Dr. Nadia Thorn sat in her lab, staring at the data in disbelief. For weeks, reports of "Temporal Shadows" had been trickling in. People described visions of catastrophic futures, and some even displayed physical injuries that matched their hallucinations. The Luminary dismissed these incidents as "neural glitches" caused by over-reliance on personal implants. But Nadia knew better.
The patterns were too consistent, the reports too widespread. And then there were the patients.
She glanced at the observation room through the glass wall. A young woman sat inside, rocking back and forth. Her face was gaunt, her eyes hollow.
"They're coming," the woman whispered, her voice hoarse. "They're already here. You just can't see them yet."
Nadia shivered. She had reviewed the woman's scans, which showed abnormal activity in her temporal lobe—a phenomenon that shouldn't be possible without external interference. Someone, or something, was manipulating the flow of time.
The lights in the lab flickered, and for a brief moment, Nadia thought she saw her reflection in the glass. But the figure wasn't her. It was twisted, its eyes glowing faintly, its mouth stretched into a soundless scream.