Morning arrived.
After a chaotic day and an even more chaotic night, I was completely stumped. 8:30 in the morning. The sun was bright, fresh, and warm. The town was starting to wake up — the sound of carriages rolling out, shop stands being set up, the peaceful ambience of—
BRAAAAK!
"THRAN, WAKE UP! It's morning!"
"What is it, Ris… it's still morning, stop bothering my sleep."
"I'm going to school again. I'll bake the cake tomorrow, alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure."
Thran's voice had no energy whatsoever. The sound of someone who hadn't gotten a single wink of sleep.
"Okay then, bye, Thran. Don't go out too late — and please clean the house."
"Fiine..."
CLICK.
The door closed. I heard Elris's footsteps going down the stairs, then the front door opening.
I dragged myself up to stretch. Just as I reached the window, I caught a glimpse of Elris walking outside.
Hmm… I should just go back to sleep.
I knew that in my current situation, sleeping wasn't exactly a smart call. There was always a chance someone might attack — or worse, try to kidnap me. But ehh… what were the chances.
I went back to bed, pulled the blanket over my whole body, and closed my eyes.
One hour passed.
"Hwaaaah—"
A long, drawn-out yawn.
I should wake up and actually do something.
I got up, caught my reflection in the mirror, stretched, and decided to start by cleaning the house.
I went downstairs to look for the cleaning supplies and started from the dining room, which shared space with the kitchen.
Unwashed plates still on the table. Mugs. Forks. Spoons.
God, this is a mess. Has Elris not been cleaning this whole time? Then again, Astin was here last night — that accounted for some of it.
I gathered everything and carried it out to the backdoor to wash outside.
On the way there, I caught a glimpse of something shining.
Hm?
I stepped back to get a proper look.
Oh — the waist pendant.
Didn't think it'd still be here. And why didn't Astin take it when I threw it? Oh well.
I picked it up and brought it along to be cleaned.
When I got outside, the bucket was empty. I set everything down, walked to the nearest well, drew some water, and came back.
After washing most of the dishes, I turned to the pendant — then stopped.
If I pour water on this… would it react like last time?
I stared at it for a moment.
Let's not risk it. I'll just drop a small droplet first.
I poured a careful handful of water over it.
Nothing?...
Thank God.
I started cleaning it properly.
After a thorough wash, I held it up.
It's clean — but there's no real shine to it. I should polish it.
I had some leftover jeweller's rouge somewhere. Had to.
I brought everything inside, racked the plates and mugs back into the cabinet, then went looking for it.
Storage room under the stairs — nothing.
Elris's room — nothing.
Bathroom—
Why would it be in the bathroom.
Then it hit me.
…I don't even know if I still have it. A whole modern lifetime has passed. Of course I'd forget things.
I brought the pendant up to my room and set it on the table beside the mirror and the window. I searched the room one more time just in case.
Nothing.
Welp.
I opened the small cabinet on the table and took out the shammy instead.
The leather's getting bad — shedding already. I should buy a new one later.
I started polishing.
Gradually, the pendant's shine came through. Not just clean — bright. The kind of brightness that gave off the impression of the highest purity of gold, clear and unmistakable.
If someone told me this was real gold, I'd have believed them without a second thought.
I'd never taken a proper look at it before. It really was beautiful.
As I cleaned more closely, I noticed something along the side of the pendant — an engraving, heavily buried under the dirt from before.
I brought it closer.
"Ascend until the earth dissolves; where the white sea meets the stone, let the true Sol jade bind you to the mist, and the heavens shall bear the weight."
I set the pendant down slowly.
The room felt a little quieter than it had a moment ago.
I sat with it for a long time. Turning the words over. Trying to find an edge to pull on.
Ascend until the earth dissolves… That didn't sound great. White sea… — if ascending was involved, the white sea could mean the clouds. Meets the stone… I had nothing. And the last part — let the true Sol jade bind you to the mist, and the heavens shall bear the weight — even less.
I let out a slow breath.
…I'll think on it more later.
Somewhere in the middle of all that pondering, my brain snagged on something else entirely.
A couple of days ago… wasn't I looking for a watch? Or a clock?
It had been decades. I couldn't be sure.
I checked my room. The cabinet. Under the bed. Inside the folds of the blanket. The narrow ledge along the window. Just outside the window.
Thirty minutes of searching.
…Did I even have one to begin with? I probably lost it somewhere while travelling.
I gave up and lay back down.
The bed was warm. The light coming through the window caught the dust in the air and turned it gold. The kind of warmth that felt nostalgic no matter how many times you felt it — the sort that made your body remember being younger, or somewhere safer.
I let myself go still.
My breathing slowed. My thoughts quieted.
