Weeks passed after their return from the Ajaches, and though life in Lanzarote returned to its ordinary rhythm, Elena found herself haunted by what they had uncovered. She tried to focus on her work, diving into the marine research that had first brought her back to the island, but her thoughts constantly drifted back to the chamber beneath the mountains, to the visions of the Lost Ones and their tragic downfall.
Marco, too, had become more withdrawn. He had returned to his research but now seemed obsessed with uncovering other ancient mysteries of the Canary Islands, spending long hours in the archives and libraries across the archipelago. The two friends, once so close, had grown distant, each lost in their own thoughts, both burdened by the weight of their discovery.
One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a fiery glow across the volcanic landscape, Elena received an unexpected visitor at her small home in Yaiza. A woman, tall and slender, with piercing blue eyes and a calm demeanor, introduced herself as Isolde, a historian who had recently moved to the island.
"I've heard about your work, Dr. Morales," Isolde began, her voice smooth and measured. "But it's not your marine biology that interests me. I believe you and I share an interest in the island's deeper secrets."
Elena felt a shiver run down her spine. She had never mentioned her recent discoveries to anyone outside of Marco and her grandmother, yet here was this stranger, seemingly knowing more than she should.
"How do you know about that?" Elena asked cautiously.
Isolde smiled faintly. "I have my sources. The island has been whispering its secrets for centuries, and some of us are better at listening than others. I’ve spent my life following the trail of the Lost Ones, and I believe we have much to discuss."
Reluctantly, Elena invited Isolde inside, and over the next few hours, the two women shared stories and theories. Isolde revealed that she had been studying the myths and legends of the Canary Islands for years, and her research had led her to believe that the Lost Ones had not just discovered how to manipulate time—they had used it to explore other dimensions, alternate realities where their civilization had continued to thrive.
"The Ajaches were just the beginning," Isolde said, her eyes alight with excitement. "There are other places on the island where the veil between time and space is thin. The Lost Ones didn’t just fracture time—they created doorways to other worlds."
Elena was skeptical but intrigued. The idea that the Lost Ones had found a way to access parallel dimensions was both thrilling and terrifying. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was what had ultimately doomed them, not just the manipulation of time, but their hubris in trying to conquer multiple realities.
Isolde then revealed why she had sought out Elena. She had discovered another location on the island, a place where the energy readings were off the charts, similar to those around Timanfaya and the Ajaches. It was a secluded cave on the northwest coast of the island, near the cliffs of Famara, a place known as "La Cueva de los Ecos," the Cave of Echoes.
"There's something there, something powerful," Isolde said, her voice lowering to a whisper. "I’ve been there before, but I couldn't get inside. The cave seemed to repel me, as if it knew I wasn’t ready. But with your connection to the island and the watch, I believe we can unlock its secrets."
Despite her reservations, Elena agreed to accompany Isolde to the cave. There was a part of her that needed to know the truth, to understand what had happened to the Lost Ones and what their legacy meant for the future of Lanzarote.
The next morning, they set out early, the sun just beginning to rise over the horizon. The journey to Famara was long and treacherous, the path winding along steep cliffs and through dense, rocky terrain. As they approached the cave, Elena could feel the air around them change—it was thick with anticipation, the hairs on her arms standing on end.
La Cueva de los Ecos was unlike anything Elena had seen before. The entrance was narrow, barely noticeable against the rugged cliffs, but as they stepped inside, the cave opened into a vast chamber. The walls were smooth, almost polished, and the echoes of their footsteps seemed to linger unnaturally, bouncing back with a delay that was both eerie and disorienting.
At the far end of the chamber, they found what they were looking for—a large stone archway, carved with symbols similar to those in the Ajaches. The archway hummed with energy, a faint blue light pulsating from within.
Isolde approached the archway cautiously, and as she did, the watch in Elena’s pocket began to hum once more, its hands spinning slowly. Elena pulled it out, and the light from the archway intensified, the symbols glowing brighter until the entire cave was bathed in a surreal blue glow.
"Hold the watch up to the arch," Isolde instructed, her voice barely a whisper.
Elena hesitated, but curiosity overcame her fear. She stepped forward and held the watch up to the archway. As soon as the two made contact, the light from the archway flared, and the air around them seemed to ripple, distorting the space.
The archway suddenly activated, revealing a swirling vortex of light and shadow, a portal to somewhere else, somewhere beyond the bounds of their reality.
Isolde's eyes widened in awe. "This is it," she breathed. "A gateway to another world."
But before either of them could react further, the vortex began to pull at them, the force growing stronger by the second. Elena tried to step back, but it was too late. The pull of the portal was irresistible.
With a final, desperate look at Isolde, Elena was sucked into the vortex, the world around her dissolving into a blur of light and sound. She felt as if she were being torn apart, stretched across time and space, and then, as suddenly as it began, the sensation stopped.
When Elena opened her eyes, she found herself standing in a landscape both familiar and alien. It was Lanzarote, but not the Lanzarote she knew. The sky was a deep purple, the volcanic peaks glowing with an ethereal light, and the air was thick with a strange energy that made her skin tingle.
Isolde was beside her, her expression one of wonder and fear. "We made it," she whispered. "We’ve crossed into another dimension."
Elena looked around, her mind racing. They had stepped into a world where the Lost Ones’ civilization had never fallen, where time had been tamed, and reality itself was malleable. But as she took in the strange, beautiful landscape, she couldn’t shake the feeling that they had crossed a line, one that could never be uncrossed.
This world was not meant for them, and they had no idea what dangers lurked in the shadows of this alternate Lanzarote. As the sun—or what passed for a sun in this dimension—began to set, casting long, eerie shadows across the land, Elena knew one thing for certain:
The secrets of the Lost Ones were far more dangerous than she had ever imagined, and finding a way back home might be the hardest challenge she had ever faced.
But the real question was—did they even want to go back? Or was this new world the key to understanding the true power of the island, a power that could change everything?
With Isolde by her side, Elena prepared to explore this strange new reality, knowing that whatever lay ahead, their journey was only just beginning.
