Chapter 5 – The First Lie
The Black Spiral wasn't on any map.
Liora stood at the mouth of a narrow alley deep in the old industrial district, the night air sharp with the scent of rain and machine oil.
Above her, the Orion skyline glittered in towers of glass and neon, but here the city's heartbeat slowed to a dangerous, whispering rhythm.
Shadows pooled in the cracks of rusted walls.
Pipes hissed with steam like hidden serpents.
Somewhere in the distance, a synth guitar wailed an endless, aching note.
The message had said before the next moonrise.
The moon was already climbing, a pale blade behind the clouds.
The mark beneath her collarbone pulsed in quiet agreement.
She tugged her jacket tighter and stepped into the alley.
Her footsteps echoed against damp concrete.
The deeper she went, the more the air changed—
colder, heavier, vibrating with a low, almost musical hum.
The mark inside her chest matched the sound, beating in perfect time.
At the alley's end, a single door waited.
It was matte black, featureless except for a spiral carved into the metal.
The same pattern as the rune on her skin.
Liora reached for the handle.
It turned without resistance.
---
The room beyond was a cathedral of shadow and light.
Thin beams of violet illuminated rows of floating glass panels, each displaying fragments of shifting code.
Figures in long coats lingered between the screens like ghosts, their faces hidden behind masks shaped like spirals.
The air smelled of ozone and secrets.
One figure stepped forward.
Their mask gleamed with silver etchings, eyes hidden behind a shimmer of dark glass.
"Welcome, traveler of two timelines," the figure said, voice filtered into an androgynous purr.
"You found us faster than expected."
Liora's stomach tightened.
"Who are you?"
The figure tilted their head. "We are the Black Spiral. We study the fractures in reality. And you—"
They pointed a gloved hand at her chest.
"—are a fracture given flesh."
The mark flared, bright enough to light the space around her.
Liora fought to keep her voice steady. "What do you know about this?"
"That it is not merely a gift," the figure replied. "It is a tether. A contract with the Rift itself. A second chance… with a cost."
A chill skittered down her spine. "What cost?"
The figure's mask tilted closer, until she could see her reflection in the spiral's curve.
"When a timeline is rewoven, something must break. Balance demands it. The question is…"
Their voice dropped to a whisper.
"Will you sacrifice others, or yourself?"
The mark pulsed hard, a sharp ache beneath her skin.
Liora clenched her fists.
She remembered the rooftop—the betrayal, the monsters, the silver sky tearing apart.
If the universe demanded a price, she would pay it on her own terms.
"What do you want from me?" she asked.
The masked figure chuckled softly. "Only this: keep breathing. The Rift favors you. We will watch."
Before she could respond, the lights flickered and the room dissolved—
not faded, but peeled away, like a dream ending mid-sentence.
---
Liora staggered and found herself back in the alley.
The door behind her was gone.
Only the cold night remained, and the echo of the figure's words:
A tether. A cost.
Her mark throbbed in agreement, warm against the chill.
---
By the time she slipped back into the quiet halls of the Academy dorms, it was past midnight.
The corridors smelled of disinfectant and sleep.
Every door was shut, every shadow still.
Except one.
"Liora?"
She froze.
Kai leaned against her doorframe, arms crossed, eyes shadowed with worry.
"What are you doing out this late?" he asked.
"You weren't at dinner. Mina said you vanished."
Her heart kicked hard.
She couldn't tell him about the message, the Black Spiral, or the mark.
Not yet.
The future depended on secrets—and Kai was still the boy who would one day kill her.
"I needed air," she said smoothly.
His gaze searched her face, too perceptive for comfort.
"Air in the industrial district?"
Her pulse spiked.
He'd tracked her movements.
Of course he had—Kai had always been sharper than he pretended.
Liora forced a small laugh. "You followed me?"
His jaw tightened. "Someone had to. You looked… off today."
Warmth stirred in her chest, treacherous and bittersweet.
Even after betrayal, even across timelines, he worried for her.
Not this time, she reminded herself.
"Thanks," she said softly. "But I'm fine."
It was her first lie.
Kai studied her for a long moment.
Then he stepped back, his smile returning like sunlight after a storm.
"Next time," he said, "take me with you."
Liora slipped past him into her room, heart hammering.
She closed the door and leaned against it, breathing hard.
The mark pulsed again—slow, deliberate, almost like a heartbeat against her palm.
A tether.
A cost.
A future she refused to repeat.
If lying to Kai was the first price she had to pay, then so be it.
Her second life had begun.
And she would spend every breath rewriting the end.