Prologue: When the Hands Stood Still
The hands of the clock froze in place.
Across the entire Kempf-Litton Continent, nothing stirred. Not a single soul moved; not a breath was drawn.
Why had time ground to a halt?
Had God, sickened by the ugly depths of human depravity laid bare across the Ardellion Grand Duchy, finally descended to deliver divine retribution? Or had a merciful deity taken pity on mankind, staying the world's breath to offer them one final chance?
No one could say. Yet one truth remained undeniable.
The frozen hands of the clock were drenched in a boy's blood—and the flow of time had ceased solely for him, standing on the precipice of death as his life flashed before his eyes.
Moments later, the hands of the clock began to move once more.