Ketu is a world wound tight like a clock. Deep beneath the earth, the Core of Time turns day and night, providing the seasons, heartbeats, and rain. Then, eleven years ago, the hands of the Central Everlasting Tower froze at midnight. A gray-white phenomenon called "Stillness" spread from its base. Rain hung suspended in midair, birds froze mid-flight, and people were sealed inside translucent crystals. Their minds remained awake, but they could no longer move a single inch.
Nineteen-year-old clockmaker's apprentice Lin Ke dug up the [Chronological Drive] his father had paid for with his life. Insert a card, turn the dial three times, strike it, and silver-blue armor wrapped around him. He became the only person able to walk through Stillness.
But he soon discovered that Stillness wasn't the only enemy. The Clocktower Bureau, which monopolized the Drives, concealed the truth behind the world's halt. The underground undertow traded people's lifespans for a brighter tomorrow for the majority. And the neutral Ashen Trade Guild sold those frozen in that second as batteries. In the deepest part of the tower sat something without hands. It simply remained still, and the world stopped along with it.
When the clock stops, someone has to wind it up. As long as my spring hasn't stopped, I can wind it up one more time.
