The Forgotten C

The story unfolds within a mythic past where Romans, Greeks, Egyptians and Sumerians layered their cities atop one another. The city operates on a time loop that resets when the Golden Rule is violated. A present-day epilogue reveals the living statues and a museum setting, linking past events to the modern world.

An ancient underground city lies beneath the ruins of Rome, a secret settlement carved from successive civilizations. Its defining rule—the Golden Rule—threatens everyone with turning to gold if a single sin occurs. In the Canon Ending, the city expands into the Underworld, revealing alien overseers and ritual gateways.

🌀 Time loop

The narrative hinges on a looping day that forces repeated exploration of cause and consequence. Each cycle reveals new details, yet demands difficult moral choices. The protagonist’s actions across loops determine whether the Golden Rule is ultimately broken or preserved.

⚖️ Moral consequence

Sin carries communal weight—the Golden Rule binds everyone in the city. Characters wrestle with how individual actions ripple through the entire community. The story questions whether ends justify means when immortality and punishment hang in balance.

👑 Immortality

Power and longevity are sought through ritual and paradox. The city’s architects aim to outlast time itself, while the protagonist discovers that immortality comes at a moral cost. The final revelation reframes what it means to live, sin, and be judged.