The drive that should have taken three hours stretched into four, each minute gnawing at Adrian's nerves. The city's arteries were clogged with unmoving cars, red taillights stretching into infinity. The timer in his mind ticked down with merciless precision—thirty minutes left, and he was still twenty minutes away from his destination. Rain hammered the windshield, blurring the world into streaks of red and white.
Adrian's jaw clenched as he rolled down his window, the cold air biting his skin. He called out to a group of drivers standing outside their cars, their faces drawn with frustration and fatigue.
"What's going on up there?" Adrian shouted, urgency sharpening his voice.
A man in a soaked jacket shook his head, rain dripping from his cap. "Traffic lights are all messed up. Some kind of malfunction. There've been a few accidents, too. No one's moving. We've been stuck here for over an hour."
Adrian's heart pounded. He couldn't afford to wait. He slammed the car door and broke into a run, weaving through the maze of stalled vehicles. His shoes splashed through puddles, the city's chaos pressing in on all sides. The system's voice guided him, overlaying directions in his mind, highlighting shortcuts and alleyways.
System: Continue straight for 200 meters. Turn left at the next intersection. Estimated arrival: seven minutes before timer expiration.
Adrian's lungs burned, but he pushed harder, sprinting through the rain-soaked streets. He vaulted over a toppled trash can, ducked beneath a low-hanging sign, and darted through a narrow alley where the city's neon glow barely reached. Every step was a battle against exhaustion, but the timer's relentless countdown drove him forward.
He passed a smashed intersection where police were directing traffic around a crumpled sedan. The officers barely glanced at him as he sped past, his coat flaring behind him. The city blurred past in streaks of neon and shadow. At exactly seven minutes left on the timer, he skidded to a halt in front of the old Timeless Fix shop, chest heaving, rain streaming down his face.
He didn't hesitate. Adrian barreled through the door, gun drawn, eyes scanning the dim interior. The air was thick with the scent of oil and metal, the tick-tock of dozens of clocks echoing in the gloom. Clockwork parts littered the counters and floor, glinting in the flickering light. Shadows stretched across the walls, warped by the uneven glow of a single desk lamp.
With three minutes left, he found Paul Albates hunched over a workbench, assembling a complex mechanism. Officer Lin lay motionless on the table beside him, pale and still, her wrists bound with copper wire. The sight of her—so still, so vulnerable—sent a jolt of fear through Adrian's chest.
The timer paused. Adrian's instincts screamed—he was finally facing the true suspect.
He leveled his gun at Paul. "Freeze! Don't move!"
Paul didn't flinch. Instead, he smiled—a cold, knowing smile that sent a chill down Adrian's spine. In a blink, he vanished from the workbench and appeared directly in front of Adrian, moving with impossible speed.
System: Warning. Stat difference detected. Opponent's stats exceed yours by 40 points in all categories.
Adrian's mind raced. His own stats capped at 20 for Strength, Vitality, Intelligence, and Charm. Luck was a pitiful 2. If the system was right, Paul had 60 in each stat—a monstrous gap.
Paul's hand shot out, knocking Adrian's gun across the room. Before Adrian could react, Paul's fist crashed into his guard. Adrian managed to block, but the force sent him flying across the shop, crashing into a shelf of gears and springs. Metal clattered to the floor, the sound sharp and jarring.
Pain radiated through his arms, but the enhanced gear absorbed the worst of it. Adrian rolled to his feet, settling into a boxing stance, drawing on his level 2 boxing skills. He could keep up, but only barely. Every dodge was a near miss, every counter a desperate gamble. Paul's punches were sharp, each one echoing through the cluttered room like a hammer on steel.
Paul's eyes narrowed. Realizing brute force wasn't enough, he reached into thin air—his own system's inventory—and pulled out a gleaming knife. The blade shimmered with a strange, unnatural light.
Adrian's pulse spiked. Danger radiated from the blade.
System: Warning. Opponent is activating skill: Time Reaper's Authority.
Adrian gritted his teeth. "What does it do?"
System: If you are cut, Paul can control your perception of time. He can slow your thoughts or stop you entirely. Counter with your own Authority skill.
Adrian didn't hesitate. "Activate Absolute Authority." Fifty MP vanished from his pool, leaving him with half his reserves.
The air thickened, pressure mounting as the two Authority skills collided. The room felt crowded, suffocating, as if the walls themselves were closing in. Paul's Authority radiated a godlike menace, but Adrian's was a bluff—an overwhelming aura that pressed back with sheer force of will.
Paul hesitated, feeling the weight of Adrian's presence, but lunged anyway. The knife flashed. Adrian dodged, but the blade grazed his arm.
Paul's eyes lit up. "Stop."
