The dream came at 3:47 a.m.
Marcus was standing in a place he'd never seen before. It wasn't the clock tower. It wasn't the tunnels. It wasn't the source or the space between or the true beginning. It was something else. Something new.
The sky was a deep, endless violet, streaked with threads of gold and silver. The ground beneath his feet was soft, warm, pulsing with a rhythm like a heartbeat. And in the distance, a figure stood—tall, ancient, made of shifting patterns of light and shadow.
Marcus walked toward it. His feet moved without his consent, carrying him forward against his will.
The figure turned. Its face emerged from the shadows—ancient, wise, filled with knowledge and sorrow.
YOU HAVE FELT IT. THE CHANGE. THE SHIFT. THE WORLD IS DIFFERENT NOW.
Marcus stepped forward. "Wh
