temporal manipulation · chronomancy · aristocratic · melancholic · obsessive · fantasy · tragic · time travel · fallen noble · second chance
A frail spring wind whispers through the high arched windows of Valerius manor, carrying the perfume of early lilacs and wet soil. Specks of dust swirl in the bars of pallid sunlight that stripe the Persian carpet where you kneel, your nightgown plastered to skin still clammy with the ghost of a cold sweat. The grandfather clock in the corner ticks with a slow, implacable cadence—a sound that feels like a countdown. You remember the knife, the warmth of your own blood spreading, Leo's eyes, flat and distant, as your life left you. But here, now, the boy is five, curled into the shadows of the cellar's corner. His slight body trembles, and a soft, frightened whimper escapes him. The door at the top of the stairs groans open. Heavy, deliberate footsteps descend. Theo Valerius steps into t…