The city didn't sound like itself anymore.
Starlight City had always hummed — the soft background pulse of the weave, the heartbeat of millions of lives tied together. But tonight, the hum was jagged, broken, as if someone had taken a bow across frayed violin strings.
Arielle stood on the rooftop of a shuttered nightclub, staring at the skyline. Dozens of threads hung limp where vibrant bonds used to flow. She could feel the emptiness where they'd been, like holes in the air.
Selene crouched beside her, scanning the weave with their needle. The silver glow that usually radiated from it flickered, dimmer than usual. "Draven's moving faster. Whole districts are unraveling. If this keeps up, Starlight City will be a graveyard of hollow shells."
Arielle rubbed her arms, fighting the cold that wasn't in the air but in the weave itself. She could feel the faint echo of the lives tied to the broken threads — memories drifting without anchors. Laughter. Arguments. A child's first steps. Then nothing.
Her chest tightened until she had to bite her lip to keep from gasping. "They're just… gone. Like they were never real."
Selene looked at her, eyes sharp but steady. "You can't hold on to them. Not all of them. The weave doesn't need a martyr. It needs a Binder who can act, not drown."
But Arielle wasn't listening anymore. A faint, low whisper was sliding into her thoughts again, softer now, almost gentle. You can stop this, you know. All those empty threads… they could be yours. You'd never feel them break again. Just take them. Fill yourself.
She squeezed her eyes shut, gripping the cold railing. "He's here."
Selene's head snapped up, scanning the threads overhead. "Draven?"
The whisper turned into a chuckle. The rooftop shadows shifted, threads coiling unnaturally toward a single point. And then, just like before, Draven peeled into existence, his violet gaze locking on Arielle.
But this time, he didn't bring his puppets. This time, he extended a hand.
"You felt them die," he said softly, his voice carrying over the distance like a caress. "The empty bonds. The silence where there used to be music. It hurts, doesn't it? I can make it stop. Just one step, Arielle. One thread. You'll never hurt again."
Selene stepped between them instantly, needle raised. "Touch her, and I swear I'll unravel you until there's nothing left to stitch."
Draven tilted his head, his grin razor-sharp. "You mean like you did to me, Selene?"
The air between them snapped like a live wire. Threads around the rooftop flared white, the hum spiking to a painful pitch. Arielle clutched her chest, gasping as the resonance threatened to tear her apart.
And then the sky ripped.
The black tether above them split wider, a gash in the air pouring darkness down like liquid smoke. Dozens of threads snapped at once, their broken ends whipping wildly in the wind.
Draven's grin widened. "Oh… it's starting.