---
⛪ The Cathedral That Hangs
The alley twisted like a Möbius strip. Kairen followed the map again — its ink returned after silence. It led him to a cracked gate shaped like a clock's gear.
Beyond it:
A cathedral, built upside-down.
The spires pointed toward the ground. The bell tower hung from the sky.
Its windows were hourglasses — sand falling in loops, never touching bottom.
A sign nailed into a dead tree:
> "Sanctum of the 13th Hour.
Only the broken may enter whole."
Kairen walked through the broken arch.
---
👁️ Inside the Cult
A vast hall, lit by floating clock hands.
Thirteen robed figures sat in pews made of stone, heads bowed, their hoods stitched shut.
At the center: a pulpit made of black brass and bone.
And behind it —
a massive eye embedded in the wall. Closed.
No pupil. No eyelid. Just an eye carved from stone and rust.
A figure approached Kairen.
Tall. Clad in robes of red sand. His face was wrapped in linen and gears.
He spoke without moving his mouth:
> "You carry the Watchmaker's stain.
You are expected."
Kairen nodded. "Then begin."
---
🔥 The Rite of the Clock-Eyed Saint
The robed figure raised his hand. The thirteen others began chanting:
> "In the name of Tick. In the name of Tock.
In the name of the Hour we stole back from God."
A circle of sand surrounded Kairen.
The floating hands began spinning.
One by one, reflections of Kairen stepped forward.
One angry.
One praying.
One silent.
One smiling with blood on his face.
The figure whispered:
> "Each self must be judged. Choose one to burn.
Burn it… or be buried beneath it."
Kairen didn't hesitate.
He walked toward the smiling one — the version that seemed most free.
Then he whispered under his breath:
> "HasbunAllahu wa ni'mal wakeel…"
(Allah is sufficient for me and the best disposer of affairs)
And touched its forehead.
The reflection burst into golden flame, screaming — not in pain, but in relief.
---
📜 System Triggered
> [Rite Passed: You have burned a false self]
🔓 Pathway Progressed: Sequence 8 – Clockborne Initiate
⚙️ New Ability Unlocked: "Chrono-Pulse"
→ For 8 seconds, you can pause all decisions around you — not time, but choice.
🧠 Cost: A future choice will be erased from you.
---
The cathedral shifted.
The stone eye on the wall… opened.
It blinked once — and golden tears streamed down.
> "Child of gears...
Your time is not your own."
Then a girl walked in.
Barefoot. Dressed in white with long black hair, holding a notebook.
She looked no older than 14.
Her eyes glowed faintly blue, like polished glass.
She sketched something — quickly — and held it up to Kairen.
It was… him.
But not now.
Him, bleeding, holding a dead child under a blood moon.
She whispered:
> "You will meet him again soon, Kairen."
"He still remembers the name Noorain…"
---
🕯️ To Be Continued...
Next: Chapter 6 – The Girl Who Dreamed Gods
Who is she? Why can her sketches bend fate?
What is the 3rd Fragment hidden in her dreams?
And who is this child who knows Kairen's forbidden name?