Chapter 98: The Clockmaker of Collapse

In the broken city of Vintari, time ticked backward.

Gears hovered midair. Bells rang once, then unsounded. Day folded into night, and night flickered into pause.

At the center sat the Clockmaker.

A woman with golden pupils and fingers made of brass memory. She'd been watching the paradox girl from afar.

"Liss Hoshino," she muttered. "You've unbound too much. The seams are snapping."

She twisted a dial, and a ripple of stilled time spread across the land.

"If she breaks one more law, reality will shatter.

I must meet her before she becomes a tear."

She turned to her assistant—a child stitched from stopped moments.

"Prepare the thread. We're going to the House of Memory."