Vatican City, Present Day.
In the Papal Archives, Lyra Elian decoded the final verse of the Apocryphon of Thales—a scroll written in three languages, none from Earth. Beneath layers of ink and prophecy lay coordinates... not of a place, but of a moment.
"Chronos sings," she whispered.
As she unraveled the data loop, the Sistine Chapel above flickered. Frescoes became projections. Michelangelo's "Creation" blinked into an AI schematic of the ChronoCore.
Lyra turned to the Cardinal who'd escorted her in. "The Church was never keeping faith. It was keeping time."
He nodded solemnly. "And time is breaking."
Outside, the bells of St. Peter's rang thirteen times.