Quantum Shadows

Previously

…The watch, he realized, was more than a memento. It was a key. And he had a terrifying feeling that the door it unlocked led to places he was not prepared to go. But the alternative, the quiet, grey existence he had built for himself, suddenly felt like a far greater prison. The phantom’s ticking had begun, and Aris Thorne, whether he liked it or not, was about to answer its call. He carefully placed the watch back in its velvet-lined box, the faint luminescence still a ghost on his fingertips. The rain continued to fall, washing the city clean, but Aris knew, deep in his soul, that nothing would ever be quite the same again.