*Chapter 17: Whispers in the Gears*
Time didn't stop.
Not when the Hourglass was sealed.
Not when Theo passed the trial.
And definitely not when the wind changed again.
It started as a whisper in the gears.
Not just in Elmridge, but across the world—in every place that still dared to believe in old clocks, forgotten stories, and invisible truths.
Something had awakened.
And it wasn't *happy.*
***
Theo stood at the edge of the library roof, Heart Compass glowing steadily. He could feel the pull of time beneath his feet. Not rushing. Not spiraling. But humming—a gentle rhythm that matched his breath.
He should've felt peace.
But he didn't.
Because something… was watching him.
***
Later that evening, as rain brushed the windows of the old clock tower, Theo sat at his workbench.
He couldn't stop thinking about the vision during his trial. Not the pain. Not the fear.
But the *shadow*.
Just before the sixth door of light… he'd seen a figure. Hidden in smoke. Wearing a fractured mask and holding a black timepiece with *no hands.*
It hadn't spoken.
But he'd felt it.
**Hatred.
Jealousy.
Loss.**
The Heart Compass pulsed.
And then, for the first time… it dimmed.
***
Across the sea, in a place where clocks no longer worked and time bent in dangerous ways, a tower stood crumbling beneath a crimson sky.
Inside, a figure carved gears into stone walls—angrily, endlessly.
Their voice was hoarse but furious.
"She sealed me out.
She left me here.
But time always opens."
The figure turned.
Half their face was missing.
What remained was metal, fused with glass.
A broken Guardian.
One that had been *forgotten.*
Name lost.
Purpose corrupted.
But now?
*Returning.*
***
Back in Elmridge, Theo finally slept.
But the dream found him anyway.
He stood in a mirrored hallway, his reflection stretching on both sides.
Then he saw someone walking toward him.
Not Mara.
Not Elias.
Not the Clockmaker.
Someone… unfamiliar.
Their eyes were golden, but hollow. Their voice was distant but sharp.
"Do you even know what you've inherited?"
Theo swallowed. "Time."
The figure smirked. "No, boy. You've inherited *a prison.* And you don't even know who you're guarding *against.*"
The hallway shattered.
Theo woke, gasping.
His room was dark.
And outside the window… the clocks were ticking backward.