The sky made no sound. But Juno could feel it.
That wasn't a poetic metaphor. It literally ticked.
Each faint rotation of the spectral clock hand overhead echoed in her chest like a heartbeat out of sync—slow, deliberate, ancient.
"Milo," she said, pointing upward. "That normal?"
He followed her gaze.
The moment he saw it, his face drained of color.
"No," he said. "No, no, no. That shouldn't be here."
The spectral hand rotated once more. With each turn, the air thinned. People in the street began to slow like they were moving underwater, or through syrup. A man mid-step paused, leg frozen in the air. A pigeon hovered mid-flap.
Juno looked around. "Okay, time's… breaking again?"
"Not breaking. Being observed."
Milo grabbed her wrist. "Back to the Tockbox. Now."
"But what is—"
"Run!"
They sprinted down the alley. The sky cracked again—a thunderless rift—and the ghostly outline of a massive mechanical iris blinked into being, rotating slowly inside the clouds. It was watching. Searching.
Juno felt something brush her thoughts.
A whisper.
"Tick. Tock. You turned the lock."
She nearly stumbled. Milo pulled her through the opening panel of the Tockbox just as the sky roared without sound and then it was gone.
Inside, the lights flickered.
Commander Idris was already pacing the main chamber, two Chrono Runners flanking her. "Status?" she barked.
Milo was pale. "Visual confirmation. A Sky Watcher. Fully manifested."
The room went dead silent.
Juno frowned. "Okay. Someone wanna tell me what a Sky Watcher is? Sounds like a creepy weather app."
Idris turned, deadly serious. "Sky Watchers aren't supposed to exist. They're not part of the known timeline. They're from before time. Guardians of the Prime Moment."
"...What's the Prime Moment?"
Milo answered: "The very first choice. The decision that started time flowing forward instead of backward."
Juno blinked. "And I… turned a key that relates to that?"
Idris walked to her. "You didn't just disturb Year Zero. You may have woken it up."
"Okay, nope," Juno said, backing away. "I'm just a temporal pickpocket, alright? I steal seconds and hide in driftspace. I don't do cosmic keys or eyeballs in the sky!"
Milo looked at her, eyes hard. "You do now."
The command table lit up. Red glyphs spun into place.
WARNING: UNAUTHORIZED TIMEFLOW DETECTED
SOURCE: THE SANDS BELOW
POTENTIAL THREAT LEVEL: TYPE-OMEGA
Idris cursed. "That's it. The Watchers aren't watching anymore. They're following."
Juno looked between them.
"Following who?"
"You," Idris said. "Whatever's chasing you wants Year Zero opened. And you're the only person alive who's ever touched it without dying."
Juno laughed once. "Well. Good news, I guess."
She turned toward the screen, her smile gone.
"Let's go stop whatever's coming."
Milo raised a brow. "Just like that?"
Juno cracked her knuckles. "You gave me a time-leash. I might as well use it."
Idris stared, then smirked. "She's got nerve."
"She's gonna need more than that," Milo muttered. "We're heading to the Sands Below. Pack your anchor and your Divider. This next loop isn't just broken… it's bleeding."