Chapter One: A Strange Pocket Watch and a Book

  It was just another ordinary Sunday for Kiara Aster, a high school student who loved books and crafts. On her way home from school, she decided to stop by an old bookstore she had always passed without much interest. She wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but an antique book cover caught her attention. Beside it lay a strange pocket watch necklace, engraved with the infinity symbol (?) and intricate patterns that seemed to hide a secret.

  Kiara: "Excuse me, how much is this book?"

  Shopkeeper: "30 dinars."

  Kiara: "Alright."

  She paid the price, took the book along with the necklace, and walked out of the store, staring at her new possessions with uncertainty.

  "30 dinars for an old-fashioned book? I don’t know if I just made a great deal or got ripped off… But either way, I have a tough math exam tomorrow, and the teacher acts like we’re calculation machines, not humans!"

  Although the exam was on her mind, curiosity won over. As soon as she got home, she tossed her bag aside, flopped onto her bed, and started flipping through the pages of the book.

  Then she froze.

  "What is this? It’s… empty?!"

  She stared at the blank pages in shock, then exhaled in frustration.

  "Well, at least it looks nice. I’ll keep it as decoration."

  Her gaze shifted to the necklace. It resembled an old pocket watch, but its intricate design gave it a mysterious aura. She opened it… the clock hands were stuck.

  And suddenly…

  The engravings on the book began to glow with a faint golden light!

  Her breathing quickened as she stared at the shimmering glow. She lifted the necklace, and the moment it touched the book’s cover, the light vanished instantly.

  "What is happening?!"

  She grabbed the necklace again— and the light returned! She repeated the process multiple times, and each time, the glow disappeared when the necklace moved away from the book.

  Then… mysterious words started appearing on the once-empty pages:

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  "The one who holds the necklace holds the key… But every power has its laws."

  A chill ran down Kiara’s spine. She kept reading:

  "The fabric of time is fragile and should not be taken lightly."

  She didn’t understand what it meant, but she felt this was no coincidence. Her hand instinctively reached for her neck as she fastened the necklace around it. The moment she did, the clock hands slowly began to move, as if they had come back to life.

  Then, three clear rules appeared on the book’s pages:

  1?? Do not use the necklace to bring back the dead.

  2?? Do not change the past.

  3?? No one must know the secret of the necklace.

  Kiara stared at the words, her heart pounding. She realized that what she held wasn’t just an antique book or a decorative necklace… but something much, much bigger.

  A Frozen World

  Kiara shivered as an eerie feeling crept over her, then she noticed something terrifying…

  Everything had gone silent.

  No wind, no hum of electronic devices— even the sound of her own breathing seemed louder than usual.

  She glanced at the wall clock… stopped.

  She picked up her phone… no response.

  Her hands trembled as she grasped the necklace, trying to stop whatever was happening… and suddenly, the watch hands froze.

  She rushed out of her room toward her younger brother.

  "Otto?!"

  But Otto stood frozen in place, staring at the TV without blinking.

  "What’s going on?!"

  She tried shaking his shoulder, but he was as stiff as a statue.

  She ran to the window, and what she saw made her blood run cold.

  Cars were motionless. People were frozen mid-step. Birds were stuck in the air… as if the entire world had turned into a painting.

  "Everything… has stopped."

  She hesitantly stepped outside into the eerily silent street, her heart pounding wildly. This wasn’t just a pause in time… the entire world was frozen.

  "How do I restart time?"

  But before she could think of anything else…

  She felt someone watching her.

  She slowly turned around… and there it was.

  The Unknown Shadow

  Kiara froze, her eyes scanning the frozen street, trying to locate the source of that unsettling feeling.

  "Am I imagining things?"

  But her instincts screamed otherwise. Something was there.

  She turned slowly, and then— she saw it.

  On the rooftop of a building, a figure stood.

  She couldn’t make out its features clearly, but its presence was unnatural. It stood with an eerie stillness, unaffected by the frozen world around them.

  Kiara shivered.

  "Is it like me? Or… is it something else?"

  The figure didn’t move or approach her, but it stared straight at her— as if it knew everything about the necklace… and about her.

  She couldn’t move her feet, her mind flooded with a thousand questions, but the only thing she managed to do was raise her hand and touch the necklace.

  The moment she did… the figure vanished in the blink of an eye.

  Kiara took a shaky breath, her hand still on the softly glowing necklace.

  "What was that…?"

  She knew this wasn’t just a coincidence. This necklace held a secret far greater than she had ever imagined.

  But the real question was:

  "Was I supposed to have this necklace?"

  It was too late to find the answer…

  Because she was no longer alone in this frozen world.

  ---

  End of Chapter One.