And in that quiet — my hearing sharpened on its own.
…Tick.
My eyes opened.
…What was that.
I stayed still.
Tick.
…I'm not imagining it.
Could this be the same tick from a few days ago?
I closed my eyes again. Relaxed my body. Let everything go.
Tick...
20 seconds later.
Tick...
30 seconds later.
Tick.
As I focused more, I noticed — the interval between each tick was growing. Longer each time. And the sound itself felt heavier, like what I'd always imagined a ticking clock would sound like if time itself began to slow.
I kept my eyes closed.
Tick... Tick... Tick...
Wait — it's getting faster?
I relaxed again. Deeper this time. Like sinking into a dark void where nothing else existed.
The more I focused—
Tick.
The more I asked — where is it coming from—
Tick.
Until the answer arrived on its own.
…It's inside of me.
The more relaxed I was, the slower it ticked. The more tense — the faster. It followed me. It responded to me.
How is that even possible. What would cause a clock to exist inside a person.
I ran through every answer I could think of. Logical. Illogical. Everything in between.
Then one thought landed harder than the rest.
The day I fell into that fog.
The voice.
"Time is ticking. Find your worth."
…Is my time running out?
What was causing it to speed up or slow down — if it really did follow my state, then by that logic, it would tick far faster during something like exercise. That seemed extreme. But then again — this world wasn't exactly logical. I'd returned. I'd held a pendant that exploded water.
The most important thing, if my theory held, was knowing how much time was left. And making sure I didn't push it.
…What worth is it even looking for.
I thought about the flashes I'd seen. The images that came like fragments between blinks.
The waist pendant.
…Could it want me to follow the inscription?
I glanced at the pendant sitting on the table, catching the last light coming through the window.
Very well… I'll look into it more. Maybe tomorrow. I'm too tired right now.
I looked at the window.
The sky had turned gold.
Already?
I checked the time. Still around forty minutes before Elris came back.
I should get some fresh air. And perfume — this neighbourhood smells like a very large, very unwell horse that just moved in next door.
I got dressed. Plain white linen shirt, collar unbuttoned. Dark dirt-coloured trousers with leather suspenders. A cap.
Then, before heading out — a waistcoat over everything. Wearing just a shirt outside was considered underdressed around here, practically the equivalent of going out in undergarments. Different world, different rules.
I miss the future. Wear what you want, wear what looks cool. No one cared.
34 minutes.
Should be enough.
I counted what I'd brought.
2… 2… 2… 2… and 30 bits. Eight silver and 30 bits.
Honestly, at this point I'm just going to buy in bulk and pour it on the whole street.
Falan Road.
Just the edge of my own street, and I'd already forgotten where the perfumery was.
4th Ways Crossing. There's always a crowd there — I'll ask someone.
I started walking.
And immediately bumped into someone.
"Heyyyy — if it isn't our new member! Thran!"
Yule.
He was wearing a glamorous grey ensemble — a charcoal frock coat over a shimmering silver-silk waistcoat and dove-grey trousers, finished with a silk top hat and a silver-pinned cravat. Looking like he'd just stepped out of a very expensive tailor's window.
"Good late afternoon, Mr. Yule."
"Just call me Yule — or bro. Let's not be that formal. We're coworkers. Friends too, right?"
"…Ugh. Fine. Bro, I guess."
"So what are you up to?" he said, with a smirk that already suggested he was about to make himself useful whether I wanted him to or not.
"Looking for the nearest perfumery. I forgot where it was."
"How did you forget? Haven't you lived here your whole life?"
"Have you ever just… blanked on something you should absolutely know? Something everyone else remembers no problem? That's me right now. I almost never go to the perfumery."
"Sigh… too bad." He clicked his tongue. "Here, let me help you."
Oh — he's actually going to help.
"Alright, follow me."
I followed Yule, who apparently knew exactly where it was. We walked. And kept walking.
"Yule — I don't have much time. Is it still far?"
"Nope, almost there."
"Hurry up, I only have about 17 minutes left."
We stopped.
"Here we are," Yule said.
I looked up at the building in front of us.
It looked like an abandoned house. Weathered walls. Peeling paint. A door that had clearly seen better decades. The kind of building children dared each other to knock on.
"…Are you sure this is it, Yule? This looks like a haunted house."
"Haunted? No. I'm a regular here."
Hm. So it's one of those. Looks terrible on the outside, but once you step in—
We stepped inside.
I looked around.
…No.
"What is this place, Yule? This is dirtier than the bathroom of the Lord of Toilets himself."
"What?"
"Forget it — what is this place?"
"This," Yule said, gesturing around with complete sincerity, "is my perfumer."
Lo and behold.