In the depths of Fog City, there lies a steam workshop forgotten by time. Its exterior walls are covered with moss and vines, as if nature is attempting to reclaim this fortress of mechanics and steel back into its fold. Inside the workshop, under the dim lighting, Lancelot is engrossed in a pile of intricate gears and springs, his hands deftly weaving through them as if composing a silent mechanical symphony.
Lancelot is a highly skilled clockmaker, whose family has been renowned for crafting precise timepieces for generations. However, with the Industrial Revolution sweeping across the continent, traditional clockmaking has gradually been replaced by mass-produced mechanical clocks. Despite this, Lancelot still adheres to this ancient craft. He believes that each handmade clock carries the soul and emotions of the craftsman, something that cold machinery cannot match.
On this day, Lancelot received a special commission—to repair an ancient pocket watch. The watch appears ordinary on the outside, but when Lancelot first touched it, he felt a strange chill, as if some unknown force was secretly observing him. He dismissed this odd sensation, for as an experienced clockmaker, he had encountered countless strange and unique clocks, and each repair was an exploration of the unknown.
Lancelot carefully opened the back cover of the pocket watch, and a faint musty smell hit his nostrils. He examined the internal mechanical structure closely and found that the gears were severely rusted, and the spring had lost its elasticity. He sighed softly and began the repair work. However, as he tried to use a tiny tweezer to pick out a piece of rust stuck between the gears, an accident occurred.
Lancelot's right hand suddenly felt a sharp pain. He looked down and saw that his index finger had been severed by a suddenly ejected sharp fragment! Blood instantly stained his finger and the workbench, and a feeling of unspeakable fear surged through him. He endured the pain and quickly pressed the wound with his left hand to stop the bleeding. But at this moment, he was surprised to find that black veins had emerged on the back of his right hand, wriggling under the skin like living creatures and emitting a eerie glow.
Lancelot was filled with shock and horror. He tried to use reason to analyze everything, but his mind was blank. At this moment, he seemed to hear a low and distant voice whispering in his ear, "Welcome to the world of the Gear's Eye, Lancelot. Your destiny will now be closely linked to mine."
This voice seemed to come from another dimension, filled with indescribable fear and temptation. Lancelot felt his consciousness beginning to blur, as if being pulled by an invisible force into a bottomless dark abyss. At the end of the abyss, he saw a pair of huge eyes, composed of countless tiny gears, glowing with a cold light, as if able to discern all the secrets of the world.
"The Gear's Eye…" Lancelot muttered to himself. He felt his soul tightly locked by these eyes, unable to escape. At this moment, a warm force suddenly surged into his body, pulling him back from the edge of the abyss. He suddenly opened his eyes and found himself still standing at the workbench, with his right hand wound miraculously healed, leaving only a faint scar.
Lancelot took a deep breath and tried to calm his emotions. He realized that what he had experienced was not an illusion but the intervention of some supernatural force. He looked down at the ancient pocket watch and found that its internal structure had undergone tremendous changes. The originally rusted gears and spring now glowed with a brand-new shine, as if revived by some mysterious force.
Lancelot knew that there were hidden secrets behind this pocket watch. He decided to delve deeper and uncover the truth behind everything. However, he did not know that this decision would completely change his fate, drawing him into a conspiracy spanning time and space.
In the following days, Lancelot began to study the pocket watch day and night. He consulted numerous ancient books and materials, trying to find clues about the Gear's Eye and the evil deity. However, the information he obtained was scarce, and every in-depth inquiry seemed to touch upon a forbidden realm, filling him with immense fear and unease.
Despite this, Lancelot did not give up. He believed that only by uncovering the truth behind everything could he escape the shackles of that mysterious force and regain his freedom. So, he continued his research while keeping a close eye on everything around him, preparing to face the upcoming unknown challenges.
And that ancient pocket watch, like a silent witness, quietly lay on the workbench, waiting for Lancelot to uncover the secrets behind it. Under the dim lighting of the steam workshop, Lancelot's figure looked both lonely and determined, as if he were a warrior about to embark on a journey, ready to face the upcoming storms and darkness.