House ledger · chapter 19
3 formatted records from the House ledger.
Chronos begins subtly altering time throughout the House.
Clocks drift.
Reports appear dated tomorrow.
Apollo's riddles answer themselves before being asked.
The Lunar Study begins losing its light.
Chronos believes Selene's renewal magic is necessary to restore the House to its original cycle.
Eventually, every clock strikes thirteen.
Selene disappears.
Chronos has taken the Moon.
Without Selene, the House does not collapse.
It continues functioning.
That is worse.
Nothing recovers properly.
Guests sleep without feeling rested.
Dreams grow sharper.
Aether becomes faster and more exhausted.
Archon becomes stricter.
Morpheus becomes quieter.
Caelus works longer.
Nyx's colours fade faster.
Atlas stops sleeping.
Icarus trains relentlessly.
Helios becomes terrifyingly focused.
The House can continue.
It simply cannot heal.
The Housebound enter the Clockwork Wing to rescue Selene.
Chronos traps them inside repeated time loops.
Every failed attempt returns them to the beginning.
The staff eventually realize that Chronos can repeat time but cannot completely erase memory when their domains work together.
Each Housebound becomes essential.
The final riddle asks:
What breaks a clock without breaking time?
The answer:
A cycle.
Selene is freed.
The Moon returns.