Age 563, Lunar Year 333
7 years after "The Cataclysm"
Location: Planet Arai, The 4th Galaxy
"Wanted", the poster read in the planet's language, Arain. "For defying the orders of the King and possessing royal property illegally. An amount of 100M Calcuz will be awarded to anyone with information on the suspect and 200M to who ever turns him in to the Arian Defence Force. Name: Jaxon Altair. Age: 22".
"Tch. Stupid posters", he, Altair, said as he tore one off the wall. He cursed in Arain, his anger simmering. "If only they knew what those goddess forsaken royals have done to us. Screw them…"
"There he is!". A member of the Defence Force had spotted him. "Get him!".
Altair ran as fast as his legs could carry him. It didn't matter though: the Enforcers had weapons. He rummaged through his bag and pulled out a small device. "Goddess, you know I'm innocent. Please let this work". He pushed a button and threw it behind him.
"Self destruction in 3…2…1…"
The small device blew up behind him, creating a thick smoke screen between him and the Enforcers. "Heh. Altair, 10. Enforcers, 0"
Altair successfully eluded the Enforcers, retreating to the safety of his concealed basement hideout.
"Ok… maybe I should put the modular connector here instead, then put the resistance plug at this side", Altair mutters as rearranged components of his machine.
As he worked, Seth Seven, his best friend and roommate, came down to the basement. They had known each other all their lives and have supported each other. Things got really difficult after Seven's parents died trying to save them since they provided for both of the boys. But they managed to pull through, despite Altair having a bounty on his head for doing nothing.
"Um, Altair…"
"Not now, Seven", Altair said, shutting him up. "I'm busy".
"Altair, you could get hurt… what if you get burnt? Or shocked? It could blow up…"
Altair stood up. "One: I don't care. Two: I've been at this for 5 years now. I would have died ages ago if I was supposed to.
Seven sighed loudly. He's been trying to get Altair to stop building his 'time machine' for years now. But his best friend was so stubborn! He knew, but the mere thought of losing someone close to him crippled him. He wouldn't be able to live anymore if Altair died.
"But… what if it doesn't work?"
Altair turned and glared at him. "It will", he said turning back to the screen. "I know it will".
…
The silence that followed was deafening. Seven broke it.
"So… what's your deal, huh? You wake up one morning and decided to make a time machine of all things? I know you're smart Altair, but this is a little… much. Don't you think?"
"Listen, Seven…".
"No, you listen Altair. Time travel? Really? You have a freaking BOUNTY on your head. Instead of finding a way to solve your current issue, you're building a TIME MACHINE? You always said it as a kid but I never thought you were actually serious about it! Just… stop. It's time to focus on more serious things… how to keep us safe and make sure that the ADF doesn't find us… ever. It's for your own good, Altair…"
"Shut up…", Altair growled, his low voice filled with tension.
"What?"
"I said SHUT UP!", he yelled at Seven. He never does this, no matter how mad he is. "You ungrateful son of a bitch! For MY own good? Oh, please. You selfish brat. You're so unreasonable! Who the hell would wake up one morning and build a time machine of all things without a plan? I keep telling you to trust me but you never listen! I actually think of other people when I make a decision—can't you see that? I'm doing this for you, Seven. You! You're all I've got left. Don't act like you've forgotten what happened to your parents 7 years ago? Nana and Bryce pushed us down here right before the cataclysm happened. Everything on the surface was wiped out, Seven. EVERYTHING! Your parents died saving us! You cried yourself to sleep for so long that you still have dark circles from all your sleepless nights. You kept wishing that you were up there with them if not instead of them. That you had died in their place or with them". Altair glared at him and sighed. He turned and walked back to the machine. "Just… go talk to Nelly or something".
On hearing Nelly, Seven flinched: she was his fiancée
Seven looked down, his face red, as he played with the hem of his shirt. He was genuinely worried about his friend. Altair, still pissed, realised that something was bothering Seven. He took off his gloves and walked up to him.
