The indicator lights inside the underground laboratory flickered irregularly, casting a pale glow across the metal floor covered with cables. Bayu stood alone before a cylindrical machine nearly four meters tall, occupying most of the room. Dozens of superconducting cables stretched from the walls into the machine's core, while a cryogenic cooling system released a thin mist around its base. Behind a transparent protective layer, a fist-sized multifaceted crystal pulsed with a deep blue light. Bayu had seen the device hundreds of times during his time as an intern at a temporal research company, but tonight was the first time he had stood this close to it without a senior researcher watching his every move. He knew that what he was doing violated nearly every safety protocol in place, but after spending months as nothing more than a shadow behind the lead researchers, he could no longer accept being treated as someone who wasn't ready. "Begin activation procedure. Synchronize the temporal coordinates with the latest reference point. If the system detects an anomaly, terminate the process and disconnect the main power." Bayu spoke the instructions to himself as he inserted his access card and entered a code he had memorized from the confidential research logs. His fingers moved quickly across the control panel, even though his palms were beginning to sweat. He knew exactly what would happen if he were caught: his access would be revoked, his job would be over, and he would probably never be allowed anywhere near the temporal project again. But there was another reason he kept going. Years ago, when a fire broke out in one of the hospital wards, Bayu had been able to do nothing but stand frozen while people screamed for help. That memory had never truly left him. Don't freeze again. He took a deep breath, pushed aside the doubt creeping back into his mind, and pressed the confirmation button. BEEP. The main system activated, and a deep mechanical hum immediately filled the laboratory. Panels along the walls lit up one after another as energy began flowing toward the Temporal Displacement Unit. The temperature dropped rapidly, while the core crystal—the Chrono-Core—began emitting an increasingly intense blue glow. Bayu stared at the main monitor and checked the initial parameters. CORE STATUS: ONLINE ENERGY OUTPUT: 12% CAUSAL ANCHOR: STABLE He was almost relieved when a hidden coordinate appeared at the bottom of the screen. The data wasn't included in any of the testing protocols he had memorized. Bayu enlarged the display, and the information made him frown. TEMPORAL REFERENCE: EARTH GEOLOGICAL PERIOD: UNKNOWN ESTIMATED AGE: 145,000,000 YEARS "One hundred and forty-five million years?" Bayu stared at the number for several seconds. In theory, the Temporal Displacement Unit had been designed to manipulate time, but all official tests were still restricted to extremely narrow temporal ranges. Traveling to an era when dinosaurs dominated Earth should have been far beyond the limits of any approved experiment. He opened the source data and discovered a project code that had never appeared in any official document. PROJECT EDEN-0. Curiosity overcame caution. Bayu entered the code into the system, and after several seconds, a hidden folder opened. Hundreds of files filled the screen. Most were corrupted or encrypted, but one report could still be accessed. Its title made Bayu freeze. PROJECT EDEN-0 — TEMPORAL BIOSPHERE OBSERVATION He read the first line. Then the next. Objective: Establish controlled biological ecosystem within prehistoric Earth. A chill ran down the back of Bayu's neck. This project wasn't simply about time travel. Previous researchers had apparently sent biological equipment into the past in an attempt to establish an artificial ecosystem on prehistoric Earth. If the report was genuine, then someone had attempted to manipulate the history of life on Earth long before human civilization had ever existed. Before Bayu could open the next page, the entire laboratory shook violently. WARNING — UNAUTHORIZED TEMPORAL ACCESS DETECTED. "Abort activation." He pressed the emergency shutdown button, but the panel didn't respond. Energy continued flowing into the Chrono-Core, climbing from 41 percent to 68 percent before surpassing 90 percent within seconds. "Shut the system down!" "Temporal displacement sequence initiated." Bayu turned toward the speaker. "Who activated it?" "User authorization confirmed." "I didn't give you authorization." "Authorization accepted." For the first time that night, Bayu felt genuinely afraid. He stepped backward as the core crystal released an increasingly blinding light. In the air directly in front of the machine, a distortion began to form. Space itself seemed to split into layers of transparent fragments, revealing glimpses of different locations: unfamiliar cities, endless oceans, deserts, and ancient forests filled with enormous creatures. Bayu barely had time to comprehend one of the shadows before the temporal pressure slammed into his body. He was thrown onto the floor as chairs, monitors, and other equipment around him lifted into the air. Gravity itself seemed to lose stability. Bayu's body became lighter, then suddenly he was pulled toward the expanding crack of light. "Don't..." He grabbed the leg of a table. His fingers were almost slipping when the communication system suddenly activated again. "Bayu!" The voice made his entire body freeze. He knew that voice. His supervisor. "Bayu, listen to me. Don't activate that machine!" Bayu stared at the speaker, his face turning pale. The voice sounded exactly like a recording he had heard during his training. But there was one problem that made it almost impossible for his mind to accept what was happening. That recording wasn't supposed to exist for another three years. "This is impossible..." "If you're hearing this message, then the first experiment has already failed." Bayu stared at the main screen. A timestamp appeared. TRANSMISSION ORIGIN: 3 YEARS FUTURE "Who sent this message?" There was no answer. The signal suddenly cut out, leaving the laboratory silent for a fraction of a second before the alarms began screaming again. Then a red message appeared on the monitor. TEMPORAL PARADOX DETECTED. The destination coordinates began changing on their own. DESTINATION: EARTH YEAR: -145,000,000 The numbers began spinning rapidly. -145,000,000 -210,000,000 -300,000,000 -500,000,000 Bayu reached for the control panel, but his body had already begun lifting off the floor. "Why are the coordinates changing?" The numbers finally stopped. UNKNOWN TEMPORAL ERA Bayu stared at the screen, holding his breath. The system issued one