The first thing he saw was a massive structure, resembling an ancient altar, located deep within a colossal room and made of old, worn stones. Each stone of the altar seemed as if it had been taken from another world. Their surfaces were covered with intricate symbols; these symbols carried the remnants of a ritual that had once overflowed with power.
Atop the altar sat a sphere emitting a greenish light. This sphere radiated a mysterious aura around it; its light seeped into the dark corners of the room, illuminating everything in an enigmatic way. The energy emanating from the sphere was at once soothing and foreboding, like a harbinger of an uncontrollable danger.
The ceiling of the room was supported by massive arched columns, each adorned with carvings that told the legends of ancient times. Hanging on the walls were tapestries that had withstood the test of time, depicting scenes of forgotten battles and moments of chaos from ancient eras. The towering height of the ceiling gave a humbling sense of vastness. Chains hanging from the upper floors were connected to old lamps and chandeliers suspended in the air, but none of these lamps were lit. Only the green sphere illuminated the depths of the room.
On the floor, there was a circle that looked as if it had been carved with magic. This circle resembled the mystical symbols of the sun and moon, giving the impression that it was waiting for the opening of an ancient gate. The surrounding air was heavy and dense; with every breath, it felt possible to sense the weight of memories accumulated over centuries.
As Alex approached the center of the room, the green sphere began to slowly take shape. The sphere shimmered into a beam of vibrating light, and eventually, the image that appeared before Alex was Jessy herself. However, she looked different from the Jessy in his memory; her facial features were sharper, her gaze deeper and more mature. Alex realized how much he missed her, even though it hadn't even been a month. But the Jessy before him seemed as if she had emerged from the depths of time, bearing the weight of many years.
With a glance that seemed to scan her surroundings carefully, Jessy's image turned, almost as if she were checking something. She gently brought her hand to her face as if trying to wipe away tears forming in her eyes. Every movement was calm yet intense, as if imbued with meaning. Finally, her eyes locked onto Alex. That gaze struck Alex's heart like an arrow. Without even realizing it, he began to speak.
"I've never seen you cry before, Detective."
Jessy began to speak without reacting to Alex.
"Today is my last day here," she said, her voice echoing with a slight tremble."Mr. Logan asked if I wanted to make one last voice recording. I think he knows Alex is starting at the academy this year, and he wants me to leave a note for him."Jessy took a deep breath, as if trying to regain control over her emotions. Then she continued, choosing her words carefully."First of all, you are not the Alex I was looking for. Likewise, I am not the Jessy you were looking for. I don't even know what I can tell you... Ah, this is madness. They wouldn't even allow you in here..."
As Jessy's voice faded, Alex felt the urge to move closer to the image, as if he didn't want to lose her again. He reached out toward Jessy's face, driven by a deep desire to touch her, knowing it would change nothing. Yet this movement eased the emptiness inside him a little. Reaching for Jessy was like forming a connection with her memory; even if only temporarily, he wanted to feel the warmth of that moment.
When Jessy's voice echoed once more, Alex had already pulled back.
"Time is such a strange thing... Did Kai tell you? Why he chose me?"
As the words from Jessy's hologram resonated, Alex increasingly felt the weight of what Kai had told him. The "Kaizen Transformation Process" Kai had mentioned and the necessity of a transfer when the planet came to an end gnawed at his mind. The importance of carrying the massive information system, of which Jessy was also a part, to the next planetary cycle remained a giant question mark in Alex's mind.
"To summarize briefly, if there is no transmitter when the new cycle of the planet begins, there will be no one to rebuild Kaizen and the entire system. That means our temporary balance will end before it even begins."Jessy's voice softened, reflecting her sadness."So, tell me, how long do you think it would take to memorize all this accumulated knowledge?"
Jessy smiled. It was a smile full of pain; the years of suffering reflected on her face.
"Maybe you're thinking dozens of years," she said softly, "but even if you guessed tens of thousands of years, you would still be far off."
"That's impossible. I heard the planet had at most fifty years left—" Alex had paused, realizing he already knew the answer."Unless you traveled back in time..."
"So you..."The woman before him might have been living for hundreds of thousands of years, yet it still seemed impossible to Alex. He thought only he could travel through time, and bringing someone else along was impossible.
"How is that even possible?" he asked himself aloud. Jessy's hologram remained silent; he knew it wouldn't answer him, but he couldn't help but voice his thoughts."Did I take you back in time?"
