Chapter Three: Twelve Water Stations

The puddle flowed uphill and vanished through an impossibly thin crack in the pillar. They pried open an inspection panel and found undocumented black fiber lines. Twelve strands converged on an antique mechanical counter. Three of its twelve cells were locked in the lit position, matching the dots from the end of the last loop. Yet the match had not begun. “The loop doesn't reset its progress,” Lin Xi said. “Only our positions—and most objects.” Cheng Ye eyed the zeroed cap. “If all twelve light, it may no longer need the loop.” A yellow label beneath the counter read: TIDAL OBSERVATION WELL—SEALED 2004. Someone had recently written on the back: Calibrate emotional peaks. Full time is the clock. Footsteps approached from both ends.