The world changed—and Ren immediately regretted stepping forward.

One second, he was in the dusty bookshop, staring at a weird glowing plate. The next, he was falling.

"—oh NO NO NO—"

Wind roared past his ears. His stomach abandoned him somewhere back in the bookshop, and for a horrifying moment, Ren considered the possibility that he had, in fact, just died. Then, just as suddenly, he stopped falling—

—and slammed face-first into cold stone.

He groaned into the floor. "I’m going to kill her."

A shadow fell over him. "You’re alive. That’s promising."

Ren rolled onto his back, vision still spinning. The woman (who still hadn’t given him a name, which he was adding to his growing list of complaints) crouched over him, looking annoyingly not-fallen-from-the-sky.

"What the hell was that?!" he demanded.

She shrugged. "A shortcut."

Ren pushed himself upright. "That was not a shortcut. That was attempted murder with extra steps."

She smirked. "You survived. I’d call that a success."

Ren decided, right then and there, that he hated this woman.

He groaned and looked around. They were in some kind of underground chamber—vaulted stone ceilings, deep shadows, the usual "welcome to the ancient, probably cursed ruins" aesthetic. The only source of light came from his pocket watch, which was now glowing faintly. Because of course it was.

"Where are we?" he asked.

The woman walked ahead, studying the walls. Symbols, similar to the ones on the brass plate, were carved into the stone. "A Timekeeper’s vault," she murmured. "Older than the city above. Untouched for centuries."

Ren’s gut twisted. He knew that name. Timekeepers. His father used to whisper about them when he thought Ren wasn’t listening. They were the ones who could read time. Shape it.

They were also all supposed to be dead.

Ren stood, dusting himself off. "So, what, we’re grave robbing now?"

The woman shot him a look. "It’s not grave robbing if no one’s buried here."

"Right. And I suppose if I steal from a bank but don’t take the vault door, it’s not robbery."

She ignored that, stepping toward a massive circular doorway at the far end of the chamber. It was sealed shut, covered in more of the strange markings. At its center, a single indentation shaped exactly like—

Ren paled.

"Oh, hell no."

The woman turned back to him. "Ren, put the watch in the door."

"Nope." He took a step back. "Nope, absolutely not. Do you see that door? That is a ‘bad things happen when you open this’ door. That is a ‘sacrificial blood ritual goes here’ door."

She crossed her arms. "Ren."

He held up a finger. "I have seen at least three different horror plays where someone does exactly this, and guess what? It never ends well."

The woman sighed. "Ren, it’s a Timekeeper’s vault. Your family’s vault. That watch is the key."

"Then maybe the vault should stay locked."

"Ren."

"...Fine."

Muttering curses under his breath, he pulled out the pocket watch and slowly fit it into the indentation. The second it clicked into place, the entire vault rumbled.

Ren jumped back. "SEE? I TOLD YOU."

The symbols along the walls flared to life, pulsing with golden light. Dust rained from the ceiling. The circular door groaned as it began to slide open.

Ren braced himself, fully expecting some ancient time-wraith to come screaming out. Instead—

Nothing.

Just darkness beyond the door.

The woman smirked. "See? Not so bad."

Ren exhaled. "Yeah, yeah. Let’s just get this over with."

They stepped forward into the unknown.

And the door slammed shut behind them.

Ren groaned. "I hate magic doors."