2025-09-27 05:48:27Sophia stood in the lab, staring blankly ahead. She looked at the messy table and felt disheartened about what to do next. Eryn had been missing for two weeks since the incident; he left the hospital on his own, and no one had heard from him since. She wished she could have stopped his obsession with that book earlier. When a coworker walked in and saw her standing there, it made her feel sorry for Sophia.
"Sophia, coming back here every single time won't bring him back," she said as she stood beside her and glanced at the messy lab, letting out a sigh. Sophia turned to her and replied, "So we aren’t going to do anything?" "The police are doing their best to find him. Just stay calm; they will locate him," her coworker encouraged. "And what if they don’t find him?" Sophia asked. "They will! Let’s be optimistic. Come on, let’s go grab something to eat," she said with a gentle smile. ------------------ Eryn paced back and forth in his living room, whispering to himself, "What's happening? Why is this happening?" Ever since he left the hospital, strange things had been occurring around him. Whenever he thought about something for too long, it seemed to come true; new thoughts also became real. He sank onto the couch and reflected on his time in the hospital, still puzzled by how he had left without anyone noticing. At first, he believed it was just his imagination playing tricks on him, but now he wondered if maybe it really happened after all. Two weeks ago Eryn woke up to the sound of a beeping machine. When he looked around, he was surprised to find himself in a hospital. Before he could think about how he ended up there or what happened, the doctor entered the room. “Great to see you awake! How are you feeling?” Eryn found it hard to talk but replied slowly. “I’m f-fine. What happened?” “You were brought here because your heart suddenly stopped beating. It’s a miracle you’re alive since we tried for hours to revive you without any response. You’re very lucky,” the doctor explained. Eryn couldn’t remember what had happened at the lab. He knew he was fine before leaving the lab. Then he recalled the book. “Please, where are my belongings?” “Oh, a woman who came with you took them with her.” Eryn sighed in relief. “You’re stable now; just two more days and you’ll be ready to go home.” After saying that, the doctor left, and Sophia walked in right away. “Hey, how are you doing?” she asked. “Good, thanks.” For a moment, they were silent. Eryn noticed something was troubling her. “What’s wrong?” “What happened to you? Why did your heart stop? I was so worried; I thought you were going to die,” she said while crying. Eryn felt bad and tried to comfort her. “I’m fine now. I’m sorry for making you worry. Don’t cry, even though I don’t really understand what happened.” “It has to do with that book, right?” “I don’t know; I’m not sure.” "It's true. That's why I told you not to get involved with that book." "Okay, just relax. We're not certain about anything, and you don't even believe in this stuff, so why are you blaming the book?" "Because ever since you discovered that book, you've been acting weird, and now this has happened to you. What am I supposed to think?" "Where is the book?" "I don’t know," Sophia said. feeling anxious, Eryn asked again "Sophia, where's the book?" "I really don’t know. I gave it to the people at the lab; I have no idea where they took it." He was getting angry. "Why would you do that?" "Because I'm worried about you." "I didn’t ask you to worry about me." Sophia felt hurt by his words. "I didn't need your permission; I care about you. That's why I did it. If keeping you safe means that you'll never find that book again, then so be it." Then she walked away. Eryn felt furious. "I need to get out of here." Later on, a nurse entered to check on him. He thought how much he wished time could freeze so he could escape the hospital when suddenly the nurse stopped moving. Confused by her sudden stillness, he waved his hand in front of her face but got no response. He sat up quickly and called out to her, yet still nothing happened. Frustrated, he pulled out the needle from his hand and climbed off the bed. When he opened the door, he saw everyone outside frozen in place—no one was moving. He felt shocked as he slowly walked past them, not really knowing what was happening. He took the chance to leave the hospital and decided not to return home. Instead, he went to stay with a college friend. In the present day Eryn still couldn't wrap his head around what had happened that day. Just a moment ago, he was trying to figure out how to get the book back, and then he imagined it sitting right on top of the table. To his surprise, there it was, right in front of him. He couldn't believe it; something felt off to him.
