Chapter 74: A Date, a Detector, and an Unwanted Clue

Morning arrived far too quickly.

Rin knew this because the first thing he heard was knocking. Three loud knocks.

He pulled the blanket over his head. Another three knocks.

"Rin."

He recognized Sol’s voice. Rin didn’t move.

"Rin, I know you’re awake."

"I could be dead."

There was silence. Then Sol answered calmly.

"Then I’ll ask Kaelith to wake you."

Rin immediately sat up.

"That is an unfair threat."

The door opened. Sol stood there with Noctis behind him.

Noctis was carrying several papers. Sol looked at Rin.

"Good morning."

Rin stared at them.

"It’s too early."

"It’s nearly midday."

Rin blinked.

"...That’s still early."

Noctis laughed. Sol sighed.

"We found something."

Rin’s expression immediately changed.

"About the detector?"

"Yes."

That was enough. Rin got dressed quickly. The eastern workshop was already full of activity.

Crystals floated above the tables. Magical diagrams covered the walls. Several pieces of equipment were scattered around the room.

Sol stood in the center. The broken piece of the detector was still inside the magical frame. Rin approached.

"What’s different?"

Sol pointed toward the projection. The strange line was still there.

It moved slowly across the crystal. Like a heartbeat but now there was something else.

A second line. Much fainter. Rin frowned.

"That wasn’t there yesterday."

"No."

Noctis stepped closer.

"We left the component running overnight."

Rin looked at him.

"And?"

"The second signal appeared three hours ago."

"Where is it coming from?"

Sol shook his head.

"That’s the problem."

Rin stared at the projection. The two lines moved together. Then one disappeared. The other continued.

"Can you locate it?"

"We tried."

Sol changed the projection. A map of the fortress appeared. A small point of light appeared near the eastern wing.

Rin frowned.

"That’s inside the fortress?"

"Yes."

"Where exactly?"

Sol enlarged the map. The point moved. Rin’s expression changed.

"That’s..."

Noctis nodded.

"The old storage corridor."

Rin remembered it. It was an abandoned section of the fortress. Nobody used it anymore.

"Why would the signal come from there?"

"We don’t know."

Rin looked at the broken detector.

"Then we check."

Sol nodded.

"That’s what I thought."

They didn’t go alone. Kaelith came with Rin. Sol and Noctis led the way.

Aiden and Ji-ho followed. Ji-ho looked at the old corridor.

"I don’t like this."

Rin looked back.

"You haven’t even seen anything."

"That’s exactly why I don’t like it."

Aiden smiled.

"You’re learning."

"Learning what?"

"To be suspicious."

Ji-ho nodded.

"Yey."

He immediately pointed at Aiden.

"You’re suspicious."

Aiden stopped.

"Of me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I don’t know."

Rin laughed.

"Excellent reasoning."

"Thank you."

They continued. The old corridor was darker than the rest of the fortress.

The walls were covered with dust. Most of the lamps no longer worked.

Sol raised a small magical light. The detector began to react.

A faint pulse. Then another. Rin looked at the device.

"Closer?"

Sol nodded.

"Much closer."

They continued. The pulse became stronger. Then stopped.

Everyone froze.

Noctis looked at the detector.

"Here."

They stood before an old stone wall. There was nothing unusual about it. Rin examined it.

"There’s no door."

Sol touched the stone.

"Not visible."

Noctis examined the floor.

"Maybe it’s behind the wall."

Ji-ho raised his hand.

"Should I break it?"

Everyone looked at him.

"No," Sol said.

Ji-ho lowered his hand.

"Fine."

Aiden looked at the wall. Then at Rin.

"Try the key."

Rin’s hand immediately went to his pocket. He pulled out the silver key.

The moment it appeared— the detector screamed.

Not literally but the crystal flashed so brightly that everyone had to shield their eyes.

Rin froze. The key became warm. Then hotter. The wall in front of them changed.

A thin silver line appeared.

A rectangle and then..a door.

Rin stared.

"No."

Kaelith stepped beside him.

"Another door?"

Rin nodded.

"This wasn’t here before."

Sol examined the energy.

"Actually..."

He frowned.

"It was."

Rin looked at him.

"What?"

"This door has been here the entire time."

Noctis added:

"It’s been hidden."

Rin stared at the wall.

"So the fortress had another secret?"

Ji-ho sighed.

"Of course it did."

Rin brought the key closer. The silver line brightened but before he could touch the lock, Aiden spoke.

"Wait."

Rin stopped. Aiden was staring at the symbol above the door.

The same symbol. The spiral. The broken line.

The mark they had seen in the forest. Aiden’s expression became distant.

"I know this."

Rin looked at him.

"From the tower?"

Aiden shook his head.

"No."

"Then where?"

Aiden closed his eyes. For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then he whispered:

"Here."

Rin frowned.

"You’ve been here before?"

Aiden opened his eyes.

"I don’t know."

Ji-ho sighed.

"Of course."

Aiden looked at him.

"I really don’t know."

"I know."

Ji-ho pointed toward the door.

"But that’s becoming your signature answer."

Aiden smiled.

"Apparently."

Rin looked at the symbol.

"Don’t force it."

Aiden nodded.

"I won’t."

Rin turned toward the door. The key was still warm.

He inserted it. The lock clicked. Everyone became silent.

Rin slowly turned the key. The door opened. There was no monster.

