I was actually very inspired by interstellar when making this piece! :) I really liked how Hans Zimmer interpreted space and time in that movie (he also uses ticking in quite a few of his soundtracks as I'm sure you are aware of!) :) I even believe there is a piece called "Mountains" that does kind of the same thing (i.e. ticking that speeds up to signify urgency), however as you point out in my piece it functions as a foil to the relative calmness and to symbolise time slowly but surely overtaking the piece, culminating in the bell and the harmony change.
I was also considering making a proper ending, but I felt like it would make the piece feel too resolved and it also felt like it could symbolise that time continues no matter what ^^ but a more practical explanation is also that I had a hard time dealing with the time constraint. If I had a minute or two more I would probably have come up with a proper conclusion! :)
Thank you for noticing all of these aspects! :) It is very gratifying when your ideas come accross properly! :) and thank you for taking time to comment! :)