Li Chen shut his laptop and slumped into his chair, his gaze drifting blankly toward the ceiling. Every muscle in his body screamed with fatigue, his arms weighed down as if filled with lead. Yet his mind remained alarmingly alert, the images from his dream playing on an endless loop, like a relentless film reel projected onto the back of his skull.The toll of the bell, the blazing torrent of light, the indistinct silhouettes—all of it resurfaced, one vivid fragment after another. He shut his eyes, trying to shake the visions away, but the more he resisted, the sharper they became, as though etched into the deepest recesses of his memory.Reality, however, did not allow him the luxury of dwelling on it for long. The weight of his deadlines dragged him back to the present. He rubbed his temples, exhaling heavily, and rose to his feet. Stumbling onto the balcony, he retrieved a cigarette, lighting it with a practiced hand, and drew in a long breath. The cold night air mingled with the acrid smoke in his lungs, offering a brief, numbing clarity.Propping an elbow on the railing, he watched as the cigarette's ember glowed faintly in the darkness, each inhalation igniting a fiery pulse. Wisps of smoke curled upward, ephemeral and ghostly in the faint light, dissipating into the chill. His eyes wandered to the distant cityscape, where skyscrapers loomed shrouded in a haze of smog. Their indistinct silhouettes stood like silent, monolithic phantoms, looming as if one with the encroaching night, always on the verge of being swallowed whole.He took another drag, the bitter taste of tobacco spreading across his tongue as he exhaled a plume of smoke through his nose. The vapor curled around his face, and for a fleeting moment, he saw something uncanny in it—an illusion, perhaps. The smoke morphed into the light from his dreams, luminous and flowing, the silhouettes emerging once more from its midst."Damn it..." he muttered under his breath, pressing his temples with his thumb and forefinger, as if he could physically force the images out of his mind.Closing his eyes, he willed his breathing to slow, to steady, but the strange unease from the dream lingered, a persistent ache at the edge of his thoughts. The toll of the bell, the fissure glowing with blue light, the indistinct figures—it all replayed in fragments, as vivid and disjointed as before.And then there was the sound—a low, resonant hum. It wasn't external, not something he could locate in the world around him. It came from within, vibrating through his bones, reverberating in his chest, reaching the very core of his being, his soul."Stay calm... just stay calm..." he murmured to himself, gripping the edge of the railing as he took another long breath.Snapping himself out of his spiraling thoughts, he stubbed out the cigarette with unnecessary force. Retreating inside, he drew the curtains shut, sealing himself off from the world outside. For a long moment, he stood still, leaning against the window. He didn't dare look back at the closed laptop on his desk, irrationally afraid of what he might see if he reopened it—perhaps images from his dream, creeping into the digital lines of his design drafts. The gold tones from his project, layered with light effects, now seemed disturbingly similar to the radiance he'd encountered in his dream.The room was eerily quiet, his own shallow breaths the only sound. Even time itself seemed to have frozen, an oppressive silence pressing down on him until his heart began to race. He could hear the blood pulsing through his ears, a rushing tide echoing within the emptiness of the space.Finally, his eyes flicked to the clock. Only a few minutes had passed, though the heavy stillness made it feel like an eternity. Taking a deep breath, Li Chen trudged back to his desk and flipped open the laptop.The screen illuminated the dim room with a cold, sterile glow, making him squint slightly. He navigated through his files, and there it was: Gold Background Revision 6. Hesitant, he clicked it open. The design draft slowly loaded, and familiar shapes and colors began to form.At first, it seemed as it always had—intricate patterns outlined in gold, shimmering with a brilliance meant to convey elegance. But something felt off. A subtle distortion rippled across the screen, like the faint shimmer of heatwaves or the blur of a film reel misaligned. The golden lines seemed to soften, to bend unnaturally, almost as if they were alive, writhing faintly beneath a thin veil of mist.Li Chen blinked hard and rubbed his eyes. When he looked again, the design was normal. Pristine, static. Yet the unease in his chest surged, refusing to be ignored. Moving his hand to the mouse, he noticed a slight lag as he navigated across the screen. The cursor stuttered, freezing momentarily before resuming its smooth motion."Is my laptop acting up now?" he muttered, his voice tinged with forced sarcasm, though the edge of worry was unmistakable.Dismissing the incident