Multiple Personalities

The two of them worked together to push open the stone door, and a strong light burst forth from behind the door, illuminating the entire cave. As they stepped inside, they saw a massive altar ahead, upon which rested a dazzling crystal. The crystal contained powerful energy fluctuations—it was the special time imprint.

Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu gazed at the crystal, a surge of intense shock rising in their hearts. They knew that this crystal not only represented that special time imprint but also concealed the history and secrets of an ancient civilization.

Just as they were about to examine it further, suddenly, a violent tremor came from the ground. The entire cave began to collapse, with countless boulders falling from above. Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu immediately turned to run, but the cave collapsed too quickly for them, and they were soon trapped by the falling stones.

"What should we do?" Li Baiyu looked anxiously at Shen Jingqi.

Shen Jingqi took a deep breath, looking resolutely at the compass in his hand: "We still have this compass; it must be able to lead us out of here."

He activated the compass, and instantly, a mysterious force surged from it, enveloping them both. They felt their bodies becoming light, as if they could pass through any obstacle.

With a flash of intense light, their figures vanished from the cave. When their vision cleared once more, they found themselves back in front of the ancient clock tower.

They looked at each other, eyes filled with the relief and joy of surviving disaster. Shen Jingqi looked at the compass in his hand and said, "This compass is truly miraculous, it can take us through time and space, back to this place."

"But we haven't completed our mission yet; the special time imprint still hides many secrets."

Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu gripped their flashlights tightly, the beams carving a narrow path of light through the pitch-black cave. They carefully stepped over the slippery rocks, with the sound of dripping water and distant unknown rustlings echoing in their ears. The experience of their last adventure was still vivid in their minds, but this time, they seemed to have stepped into an even more mysterious realm.

"Don't you feel this cave is much deeper than when we came last time?" Li Baiyu's voice trembled slightly, the flashlight casting mottled shadows across his face.

Shen Jingqi nodded, his brows furrowed: "Indeed, and the air seems to have an indescribable ancient scent."

They continued forward until suddenly finding themselves in a vast underground palace. The palace's stone walls were carved with strange totems, emitting a faint blue glow as if whispering ancient stories. In the center of the palace, an exceptionally bright beam of light captured their attention.

Upon approaching, they found a circular imprint embedded in the stone wall, rippling with the waves of time and emitting an indescribable power. Shen Jingqi reached out to touch it, and an electric-like sensation instantly coursed through his body, making him tremble involuntarily.

"Look at this..." Shen Jingqi began, but suddenly, the air around them started to distort, and a strong sense of vertigo washed over them.

When they opened their eyes again, they found themselves in an unfamiliar environment. All around were stone structures of varying heights, the sky a surreal blue, and the air filled with a strange fragrance. The people on the streets wore peculiar clothes, their faces peaceful, their steps hurried, as if they couldn't see the two uninvited intruders, Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu.

"Where... are we?" Li Baiyu looked around, her voice full of incredulity.

Shen Jingqi shook his head, cautiously observing their surroundings: "I don't know, but this definitely isn't the world we're familiar with."

Just as they were perplexed, an elderly man in a robe slowly walked towards them.

"Welcome to the City of Time. I am Eric, the Guardian here." The elder's voice was gentle yet powerful, each word clearly reaching their ears.

"City of Time?" Shen Jingqi's heart was stirred, linking it to the time imprint, perhaps all of this was related to it.

Eric nodded, gesturing for them to follow: "Yes, this is the relic of an ancient civilization, the home of a race capable of manipulating time. The time imprint you saw is the mark we left behind."

They followed Eric into a grand building filled with various peculiar instruments and ancient books. Eric stopped in front of a roll of yellowed parchment, slowly unfurling it: "This is the history of our race and the record of that catastrophe."

Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu listened intently to Eric's story. It turned out that this ancient civilization once held immensely powerful abilities, capable of controlling the flow of time. However, this power also brought them disaster. A failed experiment triggered time chaos, leading to the civilization's decline.

"To protect our homeland, we had to use the power of time to stop the catastrophe. But unexpectedly, this move triggered an even greater chain reaction, completely throwing the timelines into disarray." Eric's tone was filled with helplessness and regret.

Li Baiyu couldn't help but ask: "Then why did you leave behind the time imprint?"

Eric's gaze became firm: "We hope that one day someone will find this time imprint, to unlock the shackles of time and help us restore the accuracy of history."

In the depths of the City of Time, Eric's voice echoed in Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu's ears, laden with indescribable heaviness and urgency.

"The world you see is actually just a projection." Eric began slowly, his gaze profound, as though penetrating the mists of time and space, looking directly at the distant past and future.

Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu looked around. The once seemingly real buildings, streets, and people now appeared almost illusory under Eric's words.

"Projection?"

Eric's eyes were filled with helplessness and sadness: "Yes, projection. Our ancient civilization's power was once so great we could manipulate time, but after that disaster, our world fell into chaos. To protect our civilization, we had no choice but to project the entire world onto this relatively stable timeline, to delay our extinction."

Shen Jingqi's heart moved as he recalled the time imprint and everything they had encountered before. Could it be that everything they were doing now was to save this ancient civilization from imminent annihilation?

"If we don't unlock the shackles of time soon, our world will disappear in the chaos at any moment." Eric's tone carried an undeniable resolve, and his gaze rested on Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu for a moment, as if searching for some answer.

Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu exchanged a glance; they understood they had been swept into a vast vortex from which they could not extricate themselves. Their fates would be closely intertwined with the survival of this ancient civilization.

"What... can we do?" Li Baiyu's voice carried a hint of uncertainty as she looked at Eric, hoping to find a sliver of hope from him.

Eric smiled faintly, a strange gleam in his eyes: "You've already done well. Finding the time imprint and coming here are your first steps. Next, we need your help to unlock the shackles of time together."