laughter echoed through the frozen city.
Elara couldn't move.
She knew that voice.
Not because she had heard it before, but because something inside her seemed to recognize it.
The woman with the red umbrella tightened her grip around Elara's wrist.
"Don't listen to him."
Adrian stepped between them.
"Let go of her."
The woman immediately released Elara.
"I am trying to save her!"
"Then tell us what's happening," Adrian demanded.
The woman looked toward the clock tower.
"His name was Eryon. He was the first Keeper of the Still Hour. He believed time was the cruelest thing in existence because it took away everything people loved."
Orion's expression darkened.
"He wasn't the first Keeper."
The woman turned sharply.
"You know nothing about this place."
"I know what happened here."
"Then you know why we must not let the thirteenth hour begin!"
The clocks rang again.
Elara looked up.
12:08
THE STILL HOUR — TEMPORAL COUNTDOWN
The hands were moving.
Not backward.
Forward.
Iris stared at the tower. "How long until thirteen?"
The woman swallowed.
"Time doesn't pass normally here. It could take a minute. It could take a hundred years."
Cassian glanced at Orion.
"You knew about this."
Orion didn't answer.
"Of course you knew!"
"Cassian," Elara interrupted. "Not now."
She turned back to the woman.
"You said I asked you to stop time. What did you mean?"
The woman's eyes filled with sorrow.
"You were here before, Elara. Long before you became the Lantern Bearer."
"That isn't possible."
"Neither is this city. Yet here we are."
The woman reached into her coat and pulled out a small silver pendant.
It had a symbol engraved on it.
A lantern surrounded by thirteen stars.
Elara's lantern suddenly glowed.
The pendant rose from the woman's palm and floated toward it.
The moment the two objects touched, the street disappeared.
Elara stood in a different version of the city.
The sky was blue.
The buildings were alive with colour.
Children ran through the streets, people laughed from open windows, and the clock tower stood proudly at the centre.
But Elara wasn't alone.
A younger version of herself stood near the fountain.
She wore a simple white dress, and her hair moved gently in the wind.
Beside her stood a man whose face was hidden by the sunlight.
"You promised," he said.
The younger Elara lowered her head.
"I know."
"You said you would never let time take us away from each other."
"I tried."
"No. You chose."
The man stepped closer.
"You chose the world over us."
Elara watched, unable to speak.
The younger version of herself began crying.
"I had no other choice."
"There is always a choice."
The man lifted his hand.
The entire city froze.
Birds stopped in mid-flight.
Water hung motionless above the fountain.
And every person disappeared.
Except the younger Elara.
She stood alone.
Then she whispered:
"I'm sorry."
The vision shattered.
Elara gasped.
Adrian caught her before she fell.
"Elara!"
She clutched his arm.
"What did I just see?"
Orion looked away.
The woman with the red umbrella covered her mouth.
"You remembered something."
"I saw another version of myself."
"Not another version," the woman whispered. "A memory."
Elara stared at her.
"Whose memory?"
The woman looked toward the clock tower.
"Yours."
"No."
"I'm sorry."
Elara stepped backward.
"I don't remember any of that."
"That's why the Archive has been waiting."
Adrian moved closer.
"Enough. If she had a life here, explain what happened to it."
The woman looked at him carefully.
"Eryon loved her."
The words struck the silence like a stone.
Adrian's expression changed.
Elara felt his hand tighten around hers.
"Loved her?" she repeated.
The woman nodded.
"He was the person she wanted to save most. When the disaster came, he begged her to stop the clock. She refused."
"And what happened to him?" Iris asked.
The woman looked at the tower.
"He was erased from time."
A bell rang.
12:09
The city shook.
A crack appeared across the clock tower.
Something moved behind its enormous glass face.
Cassian reached for his weapon.
"Whatever is inside that tower, it's coming out."
Orion stepped forward.
"No. It wants us to come in."
"Why?" Adrian asked.
"Because the clock cannot reach thirteen without the Lantern Bearer."
Elara looked down at the lantern.
The four treasures inside it were glowing together.
"Then perhaps I should go."
"No," Adrian said immediately.
She turned toward him.
"Adrian—"
"No. We don't know what it wants from you."
Orion looked at her.
"It wants the fifth truth."
"And what is that?"
He hesitated.
"Acceptance."
Elara frowned.
"Acceptance of what?"
"Of what cannot be changed."
A bitter laugh escaped the woman.
