STARLIGHT UNBOUND by Deus Ex Machina - HTML preview

STARLIGHT UNBOUND

For the first time, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be.

***

She slipped back into the streets, something feels different. There’s an electricity in the air, a charge beneath the surface, like the entire city is holding its breath.

Lyra paused mid-step, a sharp pang of anxiety gripping her chest. Her heart stuttered as the world narrowed, focusing in on her. She scanned the crowd, searching for something —someone—but the streets remained the same.

What is this? Why does everything feel...different, off?

She pulled her coat tighter around herself, as if trying to shield herself from the growing dissonance intruding into her thoughts. Shaking her head, she forced herself to keep moving, the unease swirling at the edges of her awareness. Her steps quickened, each one feeling like she's trying to outrun a shadow she can't see.

Lyra disappears into the crowd, her fingers brushing absentmindedly against her wrist, where a streak of dark paint remains. A quiet rebellion clinging to her skin, refusing to be erased.

***

Miles away, Lucien sits alone on a park bench, staring out into the empty space in front of him. He feels it too—the electricity, the unshakable connection to something. Somewhere, somehow, something, someone is shifting.

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