Hologram Jessy touched a device resembling a console, causing the greenish shape to change. A new image appeared, showing Alex and Jessy together. The details in the photograph caught Alex's attention. The surroundings didn't resemble their current era. It was a stone temple, surrounded by massive columns, with ancient decorations covering the walls. Greenish moss and vines wound between the sand and stone mosaics on the ground. What was depicted seemed like a scene from an ancient world gleaming under the sun. It was most likely a temple, with dirt paths, handmade stone structures, and even horse-drawn carriages visible around them. This was a memory from an entirely different age.
Jessy's voice pulled Alex back from his thoughts.
"Our main goal was not to prepare me for the Transformation Process," Jessy said, her voice trembling with a weary yet determined tone."We were trying to find an alternative to save the world. We traveled back in time to buy some time. But when you left without returning, I had no choice but to imprint the entire library into my mind."
Taking a deep breath while focusing on the details of the pictures, she continued:
"I know you are just beginning to discover your abilities now. But when the time comes... your younger self will travel back in time with me and buy me the time needed to embed this damned library into my mind."
Alex struggled to absorb what he was hearing. Why hadn't Kai mentioned any of this? Then again, Kai never talked about anything. More and more unanswered questions piled up in his mind. Where was Jessy now, whom he hadn't seen for weeks? If the older Jessy was here, where was the older Alex?
The words that escaped Alex's mouth couldn't dispel the chaos in his mind:
"Jessy, what happened to me?"
Jessy's holographic image refocused on Alex, her eyes welling up again.
"I wish you were here. One day, while everything was going right, you suddenly disappeared. The only thing that kept me standing was the mystery of it. The hope that you would one day return..."Jessy's voice trembled, each word laden with emotion that pierced through Alex's soul."No matter what happened to you that day, never forget that I loved you in every time."
As Jessy's last words echoed through the room, the image slowly faded, and the greenish sphere returned to its original form. Alex felt as if he had lost a part of himself. As the weight of all the unanswered questions in his mind pressed down on his shoulders, her final confession struck at one of his deepest fears. Had he truly lost Jessy, just like his father? What had made him leave her behind?
He turned and walked toward the exit. His steps grew heavier with each movement. His thoughts were still consumed by Jessy. Leaving her behind like this felt wrong, but there was nothing he could do. When the time came, he would bring her back. But would the planet and humanity be worth this sacrifice? Was the only path to salvation through the Transformation Process? If Kai had believed in him, could they have found another way?
While pondering these questions, he thought of his father — the one person he knew who had the most human love within him. As he entered a room filled with special plants from the garden, he suddenly collapsed onto the floor and closed his eyes. Alex could feel it now — his Point of Serenity was this very moment of despair, and he had reached it.
Questions continued to echo endlessly in Alex's mind:Was this a dream, or simply a different reflection of reality?Why did every door lead back to where he started?Was he nothing but a miserable soul who thought he had authority over time yet couldn't change anything?Most importantly, who was he?
Every door he opened was a search for an answer to a different question, yet each time, he returned to where he began. The endless loop in his mind was driving him to despair. Right at the heart of this dead end, a familiar voice echoed.
The voice reverberated ceaselessly in Alex's mind, pulling him from the cycle.
"It's not about opening doors, son, it's about when you open them."
It was his father's voice. Alex quickly turned around but couldn't see him. Only the voice was there, but it was enough for Alex.
"It's you... My only wish was to see you one more time... Just one more time!" said Alex, his words choking in his throat. The desire to see his father once more brought a surge of emotions in the midst of all this chaos.
Voices echoed again from all around, as if coming from Alex's past.
"Gather your thoughts, Alex. We are not what matters, son. Remember, we are good people and..."
Alex remembered what his father used to say. To complete the sentence, he slowly opened his mouth, his eyes brimming with tears.
"Good people have no place in this world; we matter only through what we leave behind."
These words flashed like lightning in Alex's mind. His father's final letter... Maybe all the answers he sought were hidden there. He had never forgotten the last lines of the letter:
"I hope you can forgive me for what I'm about to do, son. Remember, if making others happy makes you happy, then there will still be hope for humanity..."
"Hope for humanity... You did something, didn't you? You sacrificed yourself for something? You knew everything, Dad... You knew it all..."
At that moment, Alex realized the truth. The answers he sought were not in the future but hidden among the shadows of the past.
End of Chapter IV