STARLIGHT UNBOUND by Deus Ex Machina - HTML preview

STARLIGHT UNBOUND

But what kind of place? It wasn’t a location in the way people thought of places —not something mapped, measured, or reached by walking, not cartesian.

His cigarette burned low, the heat tickling his fingertips. He frowned, flicking it over the ledge and watching the ember vanish into the city ’s depths.

"You opened the way."

A shiver crawled up his spine. Not fear. Not exactly. Something deeper. Something vast. Like standing at the edge of an ocean too dark to see across.

The rebellion’s words kept cycling, bright and defiant, their meaning sharper than ever.

“Your Chart Was Chosen For You – Not By You.”

“Free Will Cannot Be Calculated.”

“The System Is A Cage. Break It.”

He had written those words.

But now, looking at them like this… they felt distant.

Not his.

Like they had come from somewhere —or someone—else.

Who are we even talking to?

Were the people below reading these words, feeling something? Were they listening? Or were they shouting into the void?

The thought unsettled him.

They couldn’t afford doubt.

Not now.

The rooftop door creaked open.

Lucien didn’t need to turn to know who it was.

Lyra stepped into the night, arms crossed against the cold, her dark hair pulled back. Her gaze flicked between him and the sky before settling on his face.

“Figured you’d be up here.”

Lucien offered a small smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Couldn’t sleep. ”

She walked over, stopping beside him at the ledge. The holographic words above them, reflecting in her dark eyes.

“The messages are holding,” she said. “Harun said the virus is still keeping the Order out.”

Lucien nodded, watching the starburst. “Yeah. For now.”

Lyra studied him. “You had another dream, didn’t you?”

Lucien hesitated.

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