The three of them walked toward the old clock tower, the late afternoon sun stretching their shadows across the cobblestones. Aika walked ahead, clutching the journal tightly to her chest, her pace quick, almost restless.
Leon, meanwhile, was in full gremlin mode.
"So," he said, nudging Kai with his elbow, "this is where you almost died the first time we met, right?"
Kai sighed. "I didn't almost die."
"You collapsed like a fainting princess," Leon said proudly. "I was ready to catch you."
"You didn't catch me."
"You fell too fast," Leon replied, as if that explained everything.
Aika didn't turn around.
Her voice cut through them, sharp and urgent.
"Can you two stop? We're wasting time. I need to know what's in this journal."
Kai and Leon exchanged a look—the kind that said don't push her—and followed her up the narrow stone steps.
The inside of the clock tower was dim and dusty, beams of light slipping through the wooden slats. The air felt heavier here, thick with something unspoken, as if the tower itself was holding its breath.
Aika placed the journal carefully on the central table.
"Alright," she said, though her voice trembled slightly. "Open it."
Kai stepped forward.
The moment his fingers touched the cover, the runes shimmered—soft, warm, alive.
Aika gasped.
Leon leaned in, eyes widening. "Okay… that's new."
Kai opened the journal.
Aika and Leon saw blank pages.
Kai saw ink blooming across the paper like living smoke, curling and twisting before settling into words only he could read. It moved with a faint whisper, like breath against parchment.
His breath caught.
Aika frowned. "What? What does it say?"
Kai swallowed. "It's… writing itself."
Leon blinked. "We don't see anything."
Kai hesitated—just for a moment—then began reading aloud.
"My name is Mari.
If you are reading this, then someone of my blood has allowed it."
Aika's shoulders loosened, just slightly—this was familiar, grounding.
But then the ink shifted.
The handwriting sharpened, stretching into something elegant… ancient.
Kai's stomach dropped.
"But Mari was only the name I used in this world.
My true name is Alythea Dorymene."
Aika froze.
Leon let out a quiet, stunned breath. "Holy shit."
Kai felt the world tilt.
He had seen that name before—carved into palace stone, whispered in stories that were never meant to comfort.
A name spoken with reverence.
A name spoken with fear.
Alythea Dorymene.
He forced himself to keep reading.
"In Chronomara, I was called many things:
Keeper of Secrets,
Scholar of Forbidden Magic,
Advisor to the Royal Family,
and friend to both the Queen and the King."
Kai's hands tightened around the journal.
Fragments of memory surfaced—murals, faded voices, a figure standing beside a throne before everything fell apart.
A woman who had vanished.
A woman who wasn't supposed to be here.
Alive.
In this world.
Aika's grandmother.
A quiet ache opened in Kai's chest—part grief, part disbelief, part something he didn't have a name for.
He swallowed and continued.
"When age weakened my body, the Queen and a circle of trusted mages offered me peace.
A life far from corruption and war.
They opened a path to another world—this one.
I resisted, but the Queen insisted.
In the end, I accepted her gift."
Aika's expression softened, something fragile breaking through the tension.
Leon crossed his arms, frowning slightly. "Hold on—so they just… sent her to another world? Like that?"
Kai didn't answer.
He kept reading.
"Here, I found a man I loved.
We built a home.
We raised a child.
And in time… a grandchild.
Aika, my dear."
Aika's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes shining with tears.
"Why…" she whispered, her voice unsteady. "Why didn't she ever tell me?"
Kai felt something twist inside him.
Aika wasn't just confused—she was hurt.
And he didn't know how to ease that pain.
He forced the next words out.
"If these pages have awakened, then danger has crossed the veil.
Something threatens this world.
And someone must stop it."
Leon straightened.
Aika's breath hitched.
The air in the tower seemed to grow colder.
Then came the line you wanted — the one that changes everything:
"And to whoever is able to read these words:
You are surely from Chronomara."
Aika looked at Kai, startled.
Leon's eyes widened.
Kai felt his pulse spike.
He kept reading, voice tight.
"Protect this world.
And above all, protect Aika.
Her life is more important than she knows."
Aika stared at him, confusion and fear mixing in her eyes.
Leon whispered, "Kai… why does it sound like she's talking to you?"
Kai couldn't answer.
Not now.
Not with the weight of those words pressing against his ribs.
He read the final lines.
"If you can find the Crown Prince, seek his aid.
He alone carries the authority to act without restraint."
Kai's grip tightened on the journal.
His pulse roared in his ears.
Don't react.
Don't say anything.
Not here. Not now.
Aika blinked. "Crown Prince? Of where?"
Leon frowned. "Chronomara had a prince?"
Kai said nothing.
He couldn't.
The ink faded.
The page stilled.
A faint shimmer lingered at the edge of the parchment—like the ink wanted to move again, but hadn't decided yet.
Then even that faded.
The journal fell silent.
Aika's voice was barely above a whisper. "That's it? That's all?"
Kai closed the journal slowly, his hands still trembling.
Leon exhaled shakily. "This is insane…"
No one spoke.
Then—softly, impossibly—the clock tower above them ticked.
Not the dull, tired clunk it had made before.
This sound was different.
Bright.
Warm.
Almost… joyful.
As if the tower itself had been waiting.
As if it recognized the truth finally spoken aloud.
As if it welcomed the bloodline that had returned.
Kai felt the sound settle into him like a forgotten memory—
a sound that knew him.
The clock tower ticked again—
A clear, ringing note.
Alive.
Hopeful.
Like the beginning of something that could no longer be stopped.
And somewhere beyond the sound of the ticking… something listened.