The top floor of The Monolith, the Omega Lounge.

  Here, overlooking the glittering nightscape of Ivory spread out like a sea of stars, gathered the titans who held 80% of the world's wealth.

  Mylon, the king of the aerospace industry; Kael, the young emperor of social networks; and Buff, the investment genius. Even with top-tier champagne and lab-grown caviar before them, they suffered from a relentless boredom.

  For those who had forgotten death through life-extension procedures, it seemed no further stimulation existed.

  Jan, walking among them like an emperor himself, finally spoke.

  "Admit it. Your lives are currently in a state of 'Inflation'."

  "What?"

  "Thanks to technology, time has become infinite, but its value has plummeted. The eternal life you enjoy? That’s not a blessing; it’s an endless sentence. You are slowly going mad, locked in the prison of boredom."

  The world’s wealthiest men remained silent, unable to refute Jan's sharp critique. They knew that only he could cure this boredom. Jan enjoyed their silence as he swirled his wine glass.

  "That’s why I’ve prepared the only antidote to save you. Something that absolutely does not exist in Ivory: 'Finitude'."

  With a snap of his fingers, he projected a holographic map. Beneath the shadow of the Monolith, the pitch-black land of Ebony appeared.

  "That is no mere slum. It is the only 'High-Density Time Mine' in the world, where pain and death are vividly alive."

  "High-density time? Jan, we didn't come here for a philosophy lecture," Buff interjected dismissively.

  Jan looked at him as if soothing a child.

  "Calm down, Buff. I’m selling you something money can't buy. Why go to that filthy gutter? For a 'poverty experience'?"

  "No. It is 'Time Diving'."

  Jan’s eyes flashed.

  "Aren't you bored of boating on the surface of a flowing river? My product pushes you into the depths of that riverbed."

  "The fear of death, the pain of deprivation, the desperation of life... diving into that 'compressed time' while tethered to a safety harness. If you’re certain you can resurface, it’s no longer fear—it’s the ultimate pleasure."

  The titans' eyes wavered. It was the trap of desire Jan had meticulously designed.

  It was then.

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  "You’re wrong."

  A low, dry voice cut through the air. The gazes of Jan and the VIPs shifted to a corner.

  There sat Rhea and I, having a late dinner at a separate table. Without looking at them, I continued nonchalantly, poking at my salad.

  "The time there isn't compressed. It has sunk."

  "...And who are you?" Mylon rose in irritation, but Jan held up a hand.

  He watched me with that same intrigued look from our last encounter in the archives.

  "Go on. The owner of MP.10-L."

  I finally looked up at them.

  "You think of time as a river flowing horizontally. You’re obsessed with going faster and further. That’s what you call 'efficiency.' But the time in Ebony doesn't flow. It is stagnant."

  "Because the gravity of sorrow and pain pulls time down vertically. It’s not a matter of 'Density,' but of 'Depth'."

  The room fell silent. It was a logic that bridged physics and the humanities.

  "Interesting," Buff said, adjusting his glasses. "But is there any scientific basis?"

  Lou, reviewing medical charts in the corner, looked up. "He’s not wrong."

  She walked forward, hands in her lab coat.

  "Neuroscientifically, when humans feel pain, cortisol distorts the sense of time. Pleasant times pass in a flash, but painful moments make a minute feel like an hour."

  "What he calls 'Depth' refers to a biological state where the brain is overwhelmed by information. One hour for the people of Ebony can be far heavier in 'biological mass' than one year for you."

  Jan clapped.

  "Do you see? This is my product: 'The Depth of Time'. To you, who are weary of eternal life, I am selling that heavy depth where a second feels like an eternity."

  He pointed at me with a greedy laugh.

  "And this fellow is the proof. The perfect sample who survived the deep time of Ebony."

  "Diving, huh..." Kael licked his lips. "If there's a safety harness, I'll pay whatever it takes."

  I stood up, my voice cold.

  "Make no mistake. Diving is not a game. It is hiding. To escape the unavoidable violence atop the flowing stream of time. That is not pleasure; it is survival."

  I reached into my pocket and felt the Solet. They didn't understand why they could never reach those depths.

  "And you can never reach those depths. Because of 'Buoyancy'."

  "Joy and abundance—the immense wealth and fame you possess—make your souls light. Thus, you have no choice but to float atop the surface of time."

  "Conversely, Ebony’s time is heavy. Only the sense of loss and bone-deep pain can make a soul as heavy as lead. Only then can you finally sink to the bottom."

  'The Incineration of Time.'

  "So, to reach that depth... you must burn your past and turn it into ash. Only then can you finally sink."

  "Hahaha! Burn the past? A risk worth betting a fortune on? I like that!"

  Mylon burst into laughter. They consumed even the weight of loss as entertainment.

  "How much, Jan? I’ll invest. But on one condition. Include that guy. The guide who knows the 'depth'."

  In that instant, I read a horrific truth in their eyes.

  To them, Ebony was merely a 'theme park'. The people groaning in that darkness were nothing more than 'extras' in their luxury product. They were buying someone else's hell as a diving pool for their own pleasure.

  'But... you're wrong.'

  To me, that place is not a commodity. It is a sanctuary for those trembling in the shadows, the land of my brothers whom I must save.

  Jan raised his wine glass.

  "You were right, Adin. Time is deep. Deep enough to be worth a lot of money."

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