The night was quiet, but the air felt heavy with thoughts and worry. The five friends sat around a small fire near the portal that had brought them into this strange place beyond time. Turgut Alp sat beside Ali, still wearing the clothes of the Kayı tribe. His eyes were calm, but his heart seemed full of secrets. The stars above sparkled more brightly than ever, as if the universe was watching them.
"I don't understand," Jimmy said softly. "The book said one of us won't come back. But which one?"
No one answered. Each of them looked into the flames, thinking about their journey—Ali in the past with warriors and tribes, Jack and Adam in a cold, perfect future, and Alex and Jimmy on a mysterious planet where life had vanished. Each place had its beauty and its danger.
Ali stood up. "Suleiman Shah warned me… there's something wrong with time itself. Someone is trying to break it apart."
Turgut added, "That's why I was sent with Ali. The tribe believes a great storm is coming. It will start with a choice."
Suddenly, the ground trembled slightly beneath them. The portal behind them flickered with strange lights. It had never done that before. Jack stood quickly. "What's going on?"
Adam looked at his watch—it had stopped. The seconds were frozen.
"The portal is unstable," Turgut said. "It may not stay open for long."
That's when Ali made a decision. "I'm going to stay in the past."
Everyone turned to him in shock.
"You can't!" Alex said. "We need you."
"I belong there now," Ali replied. "Suleiman Shah trusts me. They are preparing for a great battle, and I know I can help. I've learned their ways. I can speak their language now. And… I feel something pulling me to stay."
"But what if we never see you again?" Jimmy asked.
Ali gave him a small smile. "We'll always be connected by this journey."
The portal pulsed again, its color now a dark red. Turgut stood beside Ali. "I will stay too," he said. "This is my home now."
The others hugged Ali tightly, some with tears in their eyes. Jack handed him a small notebook. "If you ever find a way to write to us, use this."
"I'll try," Ali said, holding it close. "Promise me… keep going. Find the truth about the portal."
With one last look, Ali and Turgut stepped away, heading back toward the path that led to the tribe's land. The portal flashed again—and this time, it let out a strange sound, like a deep growl.
"We need to go now!" Adam shouted.
The rest of them ran into the portal just before it dimmed completely. They landed back in the cave where it all began. But the cave was different—older, colder. Dust covered the ground, and the walls were cracked. It was like they had returned to the same place, but in a different time.
"Where… are we?" Jimmy asked.
Alex pointed to a carving on the wall. It hadn't been there before. It showed five figures standing at three doors. Beneath it, in old handwriting, was a message:
"The storm is near. Only four returned. One remains, but not all is as it seems."
Jack turned pale. "That means Ali stayed… but maybe it wasn't his choice?"
They all looked at each other, fear growing in their eyes.
Adam took the book from his bag—The Last Ascent. He flipped to the final page. There was a new line that wasn't there before:
"Ali was not the only one to stay behind."
"What does that mean?" Alex asked. "Who else stayed?"
But no one answered. Because suddenly, the cave wall began to shake, and a piece of it cracked open to reveal a small, glowing box. Jack reached for it, but the box was locked tight, with symbols none of them could understand. In the center, a symbol glowed brightly—it was the same symbol that waved on the flag of the Kayı tribe.
"That's from Ali's world," Jimmy said.
As they stared at the box, a whisper echoed through the cave—soft and cold, like wind through leaves.
"The balance is broken."
They all looked at each other in silence.
The portal had closed behind them. Ali was gone. And somewhere in time, something had changed.
But what none of them knew—what even Ali didn't know—was that someone else had followed him into the past. Someone who wasn't part of the group. A shadow. A hidden enemy. And that enemy had one goal: destroy the time travelers… and control time itself.