Tiamara Vale didn't believe in coincidences.
Not anymore.
Not after the dream.
Not after the way Luneth had looked at her—like she already knew something Tia hadn't even figured out yet.
And definitely not after what she was staring at right now.
"…Say that again," Tia said quietly.
Luneth didn't repeat herself.
Instead, she turned her laptop slightly, angling the screen so everyone could see.
A symbol glowed faintly against the dark background.
Not typed.
Not drawn digitally.
Scanned.
Ancient.
Uneven.
Alive.
Tia's breath caught.
Her fingers twitched.
"…I've seen that," she whispered.
Every head turned toward her.
Bishop sat up straighter. "Where?"
Tia hesitated.
She didn't want to say it.
Didn't want to sound insane.
"…In a dream."
Silence.
Mirelle blinked. "Okay—cool—so we're officially entering the 'we should not be doing this' phase."
Jessara, however, leaned closer to the screen.
"Zoom in."
Luneth did.
The symbol expanded.
Its curves sharpened.
Its edges seemed to… shift.
Not physically.
But enough to make your eyes question it.
"…It's not a language that exists," Luneth said. "At least, not in any recorded system."
Lucien crossed his arms. "Then where did you get it?"
Luneth paused.
Just for a second.
Then—
"…From someone who shouldn't have it."
That got their attention.
Bishop grinned slightly. "Now we're talking."
Jessara's eyes narrowed. "Explain."
Luneth closed the laptop halfway.
Not fully.
Just enough to break the direct view of the symbol.
"As some of you know," she began, "there's a company that doesn't publicly deal in anything… unusual."
Mirelle raised a brow. "That sounds like a very suspicious sentence."
"It should."
Luneth continued.
"They handle tech, infrastructure, research funding… normal things."
Lucien's gaze sharpened slightly.
"…Virex."
Luneth nodded once.
Tia felt that same strange tightening in her chest again.
A name she had never heard before—
yet it didn't feel unfamiliar.
"…They're massive," Jessara said. "But low-profile. Which is already weird."
"They don't need attention," Luneth replied. "They have influence."
Bishop leaned back, thoughtful. "And secrets."
"Yes."
A pause.
Then—
"The symbol came from them."
Mirelle let out a quiet, disbelieving laugh. "You're joking."
"I'm not."
Lucien's voice dropped slightly. "How did you get it?"
Luneth met his gaze.
"I didn't steal it."
Bishop looked disappointed. "Missed opportunity."
"I was given access," she corrected.
That made Jessara sit up straighter.
"By who?"
Another pause.
Longer this time.
"…Elowen."
Tia blinked. "Elowen Raye?"
"The same."
Mirelle frowned. "She's been weirdly quiet lately."
"She's always quiet," Bishop said.
"No," Mirelle shook her head. "This is different."
Jessara stood up fully now.
"Where is she?"
—
Elowen Raye didn't look surprised to see them.
Which, somehow, made everything worse.
She stood near the far end of the campus courtyard, half-hidden in shadow despite the afternoon light, like she naturally belonged in places people didn't fully notice.
"Took you long enough," she said calmly.
Jessara didn't waste time.
"What did you give Luneth?"
Elowen's gaze flickered briefly to Tia.
Just for a second.
But it was enough.
Enough for Tia to feel it.
That same pull.
Stronger now.
"I didn't give her anything dangerous," Elowen said.
"That's not reassuring," Mirelle muttered.
Lucien stepped forward slightly. "Then explain."
Elowen exhaled slowly.
Like she had been expecting this moment—
and dreading it.
"…My family," she said, "is connected to Virex."
Bishop tilted his head. "Connected how?"
"Legacy."
That word settled heavily.
Jessara's voice sharpened. "Be specific."
Elowen's gaze hardened slightly.
"…The founders of Virex weren't just businessmen."
No one interrupted.
"They were guardians."
Silence.
Not disbelief.
Not yet.
Just—
attention.