"He makes it sound simple."
Orion's eyes narrowed.
"It isn't."
The woman turned toward Elara.
"If you enter that tower, you'll see everything you lost here. Every moment. Every promise. Every person who waited for you."
"Then I need to see it."
The woman shook her head.
"Some memories don't want to be remembered."
Elara looked at the clock.
"Neither did Malach's."
For a moment, the woman said nothing.
Then she slowly stepped aside.
"Follow the silver road. But remember one thing."
Elara waited.
"When you meet Eryon, don't promise him anything."
The path to the tower was lined with frozen statues.
Each statue depicted a person holding something precious: a wedding ring, a child's toy, a letter, a photograph.
As Elara walked past them, the lantern illuminated their faces.
She recognized none of them.
Yet each face carried the same expression.
Waiting.
Iris walked beside Cassian.
"I don't like this place."
"Neither do I."
"You're unusually quiet."
Cassian glanced at her.
"I'm thinking."
"About Orion?"
He nodded.
"Every time that man appears, something from my past comes back. Something I don't remember."
Iris lowered her voice.
"Do you think he's connected to your family?"
Cassian stopped.
"I don't know if I even had a family."
Iris looked at him.
"What?"
Before he could explain, Orion called from ahead.
"Keep moving."
Cassian's eyes hardened.
"One day, you'll answer me."
Orion didn't turn.
"I hope I get the chance."
The clock tower doors opened by themselves.
Inside, a spiral staircase led upward through an enormous chamber filled with suspended clocks.
Each clock contained a different scene.
A child celebrating a birthday.
A couple embracing at a railway station.
A soldier returning home.
A woman saying goodbye to her dying father.
Elara slowed down.
"These are people's memories."
"Yes," the woman with the red umbrella said. She had followed them inside. "The Archive preserves the moments people refuse to lose."
Adrian looked at one clock.
Inside it, a little boy was blowing out candles on a cake.
"Why keep them frozen?"
"Because some people believe that if a moment ends, it disappears forever."
Elara looked at the woman.
"What's your name?"
The woman hesitated.
"Seren."
"Seren, why are you still here?"
Her eyes moved toward the upper staircase.
"Because I promised someone I would wait."
The clock tower groaned.
A new sound emerged from above.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
Someone was descending the staircase.
Elara lifted the lantern.
A figure appeared at the top.
A man in a long black coat.
His hair was dark, and his face was partly hidden by shadows.
But his eyes were clear.
They were fixed on Elara.
"Finally," he said.
Seren stepped backward.
Orion's expression became unreadable.
The man descended another step.
"You look exactly the same."
Elara couldn't answer.
He smiled.
"Although I suppose you wouldn't remember."
Adrian stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The man ignored him.
His eyes remained on Elara.
"Do you remember the promise you made to me?"
Elara shook her head.
His smile vanished.
"You really forgot everything."
The clocks began to ring.
One by one, the suspended memories shattered into golden dust.
The tower trembled.
12:12
Seren screamed.
"No! It's too early!"
The man extended his hand toward Elara.
"Come here."
Adrian pulled her behind him.
"Stay away from her."
The man finally looked at Adrian.
His expression turned cold.
"You."
Adrian didn't move.
"You were never supposed to be here."
Elara stared between them.
"What does that mean?"
The man laughed softly.
"Oh, Elara. You really don't know?"
He pointed at Adrian.
"Ask him what happened the last time he entered this Archive."
Adrian's face went pale.
Elara turned toward him.
"Adrian?"
He didn't answer.
The man stepped closer.
"Ask him why the clock remembers him."
A deep metallic sound echoed through the tower.
The enormous clock face above them began to move.
12:13.
But instead of stopping, its hands continued.
The numbers disappeared.
One by one, thirteen unfamiliar symbols appeared around the dial.
Orion suddenly shouted:
"ELARA! CLOSE THE LANTERN!"
But it was too late.
The golden flame burst outward.
Every clock in the tower displayed the same image.
Adrian.
Standing alone beneath the clock tower.
With blood on his hands.
And a body lying at his feet.
Elara looked at him in horror.
"Adrian… what is this?"
He stared at the image.
His voice came out almost inaudible.
"A memory."
The man in black smiled.
"Not just any memory."
He leaned toward Elara.
"It's the moment Adrian killed the person who was supposed to save you."
The thirteenth bell rang.
And the entire city began moving.