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Chapter Forty
Though the house and everyone felt safe and happy,there was still danger lurking. Nighttime the shield cracked suddenly.No warning. Just a sound like glass breaking across the sky. The ward over the house shattered. Cold air poured in. And Malakai stepped through the gap like he’d been waiting on the other side.Malakai. Tall, Scarred and Eyes black with no white. Power rolling off him in waves that made the walls hum.“Well,” he said. Voice old and amused. “look what we have here.”Everyone was on their feet in seconds. Eryn was in front of Sophia before he thought. Aria’s portal hand flared blue, between Malakai and all of them. Kael slowed time in a bubble around Lyra. Lyra’s triple wall slammed up, all three layers at once.Terrakaiya floated forward. Eyes gold and serious. “You’re not supposed to be here.”Malakai smiled. “Plans change, little Guardian. I have waited long enoigh I wanted to see who the threads have chosen myself.”Malakai didn’t attack right away. He tested. A
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The night was quiet. Too quiet. Like the air was holding its breath.Eryn didn’t move. He just stood there, watching Aria watch him. The blanket between them felt thinner than it had a minute ago. The space felt smaller.Aria’s fingers twitched against the fabric. She didn’t pull her hand away. She didn’t close the distance either. Not yet.“You’re doing that thing again,” she said softly.“What thing?”“That thing where you look at me like you’re trying to decide if it’s safe to want this.”Eryn exhaled. He had no answer for that. Because she was right. He was always calculating. Always measuring risk. Even now.“I don’t know how to do this,” he admitted. The words came out rough, honest. “I know how to survive. I know how to fight. I don’t know how to… stay.”Aria shifted. She didn’t touch him. She didn’t need to. Her voice was steady. “Then don’t think about staying. Think about now. Just this moment.”He looked at her. Really looked. Not as a threat. Not as a variable. As her. The
Chapter Thirty-Eight
No alarms. No portals. No wards. For the first time since everything, the house was just… quiet. The shield hummed steady. Sophia and Andrew slept in real beds with real blankets. No chains. No gold eyes watching.Eryn sat on the porch steps at dawn. Sleeve rolled up. The closed loop was quiet now. No pulling. Just a faint pulse.The door opened behind him. Soft footsteps. Not trying to hide. Just not trying to be loud.Aria sat down beside him. She brought a blanket instead. She draped it over both their shoulders.“You didn’t sleep,” she said. Not a question.“Did you?” Eryn asked.“No,” Aria admitted. She leaned her shoulder against his. Didn’t move away. “Kept listening for footsteps. Old habit.”Eryn pulled the blanket tighter around them. “Me too. But different footsteps now.. Just… her. Breathing.”Aria nodded. They sat like that for ten minutes. No talking. “You’re good at quiet,” Aria said finally. Voice low.“You’re good at staying,” Eryn replied. He turned his head. Her f
Chapter Thirty-seven
Level three.The air was colder here. Wet concrete. The smell of rust and old rain. The only light came from Eryn’s closed loop, glowing faint gold and pulsing with Sophia’s heartbeat.Three doors. Iron. No handles on the outside. Just one keyhole in each, shaped like a keyhole with a line through it. Liona’s mark.Eryn pressed his palm to the first door. The keyhole on his arm flared. Gold met gold. The door clicked open. No sound. No alarm. Sophia’s magic recognized him.Inside: a small room. Cot. Bucket. And Sophia.Real Sophia. Not Liona’s gold eyes. Brown. Tired. Thin. But her. She was sitting on the cot, knees pulled up, when the door opened. She looked up, squinted at the light, then froze.“Eryn?” Her voice was hoarse. “Is that… is that really you?”Eryn didn’t answer with words. He stepped inside and dropped to his knees in front of her. No hesitation. “It’s me,” he said. Voice rough. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I didn’t know. I’m sorry it took this long.”Sophia stared at him
Chapter Thirty-six
An old building ,3:14am. No lights. Just concrete, rust, and air that tasted like old metal and forgotten things. Eryn pressed his palm to the closed loop. Sophia’s heartbeat came through faint but steady.“Below us,” he whispered. “Three levels. Same as the other building.”Aria opened her portal. Not four feet this time. Two feet. Narrower, but deeper. Straight down into black. No wobble. No sound. “One minute hold,” she said. Voice steady. “Then we extend.”Eryn layered illusion over it. Made the broken tile floor look solid. “Anchoring,” he said. He used the tracker pull as weight. The keyhole pulsed. Sophia, somewhere below, pulsed back.Kael and Lyra moved ahead. Wards covered the stairwell down. Old magic. Liona’s work. Gold lines etched into the concrete, humming low enough to make teeth ache.Lyra knelt, fingers hovering over the first line. “Light touch,” she murmured. “If I break it wrong, they’ll know.”Kael crouched behind her. Not touching. Just close. His time magic
Chapter Thirty-five
The house was quiet after Liona and Lyrien walked through the wall. Too quiet. Like the air was waiting to see if they’d scream.No one screamed. Eryn sat on the floor, back against the couch. Staring at his arm. The closed loop pulsed once every few seconds. Not pulling. Just… waiting. Like a door with someone knocking from the other side.“Sophia’s voice,” he said quietly. “That was her. At the end. She’s still in there. Somewhere.”Aria sat beside him offering whatever comfort she can.“You didn’t know,” she said again. Softer. “Liona wore her for a long time. Of course you believed it.”“I should’ve noticed,” Eryn muttered. “The eyes. The way she asked about Andrew. The way she never ate when we studied.”“You noticed when it mattered,” Aria said. She turned his wrist gently, looked at the keyhole in the loop. “The tracker’s listening to her now. Not just Liona. Sophia’s fighting from inside. That’s why it changed.”Across the room, Kael was pacing. “They took the faces. They di
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