Tick.
The sound was small.
Barely louder than a whisper.
But Aria heard it.
Loud.
Clear.
Impossible.
Her eyes snapped back to the clock tower.
The second hand had moved.
Just once.
Then it stopped again.
The city continued like nothing had happened.
People walked.
Someone laughed nearby.
A car horn echoed down the street.
Normal.
Everything was normal.
Except it wasn't.
Aria slowly turned back to the boy.
"You just said…"
Her voice caught in her throat.
"…that I'm going to die."
The boy didn't react.
No guilt.
No hesitation.
Just calm.
"Yes."
The word landed like stone.
Aria took a step back.
"You're insane."
Maybe he was.
Maybe this was a prank.
Maybe she was dreaming.
But deep inside her chest —
something felt wrong.
The boy tilted his head slightly.
"If I were insane," he said softly,
"you wouldn't have seen the clock stop."
Aria's breath tightened.
Because he was right.
No one else had reacted.
No one else had noticed.
Just her.
And him.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The boy looked up at the sky.
Like he was searching for something invisible.
Then he answered.
"Kael."
Just that.
No last name.
No explanation.
"Kael," Aria repeated slowly.
The name felt strange.
Ancient.
"Okay… Kael," she said,
trying to keep her voice steady.
"How do you know when I'm going to die?"
Kael looked at her again.
This time his gaze was heavier.
"You want the truth?"
"Yes."
"You won't like it."
"I already don't."
Silence.
The wind moved through the empty space between them.
Finally —
Kael spoke.
"Because I've seen it before."
Aria frowned.
"What does that even mean?"
"It means," he said quietly,
"that your death already happened."
The words didn't make sense.
Not logically.
Not physically.
Not in any universe.
"That's impossible."
Kael didn't argue.
Instead he reached into his coat.
Aria tensed.
But he only pulled out something small.
Metal.
Old.
A pocket watch.
Its surface was covered with strange cracks.
Like glass that had shattered
but never fully broken.
Kael opened it.
Inside —
the tiny clock hands were spinning wildly.
Too fast.
Too chaotic.
Aria stared.
"What is that?"
Kael's voice was barely above a whisper.
"Time."
Aria blinked.
"That's not funny."
"I'm not joking."
He held the watch closer to her.
"Every person has one."
Aria looked at him like he had lost his mind.
"A watch… decides when people die?"
"Not a watch."
Kael's eyes darkened slightly.
"A countdown."
The spinning hands suddenly slowed.
Slower.
Slower.
Until they stopped.
Kael turned the watch toward her.
Aria looked down.
At the tiny engraved number beneath the clock face.
Her heart skipped.
Six.
The number glowed faintly.
Then changed.
5
A chill ran down her spine.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Kael closed the watch gently.
"Months."
The word echoed inside her head.
Months.
Five months.
Her chest felt hollow.
"This is ridiculous."
But her voice wasn't confident anymore.
Not really.
Because the clock tower behind them
was still frozen.
Kael slipped the pocket watch back into his coat.
Then he said something quietly.
Something that made the air feel colder.
"The real problem isn't that you're going to die."
Aria stared at him.
"Then what is?"
Kael's eyes lifted to the sky again.
Dark clouds were forming above the city.
Slow.
Heavy.
"The problem," he said softly,
"is that you already did."