Jiyeon's confession—that the lantern held Time—hung in the air, a cosmic truth shattering the mundane reality of the old annex.

Elias stared at her, not with surprise, but with a dawning, terrible certainty. “The power to manipulate the flow of existence,” he breathed, his voice a mix of awe and terror. “That’s what the Weaver truly wants. Not just your life, but your power to repair the timeline he intends to break.”