This is beautiful! first the negative aspect out of the way, there are still some friction here and there in the exprience which for a game that heavily gets its enjoyment from aesthetic is unfortunate. in one of the stories I had to wiggle around my mouse for 2 minutes until I randomly found the little scratches all the way to the left.
That to the side, it has something in it that explores an essential part of how countdowns make us aware of the passage of time, limits on opportunities, impermenance of things etc. The aesthetic of it is strong as hell, and I would totally consume more of it given a lot more time for user testing to ensure the players passage and their exprience of getting to a meaning doesnt get bogged down by ux issues.
Great job!