Alaric presented the Chrono-Heart with measured reverence, describing its function: a device that could, for a limited duration, create a temporal “bubble” wherein the flow of external time would be slowed dramatically relative to the interior. In effect, it would allow a person inside the bubble to experience minutes while only seconds passed outside—a gift for scholars, healers, anyone who required more time for critical tasks.

Inside the bubble, Alaric’s own perception remained unchanged. He spoke, and his words were crisp and clear, but outside the bubble, his voice sounded as though it were being stretched across a canyon. The effect lasted precisely three minutes in Alaric’s internal perception, while only thirty seconds passed in the external world—a tenfold dilation.

She gestured toward the workshop. The air shimmered, and Alaric saw fleeting images—moments of his own life, of his parents, of the day Alma and he first met—overlaid with strange distortions, as though reality itself was fraying at the edges.

“Show us,” Seraphine finally said, her voice resonant. “Demonstrate the effect, if you dare.”