"Hornet 3 to base, over. Enemy forces are heading to your position."

"Enemy forces have found the entrance to the 'Tiger's Maw.'

Rumble.

"Is this recording? Whatever. Hi! I'm Alek. If you're watching this video, I've probably been captured, tortured, and very likely killed. But you're probably wondering: who would want to capture and kill a 17-year-old who, just a year ago in normal time, was a regular student with ordinary goals and maybe a promising future? Yeah, that sounds vague, I admit. Maybe after finishing school, I'd have gone to college, studied something decent..."

"Enemy forces have entered the base! EVACUATE, I REPEAT, EVACUATE!"

"As I was saying, maybe I'd have worked in an office until 49 and retired peacefully in the woods."

Explosion.

"Alright, it may sound boring, but that was my plan. Not to be part of the 'Chronomorphs'... Stupid name, I know. I still don't get how Robert convinced me to use it for us. But I'm getting sidetracked. Let's go back to the beginning..."

=====(A year ago)=====

Beep---Boop---Beep.

"What's that noise? Ahhh! I overslept again!"

"Johnson."

"Here."

"Smith."

"Present."

"Sander."

"Here."

"Torrentem."

(Silence.)

"Alek Torrentem, are you present?"

Murmurs in the class.

"Thiago, any idea where Alek is?"

"No, professor. He didn't say he'd miss class today."

The door bursts open.

"Present, professor!"

"Mr. Torrentem, have you seen the time? You're half an hour late. Quite ironic, considering your last name means 'speed.'"

"Sorry, professor. It won't happen again."

"Don't make promises you can't keep. Take a seat."

Alek quickly sat next to Thiago, who looked at him with a mix of mockery and concern.

"Overslept again?" Thiago whispered.

"Ugh, don't mention it. I was up all night playing a new RPG."

"Same as always. I don't get what you see in grinding materials for repetitive quests."

"Hey, it was different this time!"

"Sure, better graphics, unique gameplay... You said the same about the last four games."

"But this one really is—"

"Shh! Tell me later. You're lucky the professor hasn't started anything important yet."

Professor Porter began his lecture about life decisions and the students' future, but his words became a distant echo for Alek, who soon drifted back into a deep sleep.

"Alek! Wake up already!"

"Huh? Professor Porter? What's going on?"

"Class is over. I understand you've been through tough times since the accident, but it's been two years. It's time to focus on your future. Your grades are excellent, but they don't reflect what's really going on with you."

Alek nodded, apologizing as he gathered his things and left the classroom.

Checking his phone, he saw it was already 2 PM. He had barely slept three hours the previous night and still managed to make it to class. He dialed Thiago's number.

"Where are you guys? Still at school?"

"Hey! Look who's awake. We're at the mall. If you hurry, I'll treat you to something."

"That's a promise!" Alek replied, smiling as he ran toward the mall.

Panting, Alek wandered the mall, unable to find his friends. A strange sensation crept over him. Tick, tock… tick, tock...

"A clock? What's that sound?" he murmured, pausing for a moment.

As Alek stepped forward, he stumbled into something firm and solid. Standing before him was a man clad in elegant black armor. The intricate design bore glowing runes, and his cape billowed despite the lack of wind.

"Excuse me, sir," Alek quickly said, regaining his balance and stepping back.

The knight stared at him for a long moment, his eyes shining as if reflecting fragments of the past and future. He nodded slightly but said nothing.

Feeling the weight of the gaze, Alek muttered another apology before walking away quickly. However, as he left, a chill ran down his spine when he heard a whispered phrase escape the knight's lips.

"And with this, it makes a thousand."

Before Alek could turn back, the knight vanished as though an invisible hand had erased his existence.

"What… what is happening?" he asked, staggering as he tried to process the encounter.

After bumping into the old man, Alek lost his sense of direction. He no longer recognized where he was, nor did he understand when it had grown dark, as if night had come too early.

The surroundings were surreal, a mix of living shadows and flickering light that pulsed to the rhythm of an imaginary clock. The ground beneath his feet felt solid but unstable, as though space itself was folding and stretching.

"This has to be a dream. Maybe... am I hallucinating? Yeah! It must be the three nights without sleep. That's it!"

Alek tried to calm himself, but the environment didn't help. Shadows seemed to approach and retreat. Every step he took echoed endlessly. His heart pounded as he searched for a way out, any hint of normalcy.

Wandering aimlessly, he stumbled upon something solid. It was a metallic object embedded in the ground. Kneeling to examine it, he saw it resembled an old clock, with exposed gears turning slowly in defiance of physics.

"What is this?" he murmured, reaching out to touch it.

The contact triggered an explosion of light. Alek felt a pull in his chest, as if something within him had been activated. His vision filled with fragmented images: people running, buildings collapsing, a battle between strange beings, and finally, a glowing symbol etched in the air.

When he came to, the clock had vanished, replaced by a luminous tattoo on his forearm. It was an intricate design of gears and clock hands moving slowly.

"What… what does this mean?" he asked, his voice trembling.

Before he could process what had happened, a deafening roar shattered the silence. A massive creature emerged from the shadows. Its body was a fusion of shattered clocks and rusted metal, with eyes glowing an eerie blue light. It resembled a mix between a blue whale and membranous wings. Alek stepped back, his survival instincts taking over.

"This can't be real!" he shouted, turning on his heels to run.

The creature ignored Alek, deeming him irrelevant to its time. Every moment it moved further away until Alek heard a stone fall, resonating like a church bell. Panic surged as he ran, desperate to find shelter.

Suddenly, he saw a door wide open, its interior too bright to discern.

A feeling born of fear compelled him. "Run toward the light!"

Alek turned his head and saw a glimmer in the distance. Without questioning the strong urge, he sprinted toward the door with all his might. The light grew, engulfing him completely.

A gong echoed, and in the next instant, Alek found himself in a different place.

The ground beneath him was solid and covered in luminous grass. In the sky, massive gears turned slowly, emitting a faint hum. In front of him, a group of people watched him with mixed expressions of curiosity and relief.

"Welcome to Hell boy," one of them said, a tall man with eyes as bright as mercury.

Alek could barely process what he was seeing. One thought ran through his mind:

"Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."