Alexander and Adrian walked through the stone maze, and every step seemed to be on the debris of time. Finally, they arrived at the central square of the ancient city of Zifara. The ruins cast long shadows in the moonlight, but they could not cover up the former glory of the city. Only the incomplete outlines of the towering towers remained, and the vague patterns carved on the magnificent arches seemed to tell a forgotten history.
"It's hard to imagine how magnificent this place was," Alexander said softly, his eyes full of awe.
Adrian nodded, his eyes swept over every detail in the square: "Yes, Zifara was once the center of knowledge and wisdom. Look at the design of those buildings, every detail is profound."
He pointed to a half-collapsed circular building, topped by a huge glass dome, which was broken, but its exquisite structure could still be seen.
"That's the observatory," Adrian explained. "The scholars of Zifara predict the future and understand the mysteries of the universe by observing the stars."
Alexander approached the observatory and noticed that the walls were covered with complex star maps and symbols. Those symbols seemed to glow faintly in the moonlight, exuding a mysterious atmosphere. He couldn't help but reach out to touch those symbols, and suddenly, the entire observatory began to emit a faint blue light.
"Be careful!" Adrian warned, but it was too late.
A beam of light shot out from the dome, projecting the entire night sky around them. The shadows of stars, planets, and constellations rotated in the air, as if they were in the universe. Countless points of light flickered, weaving into a large and complex star map, as if showing them the mysteries of the universe.
Alexander looked at all this in amazement, as if attracted by this fantastic scene: "This... This is amazing!"
Adrian carefully observed the projection, his eyes full of solemnity: "This is not just a star map, Alexander. Look, those constellations are moving, they are telling a story."
As they observed, the constellations began to reorganize, forming different scenes: a group of scholars in front of an ancient stone tablet, concentrating on studying the stars; a large-scale war, countless warriors fighting on a battlefield filled with smoke; finally, a huge vortex swallowed everything and dragged the entire city into darkness.
"This is the history of Zifara," Adrian whispered, with a hint of sadness in his voice, "from prosperity to destruction. But the last vortex... That was not a natural disaster, but some kind of powerful magic."
Alexander frowned, feeling uneasy: "Do you think this is related to the guardian of knowledge?"
"It's very likely. We need more clues."
They continued to explore the city, and every step was full of surprises and dangers. In the ruins of a library, they found some well-preserved scrolls. Adrian carefully unfolded one of the scrolls. The text on it was written in an ancient language, exuding a faint scent of ink.
"This is... an experimental record," he said in surprise, "describing a magic that can manipulate time."
Alexander looked closer and carefully identified the ancient text: "Did they succeed?"
Adrian shook his head, his eyes full of confusion: "The record is interrupted here. But..." He pointed to a line of small words at the bottom of the scroll, which read "The cost is too high."
Just then, they heard a strange sound coming from a distance, like the sound of metal colliding, with an unsettling rhythm. Following the sound, they came to a huge circular square. In the center of the square stood a huge hourglass, but the sand inside was blue and... flowing in the opposite direction.
"This is impossible," Alexander exclaimed, he couldn't understand what he saw.
Adrian approached the hourglass cautiously, his face full of solemnity: "Be careful, Alexander. This may be the product of that time magic experiment."
Suddenly, the hourglass began to vibrate violently, and the blue sand spun rapidly, making a strange buzzing sound. The air around him twisted, and Alexander felt dizzy, as if the whole world was spinning.
"Adrian!" he shouted, reaching for his teacher, but it was too late.
A strong light flashed, and Alexander found himself standing alone in the square. But this square... looked brand new. The surrounding buildings were brand new, and the square was full of people coming and going, full of vitality. On the streets, people were wearing bright clothes and their faces were filled with happy smiles.
"I... went back to the past?" Alexander murmured to himself, both terrified and curious.
A woman in a robe approached him with a gentle smile on her face: "You look lost, young man. Do you need help?"
Alexander took a deep breath and decided to take this opportunity: "Yes, I... I'm looking for the Keeper of Knowledge. Can you tell me where she is?"
The woman smiled: "Of course, she's in that tower. But be careful, her experiments have become more and more... dangerous recently."
After thanking her, Alexander walked towards the tower. He knew that this might be the only chance to understand Zifara's fate. But at the same time, he also understood that he was interfering with history, which could bring unforeseen consequences.
Just as he was about to reach the tower, the sky suddenly darkened and a huge vortex appeared over the city. People began to scream and flee in all directions, and the whole city fell into chaos.
Alexander recognized the scene - it was the last scene he saw in the observatory. He realized that he was at the moment of the destruction of Zifara.
"No!" he shouted, trying to run to the tower, but the power of the vortex was too strong and he couldn't move.
Just then, he felt someone grab his hand. It was Adrian.
"Alexander! Focus! This is not real!" Adrian's voice penetrated the chaos with a firm force.
Alexander closed his eyes and concentrated all his willpower, as if to gather all his strength to one point. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the ruined square, with Adrian standing beside him, his face full of worry.
"Are you okay?" Adrian asked, his eyes full of concern, "You just experienced a time illusion."
Alexander panted and slowly calmed down. He still felt palpitations, as if he had just woken up from a nightmare: "I... I saw the destruction of Zifara. Adrian, we must prevent history from repeating itself."
Adrian nodded seriously: "Yes, but first we need to understand what happened. Come on, we must find the residence of the guardian of knowledge. The answer must be there."
They left the square and headed towards the tower in the center of the city. Alexander's heart was full of determination. He knew that the next discovery might change everything.