Chapter 8 – Whispers Beneath the Glass
The Orion night was alive with color.
Neon veins of light crawled up skyscrapers and bled into the low clouds, painting the city in shades of violet and gold.
From the Academy's observation deck, the streets below looked like a living circuit—people and hovercars flickering like electrons in a restless machine.
Liora leaned against the glass railing, letting the cold wind bite her cheeks.
Her mark thrummed beneath her skin, a quiet counterbeat to the city's electric pulse.
Nine months.
Every breath tasted like borrowed time.
The mark grows stronger each time you fight, the Black Spiral had warned.
Strength for a price.
But they still hadn't told her what the price was.
She gripped the railing tighter.
Whatever it was, she would pay it on her own terms.
---
"Couldn't sleep?"
The voice slid through the night like a warm current.
Liora turned.
Kai stood a few steps away, hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket.
The wind ruffled his dark hair, scattering moonlight across his eyes.
"I could ask you the same thing," she said softly.
He shrugged, leaning against the glass beside her.
"Couldn't stop thinking about your match today. I've never seen anyone move like that."
His gaze lingered on her face, searching.
"You're different lately. Stronger. Sharper. Like you've… changed."
The words landed heavier than he knew.
If he only understood how deep the change ran—across death and rebirth, through lifetimes.
Liora forced a small smile. "Maybe I finally decided to take training seriously."
Kai's brow furrowed, as if he wanted to push but didn't know how.
Instead, he let out a quiet breath and looked back at the city.
"I don't know what you're carrying," he said, voice low. "But whatever it is, you're not alone."
Her heart twisted.
Once, those same words had been a promise she'd clung to.
Once, they had been the last thing she heard before betrayal.
Now they were a temptation she couldn't afford.
"I know," she said finally, the lie tasting bitter and sweet.
---
The wind shifted, carrying a faint metallic tang.
It smelled like ozone.
Like Rift energy.
Liora straightened.
Far below, a flicker of violet light pulsed in the shadowed alleys near the industrial district—brief, but unmistakable.
A Rift signature.
Her chest tightened.
The first outbreak wasn't supposed to happen for months.
Yet the anomaly flared like a premature heartbeat.
The timeline is accelerating, she thought.
Again.
Kai followed her gaze. "What is it?"
"Nothing," she said too quickly.
Another lie.
He frowned. "Liora—"
"I have to go."
The words left her before he could stop them.
She turned and walked away, the mark beneath her shirt burning hotter with each step.
---
The alley smelled of damp metal and oil.
Liora crouched behind a stack of crates, eyes locked on the source of the light.
It shimmered faintly against the cracked pavement, a swirling pocket of violet energy no larger than a coin.
But even this tiny Rift bled danger.
The last time she'd faced one, it had been the size of a city block.
She'd died beneath its teeth.
The mark on her chest pulsed faster, syncing with the anomaly.
She felt it—not just the energy, but the pattern, like a door trying to remember how to open.
Her instincts screamed to destroy it.
But destroying it now might draw attention from the wrong eyes.
Government sensors, Black Spiral agents, or worse.
She reached into her satchel, fingers closing around a containment capsule—a piece of tech she'd smuggled from the Dome's lab earlier that day.
In her last life, this device hadn't existed for another two years.
This is what rebirth is for, she thought, activating the capsule.
The air hissed as the capsule emitted a soft blue glow, its quantum net unfolding around the Rift.
The anomaly flickered, resisted, then shrank with a sigh like an extinguished flame.
Silence.
Liora exhaled shakily.
The capsule vibrated faintly in her hand, now housing a miniature piece of chaos.
One more seed removed from the future.
---
"Impressive."
The voice cut through the darkness.
Liora spun, blade in hand before she even thought.
Aron leaned casually against a wall, tablet tucked under one arm, eyes glinting with quiet amusement.
"You move like a professional," he said. "And you have tech I've never seen. Care to explain?"
Her pulse spiked.
How long had he been watching?
"You followed me," she said flatly.
"Of course I did." He stepped closer, his grin a little too sharp. "You're interesting. And interesting people always have secrets."
The capsule hummed in her grip, a faint warning.
Aron's gaze flicked to it. "That little toy… it's not on the market. Military prototype?"
"Walk away, Aron."
He tilted his head. "Or what? You'll slice me like you did those drones?"
The alley seemed to shrink around them, the air thick with tension and unspoken truths.
Then, to her surprise, he smiled—not mocking, but almost… impressed.
"You're not like the others," he said softly. "You know something's coming, don't you?"
Liora met his eyes and said nothing.
Aron chuckled under his breath. "Fine. Keep your secrets. But when the world starts to burn, remember—my offer still stands."
He turned and melted into the shadows, leaving only the faint echo of his footsteps.
---
Liora stared after him, heart pounding.
Every choice she made tonight felt like a stone tossed into a river, sending ripples into a future already unraveling.
The mark on her chest burned hotter, a silent warning.
Nine months.
Maybe less.
And now someone else was watching.
---
Back in her room, she set the containment capsule on her desk.
Inside, the captured Rift pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat against the dark.
Her second life had given her power.
But every pulse of that power tightened the tether.
And somewhere beneath the glass of Orion's perfect city, chaos whispered, hungry and patient.
The world was already cracking.
And Liora Kane was running out of time.