Bab 476: Story 476: The Clockwork Gateway

The team emerged from the underground cathedral into a dimly lit room, a stark contrast to the vast, echoing chambers they had just traversed. This new space was warm and intimate, almost surreal in its design. The air smelled faintly of aged wood and iron, and the glow of Edison-style bulbs gave the room a cozy amber hue.

A massive wooden door, reinforced with riveted iron plates, dominated the far wall. It was no ordinary door—it was a mechanism. An ancient clock, embedded into its frame, ticked with an ominous rhythm, its hands frozen at precisely 11:11. Surrounding it were various intricate gears and levers, their purpose shrouded in mystery.

“What is this place?” Viper asked, her voice hushed as she scanned the room.

“It looks like some sort of... waiting room,” Bulwark said, his massive frame leaning against the bar counter to their left. The shelves behind it were stocked with old bottles of whiskey and glassware, though everything seemed untouched for decades.