The clock stopped at 3:17.
Arin Veylor didn't notice it at first.
He was walking home, kicking a small stone along the empty road, thinking about nothing—just another ordinary day under an ordinary sky.
Then the wind stopped.
Not slowed.
Stopped.
The leaves hanging from the trees froze in place, as if painted into the air. A bird above him halted mid-flight, wings stretched wide, unmoving like a statue.
Arin frowned.
"What…?"
He took another step.
The sound of his own foot hitting the ground echoed too loudly.
Everything else was silent.
Too silent.
No breeze.
No distant voices.
No life.
A strange chill crept down his spine.
"Hello?" he called out.
His voice didn't travel.
It felt like it was swallowed the moment it left his mouth.
Arin's heart began to pound.
This wasn't normal.
This wasn't possible.
Then—
Crack.
A thin line appeared in the air in front of him.
At first, it looked like a scratch on glass.
Then it grew.
Spreading slowly, glowing faintly, splitting the world apart like something unseen was tearing reality open from the other side.
Arin stumbled backward.
His breath quickened.
"No… no… this is a dream…"
But deep inside, he knew—
It wasn't.
The crack widened.
And from within it…
Something moved.
A shadow.
No.
A figure.
A man stepped halfway through the tear in reality, his form flickering like he didn't fully belong to this world. His eyes glowed faintly, ancient and calm—like he had seen centuries pass.
And he was looking directly at Arin.
Not around him.
Not past him.
At him.
The man smiled.
Not warmly.
Not kindly.
But knowingly.
"You can see it," the man said.
His voice didn't echo.
It existed—heavy, deep, like it carried weight beyond sound.
Arin's legs trembled. "See… what?"
The man tilted his head slightly.
"The fracture."
Arin swallowed. "What is this…? What's happening?"
For a moment, the man didn't answer.
Then he stepped closer to the edge of the crack, as if studying Arin more carefully.
And then he said something that made Arin's blood run cold—
"That means you shouldn't exist."
Silence.
Arin felt like the world dropped beneath him.
"What…?"
The man's expression darkened slightly.
"Everyone is bound by time," he continued slowly.
"Born in it. Living through it. Dying within it."
His glowing eyes sharpened.
"But you…"
He leaned closer.
"…are outside it."
Before Arin could speak—
The crack snapped shut.
Like shattered glass repairing itself.
The wind rushed back.
The bird in the sky flew forward again.
Leaves fell.
Sound returned all at once.
The world was normal.
The clock ticked again.
3:18.
Arin stood frozen, chest rising and falling rapidly.
Sweat dripped down his face.
He looked around wildly.
Everything was the same.
Everything was fine.
But something inside him had changed.
Something irreversible.
Something terrifying.
He whispered under his breath—
"…What am I?"
Far away…
Beyond what eyes could see…
A voice echoed in the darkness—
"He has awakened."
And somewhere deep within the unseen realm of time…
Something ancient began to move.