Chapter 4: The Masked One
The masked figure stood perfectly still, as if time itself obeyed their command. Mara froze. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears, louder than the ticking all around her.
"I don't want any trouble," she said, forcing her voice not to shake.
"Trouble?" the figure echoed, tilting their head. "You're not here by accident, Mara. You've been chosen… just like I was."
"Chosen?" she asked. "You mean… you were like me?"
The figure stepped forward, shadows curling at their feet. "I was Time-Touched once. Long ago. But I saw the truth. Time isn't a gift—it's a prison. You'll learn."
Before she could respond, the tiny winged creature zipped in front of her, chirping frantically. The figure raised a hand—and the creature fell, stunned midair.
"No!" Mara ran to catch it, cradling the delicate body.
"Still so naive," the masked one whispered.
Then, the vines around the broken tower surged forward like snakes. Mara jumped back, holding the creature close. The vines lashed out—missing her by inches—as she turned and ran.
She didn't know where she was going, only that she had to get away. Pathways blurred past her. The world seemed to bend unnaturally—like she was being pulled sideways.
Suddenly, she tripped.
But instead of falling onto glass, she landed on soft grass.
She blinked.
A green field stretched out under a golden sky, with a single tree standing in the center. A woman in a long white cloak sat beneath it, watching Mara quietly.
"Where am I now?" Mara asked, dazed.
The woman smiled. "Safe… for now."
She stood, and as she stepped closer, Mara noticed her eyes—they shimmered like shifting sands. Ancient. Calm.
"I'm Caliah," she said. "The Keeper of Echoes. And you've just met the one who broke time."
Mara's blood ran cold.
"You mean the masked one?"
Caliah nodded. "Once a protector of this place. Now its greatest threat. If they destroy the Heart of Time, our world—yours and mine—will unravel."
Mara gripped the creature tighter. "How do I stop them?"
Caliah's eyes softened. "You'll need three fragments of the First Clock. Each one hidden in a different time-layer. Each one guarded."
"And if I fail?"
Caliah looked to the sky. "Then the loop will begin. And no one will remember anything but the same day… over and over… forever."