"They were given something," Elowen continued. "A long time ago. Something no one fully understood. Something no one was meant to misuse."
Tia's heart began to beat faster now.
Because she already knew—
before Elowen even said it.
"A key," Tia whispered.
Elowen looked at her.
Really looked this time.
"…Yes."
The word felt heavier than it should have.
"…A fragment," Elowen clarified. "One of seven."
Bishop let out a low breath. "Okay. That's officially not normal."
Mirelle crossed her arms tighter. "You think?"
Jessara didn't react outwardly.
But her mind was already moving.
"Where is it?"
Elowen didn't answer immediately.
Instead—
she reached into her bag.
And pulled something out.
Small.
Metallic.
Worn by time.
Not shaped like a traditional key.
More like—
a piece of something broken.
The moment Tia saw it—
everything else faded.
Sound.
Movement.
Thought.
Gone.
All she could see was that fragment.
And the symbol carved into it.
The same one.
From her dream.
From Luneth's screen.
From somewhere deeper than memory.
Her body moved before she could stop it.
One step forward.
Then another.
"Tia—" Mirelle started.
Too late.
Her fingers brushed the surface.
And—
—
The world shifted.
Not visibly.
Not completely.
But enough.
Enough for Tia to feel it.
A whisper—
clearer this time.
Closer.
Raen…
Her breath caught.
Her eyes widened slightly.
And for the first time—
she understood a word she had never learned.
Awakening.
"Tiamara."
Elowen's voice cut through it.
Sharp.
Grounding.
The feeling snapped.
The world returned.
Tia stumbled back slightly, blinking.
Everyone was staring at her.
Concern.
Confusion.
Something else.
"What just happened?" Lucien asked quietly.
Tia swallowed.
"I—"
She didn't know how to explain it.
Didn't know if she should.
"…It's real," she said instead.
Jessara's eyes locked onto hers.
"You're sure."
Tia nodded slowly.
"…Yes."
A long silence followed.
The kind where something invisible settles between people.
Changes things.
Defines them.
Bishop broke it first.
Of course he did.
"…So," he said, standing up fully now, energy sharp and alive, "we have confirmation."
Mirelle stared at him. "That's your takeaway?!"
"We have a real key," Bishop continued, ignoring her. "A real mystery. And a real chance to do something that no one else has done."
Lucien looked at him. "Or a real chance to ruin our lives."
"Same thing, depending on perspective."
Jessara exhaled slowly.
Then—
she smiled.
Not wide.
Not reckless.
But certain.
"…We need the second fragment."
Luneth nodded once.
"I already found a lead."
Everyone looked at her.
"Where?"
Luneth's gaze shifted slightly.
"…France."
A pause.
Then—
"Paris."
Tia felt it again.
That pull.
Stronger now.
Clearer.
Like a thread tightening around her existence.
"Elowen," Jessara said, "that symbol on the fragment—what does it mean?"
Elowen hesitated.
Just for a moment.
Then—
"…We were never able to fully translate it."
Tia's fingers curled slightly.
Because she could.
Not fully.
Not perfectly.
But enough.
"It means…" she began slowly.
Everyone turned to her.
She took a breath.
Then said—
"…beginning."
Silence.
Heavy.
Real.
And irreversible.
Jessara's voice came next.
Quiet.
Decisive.
"Then we start."
Bishop grinned.
Lucien sighed.
Mirelle looked like she was questioning all her life choices.
Luneth simply closed her laptop.
And Tia—
Tia felt something settle deep inside her.
Not fear.
Not excitement.
Something else.
Something ancient.
Something that had been waiting far longer than she could understand.
This wasn't just a plan anymore.
This wasn't just a risk.
This was—
a path.
And whether they realized it or not—
they had already taken the first step.
---
Somewhere far away—
hidden beneath a city that had forgotten its own past—
something shifted.
Not violently.
Not suddenly.
Just enough to matter.
As if—
after centuries of silence—
something had finally heard them.
And was listening.