Leo couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The classroom had returned to its usual hum, with students flipping pages and Professor Hargrove dissecting the downfall of a man who'd once ruled an empire. But for Leo, the air crackled with an inexplicable tension. He glanced down at Julius Caesar, but it was more than a textbook now. The paper felt strange under his fingertips, warmer, as if it were pulsing with a hidden energy.
"Leo," Mara whispered, tilting her head at him. She'd caught the odd look in his eye. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Leo said, shaking off the strange sensation and plastering on a smile. "Just… tired, I guess." He didn't mention the way the words on the page had seemed to shimmer, as if mocking him with the knowledge that he was only scratching the surface.
The class droned on, but Leo's mind was elsewhere, dissecting every detail of what had happened moments before. When the bell finally rang, signaling the end of the lecture, he shoved the book into his backpack and headed out the door, barely hearing Hargrove's parting comment about "the choices that define us."
Mara fell into step beside him as they walked through the quad. The campus was alive with chatter and the scent of fresh grass, students lounging in the shade or hurrying to their next class. Leo's phone buzzed in his pocket, and he took it out to check the notification: a reminder for his part-time job at the local library that evening. He sighed. The day was already dragging, and it hadn't even reached noon.
"So, what's got you staring off into space today?" Mara asked, eyes twinkling with curiosity. She was always asking questions that peeled away at the layers of the people around her. The truth was, Leo wasn't sure he could answer her even if he wanted to.
"Just thinking about that assignment," he muttered, half-truths dancing off his tongue.
Mara raised an eyebrow, unconvinced, but she dropped it as they reached the courtyard. She waved him off with a smile. "Don't forget the seminar on historical narratives tonight. I'll see you there."
"Of course." Leo nodded, watching her walk away before turning back toward his dorm. He needed a break, a chance to clear his mind. Maybe that's why he ended up at the library, seeking solace among the towering stacks and the scent of old books and ink.
The library was quieter than usual, with only a few students scattered across the reading tables. Leo settled into a corner with a worn-out copy of Julius Caesar, flipping to the page that had made him shiver earlier. Nothing seemed out of place now. The words were just words, static and normal.
But as he ran his fingers across the page, he felt it again—a pulse, a subtle vibration as if the book itself were alive. A bead of sweat formed on his temple as he stared, and before he could even process what was happening, the air around him thickened, bending in a strange, shimmering wave.
A sudden rush of wind exploded through the room, knocking papers to the floor and sending a shiver down his spine. The library lights flickered, casting fractured shadows across the walls. His heart pounded in his chest, and instinct took over. He reached out, grabbing the book just as the pages began to glow, a warm, golden light that spread until the entire room seemed to glow.
And then it was gone. Silence. Only Leo stood there, staring at his hands that still trembled as they clutched the book. He took a shaky breath and realized something had changed. He wasn't in the library anymore.
Before him stretched the cobblestones of an ancient Roman street, bustling with people wearing tunics and sandals, their chatter loud and foreign. The air smelled of wood smoke, fresh bread, and something metallic—blood, perhaps. He stumbled back against a nearby column, the stone rough against his palms.
A man in a toga shot him a confused look, muttered something in Latin, and went on his way. Leo's heart raced as he took in the scene, the grandeur of the Forum, the towering columns, and the gods' statues that looked down at him with eyes that seemed almost alive.
Leo Carter, modern-day college student, stood on the edge of history. And in that moment, he realized: He'd done it. He had opened a portal to Ancient Rome.