No explosion, no ancient voice, just a small room.

Empty. Dust covered the floor. There was an old table in the center.

On it sat a single object. A clock. Rin stopped breathing.

Aiden immediately went still. The clock was broken. Its hands had stopped.

11:17.

Rin whispered:

"The same clock..."

Nobody moved. Aiden stepped into the room.

Slowly. His eyes remained fixed on it.

"I’ve seen this."

Rin followed.

"Where?"

Aiden shook his head.

"I don’t know."

Then the clock moved. One tiny click.

Everyone froze. The second hand moved forward.

Aiden’s face went pale.

11:17.

Then—

11:18.

Rin stared. The clock had moved. After all those years. It had moved. Sol immediately checked his detector.

"Energy spike."

Noctis looked at the clock.

"From the clock?"

"No."

Sol looked at Rin.

"From Rin."

Rin stepped back. The energy disappeared. The clock stopped again.

11:18.

Rin stared.

"Why did it react to me?"

No one answered. Then Kaelith noticed something beneath the clock.

"Rin."

Rin approached. There was a piece of paper.

Old. Almost completely destroyed.

Rin carefully picked it up. Only a few words remained.

WHEN THE CHOICE IS MADE...

The rest was missing. Rin turned it over. Nothing.

Then the System appeared.

[HOST.]

Rin sighed.

"Please don’t."

[SYSTEM DETECTS IMPORTANT ROMANTIC DEVELOPMENT.]

Rin stared.

"We are standing in front of a mysterious clock."

[YES.]

"And?"

[HOST HAS SUCCESSFULLY SPENT TIME WITH KAELITH.]

Rin looked at Kaelith.

Kaelith was trying not to laugh.

[DATE MISSION WILL NOW BE UNLOCKED.]

Rin closed his eyes.

"No."

[MISSION: PROPER DATE.]

"No."

[OBJECTIVE: TAKE KAELITH SOMEWHERE NICE.]

Rin pointed at the clock.

"We are investigating something!"

[DATE MAY BE SCHEDULED AFTER INVESTIGATION.]

Rin paused.

"...Fine."

[SYSTEM ACCEPTS.]

Kaelith laughed. Rin looked at him.

"Don’t."

"I didn’t say anything."

"You were going to."

"Maybe."

Rin shook his head. The strange thing was that nobody tried to force the room open further. They had already found enough.

The hidden room. The clock. The connection to 11:17.

And another piece of the old message. Sol carefully examined the walls.

Noctis searched the shelves. Aiden remained beside the clock. Ji-ho stood next to him.

After several minutes, Ji-ho spoke quietly.

"Does it feel familiar?"

Aiden nodded.

"Yes."

"Do you remember?"

"No."

Ji-ho looked at him.

"Then what do you remember?"

Aiden stared at the clock.

"Someone was here with me."

Rin turned.

"Someone?"

Aiden nodded.

"I don’t know who."

"Did they say anything?"

Aiden frowned.

Then—

a tiny smile appeared.

"Something stupid."

Ji-ho blinked.

"Stupid?"

Aiden nodded.

"They told me..."

He paused.

"...that if the clock reached eleven eighteen, I was late."

Ji-ho stared.

"That’s it?"

"That’s all I remember."

Ji-ho laughed.

"Honestly, that’s the most useless memory you’ve ever recovered."

Aiden smiled.

"Probably."

Rin laughed too but there was something about it that bothered him.

The clock had moved.

From 11:17 to 11:18.

And Aiden remembered someone waiting.

Someone who had been there before. The memory wasn’t complete but it was something.

A small piece. Exactly the kind of piece they needed. Eventually, Sol closed his notebook.

"We should leave."

Rin nodded.

"Agreed."

Before leaving, Rin looked back at the clock.

11:18.

He couldn’t explain why but somehow, he felt relieved.

As though something had finally moved forward.

Not just the clock. The mystery itself. Rin stepped out. Kaelith followed.

The hidden door slowly closed behind them. The silver key became cold again.

Rin looked down at it. Then at Kaelith.

"So..."

Kaelith raised an eyebrow.

"So?"

Rin smiled.

"I apparently owe you a date."

Kaelith smiled back.

"You do."

Rin laughed.

"Don’t get too excited."

"I won’t."

"You are."

"Maybe."

Rin shook his head. Then held out his hand.

Kaelith took it. The System appeared immediately.

[ROMANTIC DEVELOPMENT: 19%.]

Rin stared.

"Already?"

[HAND HOLDING HAS BEEN REINSTATED.]

Rin laughed.

"You’re ridiculous."

[SYSTEM IS CONSISTENT.]

Kaelith squeezed his hand.

"At least it’s happy."

Rin looked at him.

"Unfortunately, yes."

As they walked back through the corridor, Aiden remained behind for a moment.

He looked at the hidden door. His expression changed. For just one second, something flickered in his eyes.

A memory. A voice. Someone standing beside him and a sentence he could almost hear.

"If you fail this time, you won’t find him again."

Aiden’s eyes widened. Then the memory vanished. He stepped away from the door.

He didn’t tell Rin. Not yet. Because this time, he wasn’t sure whether the memory belonged to him... or whether someone had wanted him to remember it.

And somewhere beneath the fortress, something ancient had heard the clock move.

11:18.

The first minute had passed.

And whatever had been waiting since 11:17...had finally begun to move.