The ability to see portals of time means it should be possible for me to time travel back to the past, before all of this mess.
Once I enter that portal, I will finally be able to return to the past!
"Mom, I can see the portal over there"
"I see. So there is really one here"
Is it just my imagination? Although the appearance is quite similar, this portal looks smaller than the one at the aquarium.
"Let's hurry up and go there now. The portal might close anytime soon"
"Why do you know that? Can you also see portals?"
Mom ignored my question then asked me to hurry and walk towards the location of the portal. I pretended to not notice but since earlier I have felt like there is something unsettling about this.
She has been strangely on edge since the moment we arrived at this park.
I stood in front of the portal and looked back at mom gently smiling with a calm expression.
Since this future version of my mom is from this time period, we will need to part ways here.
When I return back to 2016, I'm sure everything will be back to normal. Sure, there are still some things I'm curious about but there is no time.
"Mom, to be honest I still don't understand everything that happened. Once I go back to the past, I will ask your past self about everything, the things you have been hiding from me and your real identity."
"Yes, you can ask me anything"
The assurance she gave was enough for me. It's now time to go back to the past.
When I took a step towards the portal, she suddenly called out to me.
"Rune!"
"Yes, mom?"
"It's cold so don't forget to always wear that hat! Take care of yourself, don't get sick and eat more healthy food"
"Okay, Mom. See you!"
I smiled at her and entered the portal.
********************
After Rune disappeared, Atalia felt something strange. She felt like she wanted to talk with Rune longer and hear her voice one more time.
This was strange since Rune was not her real daughter after all. In fact, they were mere strangers who coincidentally lived together for a really short period of time.
Even so, the ordinary and peaceful days they spent together became precious memories for Atalia.
While Atalia quietly stared at the place where Rune disappeared to, the person hiding behind the trees finally revealed himself.
"Give up. You don't have anywhere to run anymore"
"You're really persistent, aren't you? Anzai Duo"
Duo: "Whose fault is it? Hurry up and return me back to the past!"
Atalia: "Why are you blaming me? It's your fault for entering the portal in the first place"
12 years ago, Anzai Duo was tasked with a strange mission, a seemingly simple mission of monitoring a certain family.
The instructions of this mission were quite vague [Monitor this family and report everything]. There was no other instruction aside from that so he decided to move next door and pretended to be their friendly neighbour while gathering information.
Duo spent his days observing the daily life of that family and recording those observations in his reports.
Even after 2 years had passed, he didn't find anything peculiar. Although, there were times when he seemed to have gaps in his memories for some reason.
Until one day, he secretly followed Rune to the aquarium and accidentally entered a portal which transported him to the future, specifically 1 week prior the present day.
Duo: "At first, I didn't understand why the higher ups classified monitoring such an ordinary family as top priority. It finally makes sense now. You're from that dimension, aren't you?"
Atalia: "It seems like I underestimated you, Anzai Duo. Which faction are you from?"
Duo: "I will answer your question once you return me back to 2016"
Atalia: "It's not possible to go back to the past"
Duo: "Don't lie. I saw you with someone earlier, it was Rune, right? She entered a portal and went back to the past, didn't she?"
Atalia: "No matter how hard we wish, no matter how hard we try . .
we can never go back in time"
Atalia's unwavering gaze and conviction sprouted a seed of doubt in Anzai Duo, as if there were no lies in her words.
***************
When Rune opened her eyes, she found herself in a dark narrow alleyway.
What's going on? I had expected the portal to transport me back to the aquarium.
"Where is this place?"
I need to find another portal and go back to the aquarium as soon as possible.
After getting out of the alley, the unexpected scene that greeted me left me speechless.
Countless skyscrapers towering above the clouds, multiple small aircrafts hovering the skies and is that a floating ship?!
It was a sight to behold.
"Haha"
In this preposterous situation, I couldn't help but laugh. As if the past two days were not absurd enough and now this nonsense.
Am I in a different world?
First of all, I need to find more information about this place.
While observing the surroundings for a while, it became apparent that everyone was wearing something similar to VR glasses. Even when I tried to approach someone, they blatantly ignored me.
After looking around for half an hour, I finally found someone who might be able to help.
The young man sitting outside a cafe stood out in the crowd since he was the only not wearing VR glasses. Looking closely, he seemed to be reading a book.
I slowly approached him and mustered the courage to ask.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry if this is a strange question but is this planet earth?"
The stranger seemed visibly confused and looked at me as if he was doubting my sanity. He quickly fixed his expression and politely answered.
"Yes, this is earth"
"What date is it today?"
"It's December 20"
"What year?"
"2126"
No way. . The 22nd Century?
O_o
I'M 100 YEARS IN THE FUTURE !?