"Tell me, Seth. What's up?". Seven looked up. Altair had never called him Seth before.
"It's just… I'm scared. What if you don't come back? What if you die back there, huh? I don't want to be here all by myself… I swear I'll go mad", he tightened his grip on his shirt.
Altair smiled and patted his shoulder. "Look, I get why you're worried. Honestly, I'm kinda scared too. But trust me on this, will ya? I got this. I promise, I'll be fine".
Seven felt a little reassured. Altair had always kept his promises—no matter how impossible it seemed. He wiped the tears off his face. 'Why wouldn't Nelly fall for you?', he thought, his gaze lingering on Altair's striking features—dark blue eyes that seemed to hold secrets, jet-black hair that framed his chiseled face, an athletic build, a tall stature, and a husky voice that resonated with effortless charm.
Seven stood upright. "So", he started as he walked up to the time machine. "What's your plan?"
"I want to back in time to before the cataclysm happened… then I'll stop", he answered as he worked.
Seven, shocked, stared at Altair, then the machine and back at Altair. "Huh?"
Altair looked at him and smirked. "Shocked? I know. Your normal Arian brain wouldn't be able to comprehend the technicalities of time travel, so I won't bother explaining it to you'.
Seven was used to being teased by Altair for not being as smart by him, so he didn't really care about the comment. But to go back in time to stop something prophesied by the ancestors and the prophets-messengers of Aria, the planet's goddess? Now, that was something else.
"Altair, the cataclysm was prophesied ages ago. You can't stop a natural phenomenon!'
"Natural phenomenon, my ass! If it was so natural, how the hell did the royal palace end up untouched?" Altair pulled out an old, black book that looked like it might fall apart with a single touch. "You want to know why they want me executed?" He opened the book to a page filled with intricate drawings.
"This," he said, tapping the page, "is the Chronicle of Arai. It contains information that ordinary Arians aren't supposed to know—things and rituals the royal families must perform to appease the goddess, and actions that could wipe out our entire race. One of those actions is shifting the third moon from its orbit."
Altair paused, letting the weight of his words sink in before continuing. "Now, you're probably wondering, 'How is that even possible?' Well, there are guardians—five of them. They act as 'catalysts' for eclipses and control the speed of the moons. If all five of these catalysts come together and the chant from the Chronicle is spoken aloud, they can manipulate the youngest moon, the third one. It speeds up, destabilises, and eventually breaks out of orbit.
"Remember the Cataclysm? The strange symbols that appeared on the third moon—That wasn't a coincidence. That's was only the beginning of the end."
Shocked, Seven turned to him and asked, "Would the King really do something so heartless?"
Altair's expression darkened at the mention of the King. "He summoned my parents right after they began studying the events of the five moons. It's possible he knew they'd uncover his plans."
Altair's parents, Solaris Jaxon and Celestia Solaris, were renowned scientists in Rexborough, the capital state of the planet. A month after starting their research on the moons of Arai, they were summoned by the King. A week later, Altair received the most horrifying sight at his doorstep: the mutilated bodies of his parents.
They had been murdered by the King's Executioners, the shadowy enforcers who carried out his dirtiest work. That was eight years ago—just a year before the cataclysm.
He sighed heavily as he stood. "The catalysts don't exist as separate entities," Altair continued, his eyes darkening. "They find hosts and live in their bodies, usually in their eyes. If I could locate and kill them before the king finds them—"
"KILL THEM?!" Seven yelled, eyes wide. "Absolutely not! These people are victims of circumstance. They didn't ask to be hosts for the catalysts, did they? There has to be a way to get rid of the catalysts and save the people, right?"
Altair groaned, rubbing his temples. "I guess I could use the counter-chant immediately after the summoning chant to destroy them. But they'd just come back!"
Seven skimmed the Chronicle in his hands. "Well, yeah—but only after another hundred years."
Altair rolled his eyes. "And what about the next generation?"
"We save our generation first," Seven replied, his tone steady but firm. "If we don't, there won't be a next generation."
"Good point", Altair said, getting back to work.