The moment the Silver Tree shattered...
The entire sanctuary screamed.
It wasn't a sound heard with the ears.
It echoed directly within the soul.
The endless Sea of Forgotten Time cracked like fragile glass. Islands crumbled into silver mist, and the sky split apart into countless fragments.
The sanctuary was dying.
"Leave!"
Lyra's voice rang across the collapsing realm.
"Once the Heart has accepted the Second Hour, this place can no longer exist."
She raised both hands.
The remaining silver light gathered into a protective sphere around Lin Mo, Chen Yu, and Han Qiu.
Outside the barrier, reality itself began to unravel.
The sea disappeared first.
Then the islands.
Finally, even the horizon dissolved into nothingness.
The masked leader of the Eclipse Court refused to retreat.
He reached toward the fading fragments of the Silver Tree.
"The inheritance belongs to me!"
His black spear absorbed streams of silver light.
For a brief moment, his aura surged dramatically.
But then—
A violent backlash erupted from within the spear.
Dark cracks spread across its shaft.
The masked leader coughed a mouthful of blood.
"No..."
"It rejects me?"
Lyra looked at him without hatred.
"The inheritance of Time cannot be stolen."
"It can only be entrusted."
Suddenly, Lin Mo's silver watch began spinning wildly.
Not once.
Not twice.
But in every direction at the same time.
The Guardian's voice echoed urgently.
> "The sanctuary is collapsing into the Silent Interval."
> "If we remain..."
> "...everyone will be erased."
Before Lin Mo could respond, the watch projected a beam of silver light into the empty sky.
The beam struck nothing.
Yet space rippled outward.
Slowly...
An enormous bronze door appeared.
It was unlike anything Lin Mo had seen before.
The door stood alone in the void.
Its surface was engraved with thousands of interlocking gears and clock hands.
At its center was a symbol identical to the one on Lin Mo's watch.
Chen Yu stared in amazement.
"What is that?"
The Guardian answered.
> "The Clockmaker's Door."
Han Qiu frowned.
"The Clockmaker?"
The Guardian remained silent for a long moment.
Then he spoke quietly.
> "The one who created the first Chrono Heart."
Even Lyra looked surprised.
"So..."
"It still exists."
For the first time since Lin Mo had met her, genuine emotion appeared on her face.
"I believed it had vanished with the Eternal Clock."
The bronze door slowly opened.
Warm golden light spilled from within.
But instead of revealing another chamber...
It revealed a workshop.
Countless unfinished clocks floated through the air.
Half-built hourglasses rested upon enormous wooden tables.
Mechanical birds flew between shelves filled with strange silver tools.
It looked less like the home of a god...
And more like the workplace of a patient craftsman.
Then a voice echoed from within.
Calm.
Gentle.
Ancient.
> "One who carries Time..."
> "...enter."
The Guardian immediately spoke.
> "Go."
> "Do not hesitate."
The masked leader suddenly realized what was happening.
His expression changed for the first time.
"No!"
"He must never enter that place!"
He ignored Lyra entirely and charged toward the bronze door.
His speed was terrifying.
In a single breath, he crossed half the collapsing sanctuary.
He reached out—
Only a few meters remained.
Lyra smiled faintly.
"I can still fulfill one final promise."
She raised one finger.
"Pause."
Everything around the masked leader stopped.
Not just his body.
His spiritual energy.
His spear.
Even the fragments of dust surrounding him.
Time had been completely suspended.
A single tear rolled down Lyra's cheek.
"I cannot hold him for long."
She looked at Lin Mo.
"Live well."
"Remember us."
Her body dissolved into countless silver butterflies.
The butterflies circled the bronze door before disappearing into the light.
The Keeper of the Second Hour was gone.
Lin Mo lowered his head.
"I won't forget."
The Roman numeral **II** on his watch glowed brightly.
He could still feel Lyra's presence.
Not as a spirit.
But as a memory that would never fade.
"Let's go!" Chen Yu shouted.
The three friends sprinted toward the Clockmaker's Door.
As they crossed the threshold, the golden light surrounded them.
The sanctuary collapsed behind them.
The masked leader finally broke free from the Pause.
"No!"
He thrust his spear toward the closing doorway.
The spear flew through the narrowing gap.
Lin Mo instinctively turned.
Just before the door closed, he caught a glimpse of the masked leader's face as his mask cracked.
For the briefest instant...
He saw a familiar feature.
A silver watch.
Not around the man's neck.
But engraved into his left eye.
The bronze door slammed shut.
The spear struck it from the outside.
Nothing happened.
Silence returned.
Inside the workshop, everything was peaceful.
Thousands of clocks ticked in perfect harmony.
An elderly man sat at a wooden workbench, carefully repairing a tiny pocket watch.
Without looking up, he smiled.
"I've been waiting a very long time."
He placed the repaired watch on the table.
Then, for the first time, he raised his eyes to meet Lin Mo's.
They were neither silver...
Nor crimson.
They were the color of a clear dawn sky.
"Welcome."
"My name..."
He paused, as though recalling a forgotten memory.
"...is Orion."
"The last Clockmaker."