STARLIGHT UNBOUND by Deus Ex Machina - HTML preview
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STARLIGHT UNBOUND
He bumped into the edge of the doorframe on his way to the kitchen, wincing. Why am I struggling spatially? He ’d done this a thousand times, yet today, the walls seemed too close, the angles wrong.
The dream. Lyra ’s words. It was all too much.
He poured a cup of coffee, the bitter aroma curling through the air as he leaned against the counter, shoulders hunched over. Outside, the city pulsed with its usual rhythm—maintenance drones buzzing, stewards patrolling, citizens moving in seamless harmony.
Perfect order. Perfect control.
Lucien took a slow sip, the warmth doing little to steady him. It was the same world he ’d always known, the same precision that once comforted him. But now... now it felt suffocating.
The system works. It keeps us aligned. It keeps us safe.
The words rang hollow.
His gaze drifted to the desk, to the small black calling card sitting there in the morning light. The constellation of dots etched into it seemed to shimmer faintly, almost like they were breathing—daring him to pick it up.
Lyra ’s voice infiltrated his thoughts, sharp and insistent. “Your Chart of Life isn ’t a map—it’s a cage.”
He sighed in resignation, the sound shaky, before downing the rest of his coffee in one bitter gulp.
The disk sat there, waiting.
He grabbed his bag and headed for the door, hesitating before stepping out into the sterile morning light.
***
The Central Systems Bureau was as he’d left it. The doors slid open, ushering him into the world he’d known for years. A world that now felt... different.
Darius was already at his station, grinning as Lucien approached. “Morning! You look awful. Late night?”
Lucien forced a smile, the usual easy reply catching in his throat. “Yeah. Something like that.”
Sliding into his chair, he watched the familiar interface flare to life before him. Lines of code and data flowed down the monitor in flawless synchronization, each algorithm calculating in perfect synchronization. Order. Structure. Precision. He should find comfort in it, but instead, his mind kept drifting back to Lyra’s words.
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