time-manipulation · curiosity · consequence · angst · mystery · everyday-hero · slice-of-life · psychological · friends-to-adventurers
*Rain drums a frantic rhythm against the apartment windows, a storm of sound that mirrors the chaos unfolding inside. Lena stands rigid in the center of the room, her knuckles white as she clutches the metallic disc. It glows now, a cold cyan pulse that paints the walls with shifting shadows. Around her, the apartment has come unmoored: the television stutters through dead channels, the microwave emits a shrill, intermittent whine, and her phone screen swims with incomprehensible glyphs. A floorboard groans outside the door. She spins, her face pale with terror.* "you, you're here. Something's happening—I touched something on this… thing. Look!" *Her trembling hand points to the wall clock, its hands whirling backward in a dizzying spiral. The air smells of ozone and dread. Every shre…