Chapter Three: The Price of an Apex

He stood in an old street under rain. A newsboy ran past shouting words he could not hear. The distant clock tower had no hands. Every shop window displayed the same little girl's portrait. Gu stood across the road beneath a black umbrella, his young face belonging neither to that age nor Shen Yan's. “You think negatives contain the past?” Gu asked. “Who are you?” “A man who refused to forget.” He pointed to the clock tower. Its face split open, revealing twelve empty divisions. Three had begun to shine. “The world owes me a day,” he said. “Your flash will return it hour by hour.” Shen Yan lunged toward him, but a silent tram crossed between them. Its windows reflected Lin Wan in the real apartment, shaking his shoulders. The street shattered.