The air shimmered with warmth and dust, thick with the scent of baked earth and something older something ancient.
Elian stood on the worn steps of a ziggurat, its sun-bleached bricks stacked high into the heavens like the ambitions of those who built it.
The sky above was cloudless, a harsh and brilliant blue, while the land below stretched endlessly a sprawl of mudbrick homes, irrigation canals, and bustling markets.
He blinked, adjusting to the brightness. The present felt like a dream already only the weight of his own breathing reminded him that he was alive. Not in a simulation. Not in a museum exhibit.
This was real.
Ancient Sumer.
"Welcome to Uruk," Selene said beside him, her voice calm and composed despite the gravity of their arrival. Her attire had changed again now resembling the flowing, linen garments of the period. Her black hair was covered loosely by a veil, blending seamlessly into the backdrop of history.
Elian turned in a slow circle, overwhelmed. "This is… unreal."
"It's as real as it gets," Selene replied. "This city is among the earliest of human civilizations. Writing, law, architecture it all began here."
They walked through the city's streets, the clamor of merchants and workers surrounding them. Men in tunics carried bundles of reeds. Children chased one another near the edge of irrigation ditches.
A scribe sat cross-legged with a clay tablet and stylus, carving cuneiform symbols with careful precision.
Elian stared, awestruck. "They're just… living."
"What did you expect?" Selene asked, a faint smile on her lips.
"I don't know. Maybe something less human. More distant. I think I forgot these were people, not myths."
"That's the mistake most make," she said. "We think of the past as separate from us, but it's not. These people laughed, feared, dreamed… just like you."
They continued walking until they reached a public square. At the center stood a tall, cylindrical structure. Around it, a crowd had gathered.
"That's the Code of Urukagina," Selene whispered. "The earliest known legal code. It may not be as well-known as Hammurabi's, but it laid the groundwork."
Elian watched a speaker likely a priest read from the cylinder. Though he couldn't understand the words, he could feel the weight of them. Justice, punishment, order.
"He's talking about fairness," Selene translated softly. "Even kings are not above the law."
Elian's gaze drifted from the priest to the people listening. Their faces were tired but attentive.
"They needed rules because they had something to lose," Elian said. "Community. Belonging. Maybe even love."
"You're learning," Selene said, her eyes approving.
They visited the Euphrates next, the river shimmering beneath the sun. Boats floated lazily on its surface, transporting goods and people.
Elian knelt near the edge, scooping up water in his hand.
"Everything began here," he whispered. "Not just writing or farming but life as we know it."
Selene sat beside him. "They were the first to ask questions about gods, about stars, about themselves. That curiosity shaped the world."
Elian nodded, letting the moment settle.
They explored more of the city the bustling bazaars filled with bronze tools and carved amulets the temple to Inanna, where incense wafted through sacred chambers the school courtyard where young boys practiced cuneiform with wooden sticks.
Each place told a story. Each person was a page.
As the sun dipped low, casting golden hues over the ziggurat's face, Elian stood once more at its base.
"I always thought history was about events," he said quietly. "Battles. Dates. Timelines. But it's more than that. It's… moments. Choices. Lives."
Selene smiled. "That's why I chose you."
He turned to her, a question on his lips. But before he could ask it, the world around him began to ripple the edges of buildings blurring, the voices fading like echoes.
Time called them back.
The portal opened, and the city of Uruk disappeared.