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Erin stepped through the mists of time into an age where the earth groaned under the weight of human corruption. She found herself on the outskirts of a sprawling settlement, where the structures were as decayed morally as they were physically. The air was heavy, laden with the stench of rot and the clamor of incessant conflict. As she moved through the streets, her presence unnoticed, she witnessed scenes of stark brutality and desperation that made her heart clench in her chest.

Navigating through the market, Erin saw the palpable despair mingled with indulgence. Men and women bartered fiercely over necessities and trivialities alike, their faces etched with lines of greed and fear. Children, their innocence long faded, mimicked the adults, learning the art of survival in a world bent on self-destruction.

At the edge of this chaos, the massive structure of the ark loomed, an incongruous beacon of hope amid despair. It was here she found Noah, isolated by his faith and the enormity of his task. The old man hammered away at the wood as the townspeople mocked him, their laughter carrying a sharp edge of fear.

Erin approached him, her guise as a curious traveler accepted without question. “Why are you building this huge boat so far from the water, sir?” she asked, her voice carrying over the sound of his labor.

Noah paused, wiping the sweat from his brow as he turned to face her. His eyes, deep and sorrowful, met hers. “To save what can be saved,” he answered simply. “The Creator has decreed a flood to cleanse the earth of its wickedness. I build to preserve life, as commanded.”

“It is a big ship but how many can it possibly hold?” Erin pressed, her gaze sweeping over the ark.

Noah followed her look, his expression somber. “It will hold the righteous. I do not know the number, but all who deserve to be saved will find their way here when it is time.”

Time sped forward to the day the first light raindrops began to patter gently against the leaves, a soft, rhythmic sound that seemed almost soothing in the midst of growing unease. But it was what followed that truly captured Erin’s attention and held it in awe.

From the dense forests and hills beyond, animals began to emerge in a serene procession that defied the chaos brewing in the skies. They came in pairs, a deliberate and dignified parade that flowed towards the ark as if drawn by a silent call. Each pair moved with an inexplicable harmony, their steps synchronized, their eyes forward, exuding a calm certainty in their purpose.

First came the elephants, grand and solemn, their great ears flapping softly with each measured step. Their size and majesty commanded respect, and even the mocking crowds fell silent as they passed. Behind them, giraffes with their long, graceful necks arched against the gray backdrop of the sky, moving like creatures from a dream across the landscape.

Lions strode with a quiet dignity, their manes wet with the drizzle, eyes gleaming with an inner light. Zebras with their stark stripes blurred in the rain, flanking antelopes and gazelles that pranced with delicate steps. Wolves, their coats blending with the mist, moved silently beside foxes, each pair adding to the tapestry of life filing into Noah’s creation.

Birds fluttered down from the skies in colorful bursts—parrots, doves, and eagles—each finding a perch on the ark’s beams and braces. Smaller mammals, from squirrels to rabbits, hurried along, their small bodies energized with urgency.

As Erin watched, mesmerized by the spectacle, the sheer diversity of life—the scales, feathers, fur, and skins—brought a profound realization of the enormity of what was at stake. These creatures, driven by an unseen force, trusted wholly in the refuge they were promised. The scene was both surreal and heartrending, an echo of the world’s innocence that was about to be washed away.

“This is the covenant of life that will endure,” Noah’s voice broke through her reverie, soft yet firm against the patter of increasing rain. “Every creature here is part of the world’s rebirth. Just as they trust in the Creator to preserve them through the storm, so must we maintain our faith through the trials we face.”

The rain grew heavier, the drops merging into a curtain of water that began to obscure the animals from view as they entered the ark. The sky darkened further, and the wind began to howl, but the ark stood solid. Then the rain quickly thickened to a torrent and the atmosphere shifted. Panic took root as the sky darkened and the winds rose. Erin watched, heart aching, as families scrambled in vain to find shelter, their earlier mockery turning to cries of terror.

Noah ushered his family into the ark, then paused at the entrance, extending a hand to Erin. “Come, witness the truth of divine justice and mercy,” he offered.

Inside the ark, the atmosphere was thick with the scent of timber and the musky odor of animals settling into their designated spaces. The structure creaked and groaned under the strain of the burgeoning deluge, a wooden sanctuary amidst the chaos of the storm. Erin stood by Noah, peering out through a small window, her eyes fixed on the torrential rain that blurred the world outside into a watery abyss.

“Is it just, do you think, to punish so broadly?” Erin asked, the question gnawing at her.

Noah’s gaze was unwavering. “It is not for me to judge the Judge. I trust in divine wisdom. But I know this: every end is also a beginning. The flood will recede, and those who remain must build anew, learn anew.”

The flood peaked, the world outside disappearing beneath swirling waters. Erin stood beside Noah, watching the obliteration of an era. In the terrifying serenity that followed, she pondered the profound responsibility of choices—those made by Noah, by herself, by all of humanity.

Time sped up again to when the waters finally receded and the ark settled on dry land, Erin stepped out into a transformed world. Above, a rainbow stretched across the clearing sky—a vibrant spectrum of promise.

Noah’s voice, filled with a mixture of awe and solemnity, broke the tense silence. “The Creator remakes the world even as we speak, and we must bear witness to this renewal, just as we bear the burden of survival.”

Erin nodded, her thoughts heavy with the scenes she had witnessed. The mocking crowds, the gathering of the animals, the relentless storm, and now as the ark began to settle with the receding floodwaters, Erin felt a profound disconnection from the world she knew. The familiar had been washed away, leaving her adrift in a saga of creation, destruction, and renewal.

Just then, as the ark pitched slightly, Erin’s vision began to shimmer. The edges of her surroundings blurred, the sounds of the storm and the animals fading into a distant echo. She felt the now-familiar sensation of the flooring slipping away beneath her, not from the flood, but from the shifting sands of time.

Erin felt the familiar sensation of time shifting beneath her and her heart raced as she realized her time in this era was ending. The lessons of the flood—of unchecked corruption, divine wrath, and the hope of new beginnings—still echoed in her mind as the fabric of reality thinned. The sturdy wooden walls of the ark blurred and melted into a dense, heavy fog. The disorientation was more pronounced this time as if each temporal leap further untethered her from her own reality.

When the world finally stilled, Erin found herself standing in another place, another time. The transition left her disoriented, her senses struggling to adapt to the sudden change. As her vision cleared and her equilibrium returned, she took in her new surroundings. Gone were the ancient landscapes of Biblical times and the resonant voices of prophecy. Instead, the air was cool and filled with the earthy scent of an autumn forest. The sounds were those of a quiet wilderness—rustling leaves and distant bird calls.

As her senses adjusted, Erin realized she was no longer dressed in the traveler’s garb suited for an ancient floodplain. Her clothing was now that of a late 16th-century settler, rough-spun and practical, blending with the surroundings of a nascent colonial village.

She stood at the edge of a small clearing, encircled by dense Virginia woods that stretched untamed in every direction. In front of her lay the modest beginnings of what she somehow knew to be the Roanoke Colony, with wooden homes haphazardly arranged. The colony was quiet, eerily so, with no signs of the bustling activity one might expect.

The stark stillness unnerved her. Erin stepped forward, her feet crunching softly on the leaf-littered ground. She needed to understand why Helen had brought her here, to this place of all places.

Not. The. End.