No matter how far they walked, they seemed to make no progress. Elian hefted the relay onto his shoulder, his body having regained a little of its strength. His eagle-sharp eyes swept across the area, searching for any sign of change in their surroundings.

"I think I understand why we can't get out," Dr. Aiden said, waving Elian closer.

Using his finger, the scientist drew in the soft ground – two sticks between two parallel lines, creating a sort of corridor. "These two represent us," he explained, pointing at the sticks.

Elian couldn't help but chuckle. "Didn't you learn how to draw in school?"

"Shut up and listen," Dr. Aiden snapped, though there was no real heat in his words.

"The little circle behind us represents the shadows. If I'm not mistaken, this should be a time distortion phenomenon. We are moving out of the forest, there's no doubt about that, but the real problem is we're moving too fast."

Elian fell silent, realizing he too had felt something similar clinging to his body. "Isn't that a good thing? The faster we move, the faster we get out of here, right?"

"Actually, no," Dr. Aiden said, pointing at the two sticks once more and drawing a line forward. "When we're here," he indicated the circle representing the shadow, "Time is still here."

Elian's eyes widened as realization struck. He gasped, "Time is behind us." The words felt strange on his tongue, almost impossible to believe. How could time be behind them? It didn't make any sense.

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's not," Dr. Aiden insisted. "Think of it as a phenomenon called Time Dystopia. Mark had proposed such a theory back on Planet 5, but those ignorant fools refused to acknowledge his discovery. In their stupidity, they assumed it was absurd. But look around you, Elian. It's real! He was right. How fascinating!" The scientist gripped Elian's shoulders, unable to contain his excitement.

"Hey, calm down, Doc," Elian said, gently removing the old man's hands before he could shake him senseless.

"Mark would have loved to see this," Dr. Aiden murmured, his voice laced with regret and sadness.

Elian was speechless. Were all researchers this... eccentric? He couldn't understand how someone could be so eager to be stuck in a place like this.

"Have you forgotten our situation?" Elian pressed. "If I understood what you said, the shadows that attacked us are time trying to catch up. If we move too slowly, we'll never leave this place, maybe not for centuries. And if we move too fast, the shadows will get us after we fall from exhaustion."

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A shiver ran through Elian's body. It was as if they were caught between two impossible choices, neither of which offered a good outcome.

"Is there no way of leaving this place?" Elian asked, rising to his feet. The shadows had returned, and this time they weren't alone. His pupils flashed blue as the quantum armor roared to life once more.

"Uh... I... I... Mark knew the answer," Dr. Aiden stammered. "You see, we should have never brought that little girl. She's useless!" he cursed.

"Hey, shut up!" Elian yelled. "I know you don't like her, and frankly, I don't care what you think. I just care about how we get the hell out of here." He stepped to the side, narrowly evading the razor-sharp claws of a shadow. The weight of the heavy relay on his shoulder slowed his movements considerably.

Blood flowed from a tear in his shirt where the shadow's attack had grazed him, the wound instantly paralyzing his arm. "Doc, fast!" he shouted.

"It's like a tube," Dr. Aiden theorized, his mind racing. "If we get back to where time flows normally, we could create a hole in the corridor to escape the time dystopia. Yeah, that's the answer!"

"Give up the lie. You just made that up," Elian accused.

"You wanted an answer, yes or no?" Dr. Aiden retorted.

Elian's fist clenched as he restrained the urge to silence the irritating scientist. "Let's go," he growled, executing a quantum dash. He scooped Dr. Aiden onto his shoulder and maneuvered backward through the forest.

The shadows pursued them relentlessly, swift and agile as monkeys. They slashed and bounced from tree to tree, performing impossible acrobatics. Elian's heart skipped a beat each time their claws missed his head by mere inches.

Pushing himself to the limit, Elian unleashed another quantum dash. Covered in a burst of energy, he zoomed backward. The moment they landed on open ground, the shadows halted abruptly, as if held back by an invisible barrier.

Without hesitation, Elian raised his palm, surcharging his armor one final time. The quantum burst erupted from his hand, a beautiful laser beam that sliced through the very fabric of reality. A hole appeared in the horizon, shimmering with otherworldly energy.

Gathering his last reserves of strength, Elian leaped into the hole, Dr. Aiden clinging to his back. They rolled uncontrollably, skidding down a curved surface that seemed to exist between dimensions. One of the shadows attempted to follow, pouncing into the hole only to have its body severed in two as the portal snapped shut.

The creature's upper half landed before Elian, who let out a sigh of relief as it disintegrated into nothingness.

As Elian lifted his head, an awe-inspiring sight greeted him. A massive structure loomed on the horizon – a spire that pierced the clouds, its walls carved from shimmering emerald green stone. It shone with an inner light, casting a breathtaking halo of color across the surrounding landscape.

Elian couldn't help but gasp at its beauty. He staggered to his feet, walking to the edge of the precipice they had landed on. A smile of triumph spread across his face as he turned to his companion.

"I think we found our high ground, Doc," he said, his voice filled with a mixture of relief and wonder.

As they stood there, gazing at the magnificent spire, Elian felt a renewed sense of purpose. Whatever challenges lay ahead, they had survived the impossible, and now their true mission could begin. The quantum relay on his shoulder seemed lighter now, as if buoyed by the promise of what was to come.