Episode 4

Chapter 4

Twelve Years Ago

The elevator came to a sudden stop with a violent jerk.

Isabelle lost her balance.

She quickly grabbed the wall for support.

For a few moments, the only sound echoing in her ears was the beating of her own heart.

Then...

Complete silence filled the elevator.

The old bulb hanging above flickered faintly once.

And then...

Ding...

The elevator doors slowly began to open.

Isabelle instinctively held her breath.

Her eyes remained fixed on the opening doors.

As if she already knew...

Whatever was waiting on the other side...

Would change her entire life forever.

The doors opened completely.

Isabelle stepped outside.

And the very next moment...

She froze in place.

"This..."

The word escaped her lips without her realizing it.

The building in front of her was the same.

But...

It was not the same as it had been only moments ago.

Lights illuminated every corner.

Fresh paint shone on the walls.

The floor was completely clean.

People were walking through the hallway.

Some hurried by carrying files in their hands.

Others laughed while talking to their colleagues.

There was life everywhere.

Isabelle blinked in disbelief.

Then she looked around once again.

"This is impossible..."

She slowly shook her head.

"I... I was just inside that abandoned building."

The confusion in her voice was impossible to hide.

She turned back toward the elevator.

The elevator was still there.

But now...

It looked brand new.

No rusted doors.

No broken walls.

Everything...

It was as if time had travelled twelve years into the past.

A familiar voice came from behind her.

"Welcome..."

Isabelle immediately turned around.

Vincent Beaumont was still standing there with the same calm expression.

A faint smile rested on his face.

"Twelve years ago."

Isabelle stopped breathing.

"What?"

She looked at him in disbelief.

"This... this is some kind of joke, isn't it?"

Vincent did not answer.

He only looked toward the wall in front of them.

Isabelle slowly followed his gaze.

A large calendar was hanging on the wall.

The year was clearly written on it.

2014

Her hands turned cold.

Her heart began racing uncontrollably.

"No..."

She barely whispered.

"This... this can't be happening..."

Isabelle's eyes were still fixed on the calendar.

2014

Just four digits...

But those four digits felt as if they had changed her entire world.

She instinctively took a step back.

"This is impossible..."

Her voice trembled.

"How... how can I have travelled twelve years into the past?"

Vincent looked at her.

The same strange calmness remained in his eyes.

As if...

He already knew she would ask this exact question.

"Sometimes..."

He spoke softly.

"...time does not move according to our wishes."

Isabelle immediately shook her head in denial.

"No."

"This is a dream."

"Or maybe... I've lost my mind."

She quickly pressed her wrist hard.

The pain was real.

It wasn't a dream.

Her breathing grew faster.

At that very moment, two employees walked past them, laughing as they continued down the hallway.

Isabelle looked at them instinctively.

They had passed so close to them...

Yet not for a single second did either of them notice her...

Or Vincent.

A frown appeared on Isabelle's forehead.

"They..."

She spoke in confusion.

"...they didn't even see us."

Vincent remained silent.

Isabelle quickly followed after the employees.

"Excuse me!"

She called out.

No one stopped.

She called again.

"Can you hear me?"

Still...

No one turned around.

As if...

She didn't even exist there.

Isabelle's steps slowly came to a halt.

She stared at her palms in disbelief.

Then she looked at the people around her.

Everyone was busy in their own world.

Only she...

And Vincent...

Had become silent spectators of this world.

Vincent looked at her silently.

Then his gaze slowly moved toward an old photograph hanging on the wall.

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

"I told you before..."

His voice was as calm as ever.

"...time does not treat every person the same way."

Isabelle immediately shook her head.

"No..."

"This is impossible."

Her eyes kept moving between the old photograph and Vincent's face.

"This is a twelve-year-old picture..."

"But you..."

Her voice slowly faded.

"...you haven't changed at all."

For a few moments, Vincent did not answer.

His eyes shifted toward the open doors of the elevator.

As if...

Behind those doors was a memory he never wanted to relive.

Finally, he spoke softly.

"I was once..."

"...just like you."

Isabelle continued staring at him silently.

For the first time, a slight exhaustion could be heard in Vincent's voice.

"Then one night..."

He looked toward the elevator.

"...I opened a door."

"And when that door closed again..."

"...my entire life had changed."

A cold shiver ran through Isabelle's body.

"Are..."

"...you talking about this same elevator?"

Vincent nodded without hesitation.

"Yes."

"This is not just an elevator."

He stepped forward a few paces.

His fingers gently brushed across the old elevator doors.

"This is a wound in time..."

"...a wound that has never healed."

Isabelle had countless questions now.

But one question was heavier than all the others.

If it was true...

If Vincent really had not changed for twelve years...

Then what had happened to him during all those years?

Isabelle was still looking at the photograph.

It felt as if everything in her mind was becoming more and more tangled.

"If you really were like this twelve years ago..."

She asked softly.

"...then where were you during all those years?"

Vincent did not answer immediately.

He looked toward the far end of the hallway.

There was a large glass door standing there.

Above the door, golden letters were written:

Research Division

Vincent spoke quietly.

"Come."

Isabelle looked at him in surprise.

"Where?"

"Where your questions begin."

The two of them started walking through the hallway in silence.

People were everywhere.

Someone was passing by carrying files.

Someone else was rushing up the stairs.

But the strange thing was...

No one looked at either of them.

Isabelle instinctively stretched her hand forward.

An employee walked right past her.

As if...

She didn't even exist there.

Her footsteps stopped for a moment.

"We..."

She whispered slowly.

"...are we really here?"

Vincent kept his eyes ahead as he answered.

"We are here..."

"But not from this time."

Isabelle couldn't understand.

She started walking beside him again.

A few steps later, they stopped in front of a locked room.

A dusty nameplate was attached to the door.

Vincent's eyes remained fixed on it.

Isabelle looked at it too.

Only two words were written there.

Project E-13

Isabelle slowly repeated the name.

"Project... E-Thirteen?"

Suddenly...

The calm expression on Vincent's face changed slightly for the first time.

As if...

Even today, that name remained a living wound for him.

To Be Continued....

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