as exhaustion playing tricks on him, he returned to his work. Yet as his eyes traced the shimmering patterns of the design, he swore the golden hues began to ripple again, faintly pulsing like a heartbeat. The movement was subtle, almost imperceptible, but once noticed, it was impossible to unsee. It felt eerily reminiscent of the light in his dream—fluid, luminous, alive."Just an illusion..." he whispered, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes harder this time. When he reopened them, the design was, once again, perfectly still.Forcing himself to focus, Li Chen continued adjusting the gradients and highlights. The minutes crawled by as he poured over every detail, his cursor darting back and forth. Finally, with a sharp ding, the upload window popped up: File sent.He leaned back in his chair, his body sagging with relief. "Finally done," he muttered to himself, though the words carried no real satisfaction. His eyes shifted to the corner of the screen, where the time glowed faintly: 8:04 PM. The sense of accomplishment he'd hoped for was nowhere to be found, replaced instead by a hollowness that sat heavy in his chest.His back ached from hours of sitting, his shoulders stiff and his eyes burning. Staring at the screen for so long had left his vision blurry, the residual glow of the golden patterns still lingering in his mind.Rising slowly, Li Chen drifted to the window. Drawing back the curtain just enough to peer outside, he let the crisp night air brush against his face. The streets below glistened faintly under the streetlights, slick from the moisture in the air. Sparse cars rumbled by, their tires humming against the damp pavement."Maybe I should take a walk... grab a few things," he muttered, his voice raspy from hours of silence. Pulling his jacket off the back of his chair, he slipped it on and adjusted his watch with deliberate care. For reasons he couldn't quite explain, he felt an urge—a need—to step outside.With one last glance at the glowing laptop screen, he pushed open the door and stepped into the cold embrace of the night.The air outside was damp and carried a faint chill, tinged with the barely perceptible scent of grass and trees. Streetlights cast their yellowish glow through the mist, creating soft halos that illuminated the puddles on the pavement, their surfaces shimmering faintly under the diffused light.Li Chen walked aimlessly along the sidewalk, his hands buried deep in his pockets. Through his headphones, a song he had played countless times softly streamed into his ears. Its familiar melody was more of a background hum now, a way to fill the void of silence, rather than something he actively listened to.The streets were unusually quiet. Most shops had long since closed, save for a few bustling food stalls lining the roadside, their clouds of steam curling into the air. The aroma of grilled meat and charred coals mingled with the night breeze, and as he passed one stall, the smoky scent made his stomach growl faintly in protest.Eventually, he found himself in front of a convenience store. The white light from its sign spilled out into the street, bathing the doorway in a soft glow. Pushing the door open, Li Chen was met with the sterile chill of the air conditioning, a crisp breeze brushing against his face and momentarily lifting his spirits.He wandered through the aisles, picking up a few bottles of water and a bag of chips. Pausing by the display near the counter, he deliberated briefly before grabbing a pack of mint-flavored cigarettes.As he paid, the cashier looked up and smiled. "Out for a late stroll, Mr. Li?""Yeah, just picking up a few things," he replied, forcing a faint smile as he stuffed the change into his pocket and stepped out into the night.The moment he exited the store, the air seemed to shift. The damp breeze now carried a faint metallic tang, a blend of rust and something faintly scorched. Li Chen frowned, glancing around. Everything looked normal—the same bustling food stalls, the lively chatter of late-night diners. Yet the air felt heavier, like an invisible weight pressing down on his chest.He glanced at the digital watch strapped to his wrist. The time read 21:13.Then, the watch emitted a sharp beep.The numbers on the display began to whirl at an unnerving speed, the seconds ticking backward as the hands of the watch spun counterclockwise, faster and faster, as though about to snap free."Again?" Li Chen muttered, stopping in his tracks to stare at the erratic display.The music in his headphones abruptly cut out, replaced by a low, resonant hum. The sound was heavy, otherworldly, as though emanating from a great distance yet reverberating directly inside his skull. It started faintly but quickly swelled, echoing like a tolling bell, each strike growing louder, as though summoning something unseen.He looked up, startled. The neon sign of the convenience store flickered erratically, its white glow pulsating like a failing heartbeat. The metallic