Damien went to Babylon—literal Babylon. 562 BCE.
He arrived in the midst of a feast, a thousand torches lighting the hanging gardens in amber hues. But Damien wasn't here for spectacle. He was here for the mathematician-priest Naram-Zin, who claimed he dreamed in dimensions.
Naram-Zin believed the stars were windows, not objects. He had built a device—something Damien recognized immediately as an early Chrono Lens, cloaked in mythology.
They spoke in symbols. In prime numbers. In paradoxes.
And when Damien left, Naram-Zin had forgotten him.
But the Lens remained, humming with future echoes.