Haruto didn't speak for a while.
He sat on the cold floor, the file still in his hands. His picture on the first page stared back at him—blank eyes, no smile, like a ghost waiting to happen.
Sera leaned against the wall, arms crossed. She had stopped pacing.
"What the hell is Project Mirror?" he finally asked.
Sera shook her head. "I've heard the name before. In whispers. No one says it out loud. It's not part of the city's records."
"Then where is it from?"
"…The Lost Archives."
Haruto looked up. "That sounds made up."
She looked at him. "So does a Watchman with a machine eye."
Fair point.
Sera stepped closer, speaking low. "Some say there's a hidden place under the old part of the city. Buried deep. Kept off the maps. It's where they work."
"Who?"
"The Archivists. They don't control the city—they watch it. Every glitch, every failed test, every broken timeline… they write it all down."
Haruto stood. "So you think I'm part of a… failed experiment?"
"No. I think you're part of something that was meant to stay buried."
Suddenly, the clocks in the room all clicked—just once.
TICK.
Then silence again.
Haruto turned back to the file. At the last page, there was a symbol—burned into the paper.
A single black eye. Wide open. Crying gears.
And under it:
"If found, report to the Archivists."
Then—footsteps. Not from the stairs.
Above them.
Someone was in the house.
Sera grabbed her knife. "Stay behind me."
The sound of slow, heavy boots echoed through the ceiling. Each step steady, like they had all the time in the world.
Then—a voice. Calm. Deep. Smooth like oil.
> "The file was never meant to be opened."
Haruto looked up. "Who's that?"
The voice came again.
> "You are out of time, Candidate."
The ceiling cracked. Dust rained down.
Sera grabbed Haruto and pulled him back just as the ceiling exploded.
A figure dropped into the room.
Tall.
Dressed in old city clothes—vest, gloves, black shoes shined like mirrors.
But his head… it was a mask.
A smooth metal plate, with one red light in the middle.
He raised his hand.
The badge on Haruto's chest started to shake.
And then—burn.
Haruto screamed.
The man spoke again.
> "Return to the Archives."
Sera threw her knife.
The blade hit the mask—and bounced off.
Haruto gasped, fell to one knee. The badge was glowing red hot.
And then—
TICK.
Everything froze.
The man stopped moving.
Sera stopped mid-step.
Only Haruto could move.
He looked around, confused.
Then—
A whisper. Soft. Right in his ear.
> "The Clock is waking up, Haruto Ishida."
> "And it remembers you."