Adrian blinked, feeling a strange tug at his mind—but nothing happened. He shook off the sensation and drove his fist into Paul's face. Paul staggered back, stunned.
He stared at Adrian's arm, expecting to see blood, but there was nothing. The enhanced Wick's Coat had absorbed the blow.
System: Enhanced Wick's Coat – Nothing can penetrate this cloak. Durability: 98/100.
Paul's composure cracked. He slashed again, but the blade skidded harmlessly off the coat. Panic flickered in his eyes.
"What the hell?" Paul shouted, voice trembling.
Adrian advanced, Authority radiating from him, the bluff skill amplifying his presence. Paul's fear grew—his attacks were useless, and Adrian was still standing.
Paul's desperation spilled over. "Move! I need to finish this! If I don't kill her, I'm out of time!"
Adrian stepped in to stop him, but Paul's strength was overwhelming. With a single shove, Adrian was thrown aside, crashing into the wall. Paul turned, knife raised, and lunged toward Officer Lin.
Adrian scrambled to his feet, but he was too slow. Paul's knife hovered over Lin's chest, his face twisted with desperation and fear.
At the last moment, gunshots rang out—three sharp cracks that echoed through the shop. Paul jerked as bullets struck his stomach, his arm, and finally his foot. He collapsed to the ground, the knife clattering away.
Adrian stared in shock, searching for the source. From the shadows, a woman stepped forward, her presence commanding and cold. Her silhouette was sharp against the flickering light, her eyes glinting with a predatory calm.
"Robin Marin?" Adrian breathed, recognizing her face from the past.
The woman smiled, but her eyes were distant, ancient. "That's not my real name." She handed Adrian's gun back to him, her fingers brushing his with icy finality.
Adrian instinctively raised the gun at her, but the moment he did, a chill swept over him—a primal warning of death. His system chimed urgently.
System: Warning. Cease all aggression. You are in the presence of the Lady of Death.
The Lady of Death smiled, her gaze pinning Adrian in place. He lowered his weapon, heart pounding, and watched as she turned and disappeared into the darkness, her footsteps silent as a whisper.
Adrian rushed to Paul's side, blood pooling beneath him. Despite everything, despite the horror and the crimes, Adrian couldn't let him die—not like this. He pulled out the potions he'd bought, hands shaking.
Paul stopped him, a strange peace settling over his features. "No. Let me go. I'm freer now than I've ever been."
Adrian's voice was hoarse. "Why?"
Paul's eyes flickered with pain and relief. "Do you know what it's like to live by the clock, Detective? To have every moment measured, every failure punished?"
He swallowed, voice trembling. "It still haunts me. Every day, every night. Tick, tick, tick. Do this in ten minutes. Solve that in an hour. No rest. No mercy. I became a machine, Adrian. Just another cog."
Tears glistened in Paul's eyes. "I wanted the world to see what it does to us. How it turns people into parts—replaceable, disposable. Maybe if I stopped their clocks, I could finally silence mine."
Adrian's system flashed a warning, but he ignored it. He saw the pain, the desperation. "You're not a machine. You're human. We both are. But this—" He gestured to the clockwork heart on the table. "This isn't the answer."
Paul managed a faint smile. "Thank you. I'm finally free from the system."
His breath rattled, then stopped. Paul Albates was gone.
Adrian sat back on his heels, the weight of the moment pressing down on him. The rain outside had faded to a gentle patter, the city's chaos replaced by a heavy, aching silence.
He stood, numb, and hurried to Officer Lin. He gently shook her, and after a moment, her eyes fluttered open. She saw Adrian and threw her arms around him, sobbing with relief.
"Adrian… I thought I was dead," she whispered, her voice raw.
"You're safe now," Adrian murmured, holding her tight.
The police burst in, weapons drawn, and quickly secured the scene. Paramedics rushed to Lin's side, checking her vitals and lifting her onto a stretcher. Adrian let them take over, his gaze falling on the last clockwork heart resting on the table.
He picked it up, feeling the cold metal pulse in his palm. The intricate gears and springs were beautiful, but monstrous—a symbol of everything Paul had become, and everything Adrian had nearly lost.
System: Case complete. Updating system. Please stand by.
Adrian stared at the heart, the ticking echoing in his ears. He thought of Paul's words, of the system's relentless demands, and of the line he'd nearly crossed himself. He wondered if he, too, was just another cog—another life measured by the ticking of an invisible clock.
Officer Lin reached for his hand, grounding him in the present. "Let's go home," she said softly.
Adrian nodded, slipping the clockwork heart into his pocket. As they stepped out into the rain, the city seemed quieter, the night less oppressive. The timer in his mind was gone, replaced by a fragile, uncertain peace.
The last chapter closed with the ticking of the final clockwork heart, and the hope that, for once, time might be on their side.