STARLIGHT UNBOUND by Deus Ex Machina - HTML preview

STARLIGHT UNBOUND

Curiosity gnawed at him as he followed the thread, navigating through layers of subroutines, each one winding deeper into the network like a labyrinth. He stopped.

A classified file.

Lucien ’s pulse quickened. What is this doing here?

The label was vague, a series of numbers and letters that meant nothing to him. Heart pounding, he opened it. The screen distorted at first.

Charts. Dozens of them. Incomplete, fragmented, redacted.

Each one stamped with a single, chilling word:

DEACTIVATED.

A knot formed in his stomach as he scrolled through the entries. The charts weren’t just deactivated—they were erased, wiped clean.

And each one was tied to a single designation:

INFANT – UNASSIGNED.

His breath caught. Infants?

He scrolled faster. The truth stared back at him in cold, impersonal data. These weren ’t mistakes or accidents. They were deliberate erasures—lives snuffed out before they could begin.

“Infants born under unfavorable charts disappear.”

Lyra ’s voice sliced through his thoughts, sharp and merciless.

Lucien ’s fingers moved with urgency, digging deeper. Another file, buried in the same directory, sent a fresh chill down his spine —a memo, stamped with the insignia of the Celestial Order.

Trajectory Correction Program

Non-viable alignments threaten systemic harmony.

Recalibration is essential.

His stomach churned.

This isn’t just control.

It was eradication. A manipulation of life on a scale he couldn't begin to comprehend.

Lucien leaned back, his hands trembling on the keyboard. His eyes darted around the room, the tapping of fingers on keyboards too loud, too sharp.

Footsteps approached, and his breath stalled.

His head snapped up, but it was only Darius heading to the vending machine.

Still, the feeling of being watched clung to him like a second skin.

For the rest of the afternoon, he tried to focus—tried to act normal—but the usual sounds of the Bureau felt deafening now, each beep and keystroke

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