final warning. "Destination does not match known Earth history." "What does that mean...?" A white light swallowed the laboratory before he could find the answer. --- Bayu had no idea how long he had been falling. He could only feel his body moving through a space where the laws of physics no longer seemed to apply. Colors spun around him as fragments of scenery appeared and disappeared like broken memories. He saw cities that had never existed, oceans filled with enormous creatures, and unfamiliar forests stretching beyond the horizon. During one brief flash, Bayu even saw a figure resembling a human standing among the trees. Then everything vanished. Bayu could still feel the Temporal Displacement Unit in his hand. The Chrono-Core had cracked, emitting a faint blue glow through the fractures. "If I survive..." His voice was nearly drowned out by the swirling vortex around him. "I'll find out who did this." A tremendous pressure slammed into his body. The world went dark. --- A violent impact knocked the air from Bayu's lungs. His body rolled several meters before finally coming to a stop on a layer of wet moss. For several moments, he simply lay there, trying to determine whether he was still alive. When he finally opened his eyes, sunlight filtered through gaps in the enormous canopy above and illuminated his face. Bayu blinked. There were no laboratory lights. No steel walls. No alarms. Only the sound of wind, rustling leaves, and the calls of creatures he had never heard before. He slowly pushed himself upright. The sight before him brought his thoughts to a complete halt. Giant trees towered dozens of meters above the ground, their roots forming natural walls across the muddy soil. Ferns nearly as tall as a human filled the forest floor. Hot, humid air carried the scent of wet earth, vegetation, and something that smelled distinctly like a wild animal. Bayu looked around. "This..." He tried to convince himself that all of this was simply a side effect of temporal displacement. Then he saw something on the ground. A footprint. Bayu crouched down and brushed away the mud covering part of it. Three long toes. Deep claw marks. The footprint was almost twice the length of his arm. His biological knowledge immediately kicked in. "Theropod." Bayu slowly stood. His heartbeat quickened. A low sound came from somewhere beyond the trees, causing small birds to suddenly scatter. Grrrrrr... The ground trembled. Bayu turned. The footsteps were getting closer, and every impact caused the leaves around him to shake. Then something emerged from behind the trees. A massive head with elongated jaws. Dark, predatory eyes. A muscular body with a long tail. Black scales glistening beneath the sunlight. Bayu didn't move. His mind processed the creature's skull structure, jaw formation, leg length, and overall body proportions. There was no doubt. "Allosaurus..." The creature released a low growl, staring at Bayu as if determining whether the human before it would make easy prey. Bayu slowly stepped backward. But the longer he observed the creature, the more obvious something felt wrong. It was far too large. Its muscles were far too dense. And the pattern of its scales was unlike anything he had ever seen in paleontological reconstructions. Before Bayu could think any further, the Allosaurus lunged. He threw himself sideways just as the massive jaws slammed down where his head had been. CRASH! Soil and leaves exploded into the air. Bayu scrambled to his feet and immediately ran without looking back. Thorns tore through his laboratory coat, branches struck his face, and massive roots nearly sent him tumbling several times. Behind him came the heavy pounding of footsteps. THUD! THUD! THUD! Bayu finally risked looking back. The creature was chasing him. And it was moving far faster than an Allosaurus of that size should have been capable of. "This doesn't make sense!" Bayu forced himself to run faster, but the prehistoric forest seemed determined to trap him. Thorny bushes and enormous roots blocked his path while the roar behind him grew closer and closer. Then he saw light between the trees. An open area. Bayu burst through the vegetation, only to realize that he had run straight into a dead end. Giant trees formed a natural wall in front of him. He turned around. The Allosaurus emerged from the trees at a leisurely pace. There was no longer any need to chase him. The creature knew its prey had nowhere left to run. Bayu backed away until his back struck a tree trunk. His hand slipped into his pocket. His fingers touched the Temporal Displacement Unit. He immediately pulled it out. The cracked Chrono-Core suddenly lit up. Bzzzt... A small display appeared across the surface of the device. Bayu stared at it. BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT SCAN COMPLETE. LIFE FORMS DETECTED: 87,421,993 Bayu frowned. "Eighty-seven million organisms?" The number was far too large for a single forested area, even if the system was counting microorganisms. He was about to open the detailed data when another line appeared. KNOWN SPECIES MATCH: 61.4% Bayu fell silent. Only 61.4 percent of the organisms in this environment matched the database of Earth's known lifeforms stored within the device. Then the system performed another scan. ANOMALOUS GENETIC SIGNATURE DETECTED. Bayu slowly raised his eyes from the screen toward the Allosaurus standing before him. Black scales. Abnormal size. Impossible speed. Everything suddenly felt like a piece of a much larger puzzle. "This world..." Bayu tightened his grip around the temporal device. "Isn't the past I know." The Allosaurus lowered its body. Bayu prepared himself for the attack. But before the creature could lunge, a new notification appeared on the screen. TEMPORAL ANCHOR DETECTED. Bayu frowned as he read it. A set of coordinates appeared. He recognized them. They were the exact coordinates of the place where he was standing. But one piece of information made his blood run cold. TIMESTAMP: +3 YEARS Bayu stared at the screen. Then he looked at the prehistoric forest surrounding him. If those coordinates were correct, this place wasn't simply the past. It contained a temporal trace originating from the future. Before Bayu could process what that meant, a deep rumbling sound came from somewhere beyond the forest. Not one sound. Not two. Dozens. Bayu slowly turned his head. Among the trees, enormous shadows began moving closer. Meanwhile, the Allosaurus in front of him suddenly stepped backward and raised its head, as if the predator that had been hunting Bayu had just realized something terrifying. It wasn't the most dangerous creature in this place.

Chapter 1 — Temporal Displacement