Elias took the key and turned it in the rusted mechanism below the pedestal. The air shimmered. Suddenly, everything was moving. Gears groaned to life, ropes snapped taut, and the sound of ticking filled the tower like a heartbeat returning.
Then came a voice—smooth, deep, and kind.
"You found it," said a tall man in a coat sewn with silver threads. His eyes gleamed like clock hands. "I am the Keeper of Time. And you, Elias, have been chosen."
"Chosen for what?" Elias asked, breathless.
"To fix what was broken," the Keeper said. "Time cracked when your grandfather vanished. He wasn't just a clockmaker. He was a Guardian of Time."
Elias didn't know what to say.
"You must go where time has bled," the Keeper continued. "Find the lost seconds. Mend the fractures. Bring him back."