Chronicles of Time: Awakening

Prologue

⏱Chronicles of Time: Awakening ∞

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『 January 29, 20XX 』

It was cold. Night had fallen when everything happened. There was nothing left to do except for one last time capsule in Charlie's watch.

I had no strength to stand, so I crawled across the floor to it. Charlie was dead after we were ambushed trying to save the future. The others were motionless too, probably dead. My body was cooling rapidly; there was little time left to reach the capsule in the watch.

When I finally got to Charlie, I saw her eyes open, empty and lifeless. I was stunned by the explosion, probably deaf in one ear, and everything seemed in slow motion. My vision was blurred, and pain dominated my body. I realized why I couldn't stand: my legs were broken.

In the distance, I heard the sounds of the "Molkers" approaching. The white room was completely destroyed. It was impossible to lower the gates in time. I took the watch off Charlie's wrist, and instantly, her body disappeared. The only thing keeping her in this timeline was the temporal impulse watch, now in my hands, stained with blood.

My watch was broken; I couldn't transfer the time capsule from her watch to mine. I had no choice. It was risky, but I put on Charlie's watch. It wasn't too damaged, just the screen a little cracked. "Thank goodness." I tried to set it to when it all began, but something went wrong. The watch activated a security protocol after Charlie's death and self-configured to another year. I couldn't see which year it was because the screen was broken. "But how?" Nothing made sense. By the time I realized it, the "Molkers" were already there, sniffing the bodies. Fortunately, these monsters are blind and rely on hearing and smell, although they aren't very good at detecting scents.

I was paralyzed. "If I move, I'll be torn apart by them." They began approaching the bodies around me and me, one for each of us. They must have had a plan B in case there were survivors. "Bastards!" I looked at Charlie's watch on my wrist. I couldn't jump; the watch was in automatic mode, and only she knew how to deactivate it.

One of the "Molkers" got close to my face. I held my breath with difficulty. The "Molkers" move on all fours, standing about one meter seventy-five. When they stand upright, they double in size. Their skin is smooth and dark, and they have a putrid breath. They look like aliens with flat heads, but what stands out are their large teeth and tongue that pierces through bodies like butter.

That Molker seemed suspicious that I was alive. At that moment, the watch let out a "beep," making all the Molkers alert in my direction. The one near my face made a loud sound. I covered my ears, and the watch activated, making me jump to wherever it was...

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『 July 20, 1969 』

Suddenly, I wake up as if I had just seen a nightmare. I'm dizzy, as if my head is spinning. The first thing I notice, as my vision slowly returns, is the absolute silence of the place, followed by a strange sense of displacement. Everything around seems different, but when I look at my hands, it gets even worse: these hands are not mine.

I try to get up, but a strange weight makes me hesitate. I look around and see a mirror. The image reflected is Charlie's. "What's happening?" I think, feeling panic starting to take over.

I get up, staggering, trying to adapt to the new body. The memory of the "Molkers" and the destroyed room is still fresh in my mind. Charlie's watch on my wrist is no longer damaged, and the date shows: July 20, 1969, the panel changing to a normal clock face after I saw the date.

I begin to investigate the environment, realizing I am in a small apartment. On the television, a news report about the Apollo 11 mission and the imminent Moon landing is playing. Everything feels so surreal.

I need to find out how and why I am in Charlie's body. And, more importantly, I need to find a way to return to my own body and time.

My mission is clear: understand what is happening and find a way to fix it before something worse happens.

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