Darin followed Mira into the glowing workshop, still catching his breath from the chase. The room smelled like warm metal and oil. Clocks of all shapes and sizes ticked from the walls, their hands spinning at different speeds. Some moved too fast, others not at all. In the center stood a giant machine—tall as a tree, golden, and humming softly.
"This is the Heart of Time," Mira said, walking around the machine.
Darin stared up at it in awe. It looked like a mix between a steam engine and a clock tower, with spinning wheels and moving arms that clicked with every tick.
"It's broken," Mira said. "The balance of time has cracked. Your watch is the only piece still working—barely."
Darin looked down. The gear in the center of his watch had stopped moving again.
"We have to fix it, right?" he asked.
Mira nodded. "To do that, we need to collect the missing Time Shards. The first one is hidden deep in the Forgotten Forest."
Darin didn't like the sound of that. "What's in the forest?"
Mira glanced at her owl, who hooted once and flew over to a large map. It tapped a spot marked with twisting trees and a warning symbol.
"Lost creatures. Traps. Time tricks. But you won't be alone," Mira said. She handed him a small silver gear with a lightning bolt carved into it. "A speed charm. Use it only if you have to."
Darin clipped it to his belt, just as the floor shook beneath them. A deep clang echoed through the walls.
"They found us," Mira whispered. "Time Wraiths."
Darin grabbed a heavy wrench from the wall, gripping it tight. "Let's go."
They ran through a hidden tunnel under the workshop, the lights flickering above them. As they reached the exit, the city faded behind them, and before them stood the edge of the forest—dark, twisted, and whispering with wind.
Darin took a breath. "Time to start fixing everything."
Mira nodded. "One shard at a time."