scent in the air intensified, thick and oppressive, and when he inhaled, it felt like breathing in liquid iron. His chest tightened, and each breath became a laborious effort.Sweat broke out on his palms, and he clenched his fists, his knuckles trembling slightly. Everything around him seemed unchanged, yet a sinister distortion pervaded the atmosphere, warping his perception. Driven by instinct, he quickened his pace, desperate to escape the creeping unease.As he neared the intersection, the familiar sight of the red and green traffic lights came into view. It was a crossing he passed daily, yet tonight, it felt entirely different.Li Chen slowed his steps, his pulse quickening. The streetlights reflected in the puddles, their rippling halos flickering unnaturally. The metallic tang in the air became sharper, tinged now with the acrid scent of burning."This place..." he whispered, his voice barely audible. Images from his dream surfaced unbidden: the traffic lights, the rippling streams of light, the gaping fissure. He had seen all of this before.Fighting the rising tide of panic, he forced himself to look up at the traffic light. The red glow burned fiercely, its reflection in the wet pavement resembling pooled blood, viscous and unmoving. His gaze dropped to his wristwatch. The time had frozen at 21:21."Always this time..." His throat tightened, his voice a strained whisper.The traffic light turned green, but as he hesitated at the edge of the crosswalk, a subtle tremor rippled through the ground beneath his feet. It was faint, like the whisper of wind brushing against the earth, but there was a distinct sense of something stirring below.He stopped mid-step. The usual night breeze had vanished entirely, replaced by a suffocating stillness. His ears rang with an oppressive hum, as though his own blood was pounding against his eardrums.The light from the streetlamps began to distort, their beams warping and trembling as if pulled by unseen hands. The shifting patterns of light scattered across the ground, cascading into ripples that danced across the puddles. The reflections shimmered unnaturally, the world around him seeming to dissolve into liquid motion."This... this can't be real," he muttered, his voice trembling. Yet the dread creeping up his spine was all too real.The air thickened further, as though the very fabric of space had been saturated with a dense, unseen liquid. His breathing grew ragged, each inhalation a battle against the invisible weight pressing down on him.He tried to step back, but his feet refused to move. A chilling paralysis gripped him as a faint blue line began to trace itself along the pavement beneath him. It started thin, no wider than a thread, but it rapidly expanded, splitting the ground apart with a blinding blue glow.From within the fissure, light erupted in waves, roiling and churning like the currents of a deep river. Tiny particles within the glow trembled and danced, forming intricate, indecipherable patterns, as though communicating in an alien language.The edges of the fissure quivered, the radiant light spilling over to paint Li Chen's face in shades of cold blue. His eyes widened, his mouth opening in a soundless cry as he tried to make sense of the impossible sight before him.A low, resonant bell tolled, blending seamlessly with the hum emanating from the fissure. Together, they wove a melody both chilling and mesmerizing, a call to something beyond his comprehension.The light intensified, surging outward in waves of blinding brilliance. Li Chen's pupils contracted sharply, his mind screaming to move, to run, yet his body remained rooted in place, trapped by the gravitational pull of the fissure.A powerful force seized him, yanking him toward the abyss. He reached out in desperation, grasping for anything to anchor himself, but his fingers met only the icy flow of light, which burned like frozen fire against his skin, its chill spreading rapidly through his veins."Stop... stop!" he screamed hoarsely, but his voice was drowned out by the deafening roar of the fissure.Then came the voice."Drifter of time, welcome back."It was cold, detached, and ethereal, reverberating directly in his mind. The words clawed at his consciousness, sending icy tendrils of dread through his very being.Li Chen's vision blurred, his chest tightening as though an invisible hand had clenched his heart. Breathless and powerless, he felt his awareness begin to fragment, pieces of himself swallowed by the light.From within the fissure, shadowy forms began to emerge. They were the same as in his dream—figures that flickered between humanlike shapes and grotesque, alien forms, moving fluidly through the currents of light.The shadows drew closer, radiating a pressure that crushed his remaining will to resist. He longed to retreat, but his body no longer obeyed."What is this..." he murmured weakly, his words dissolving into the brilliance that engulfed him.And then there was nothing but light.