Chapter 5: A Heart Divided
The world had fractured into a thousand glowing pieces, each shard of light spinning wildly through the air like fragments of a shattered dream. I reached out, trying to grasp something—anything—but my hands passed through the swirling chaos as though it wasn’t real. Panic gripped me as the ground beneath my feet gave way, and I felt myself falling, spiraling through the fractured space of time itself.
“Kian!” I screamed, my voice lost in the roaring wind.
And then, everything stopped.
The world snapped back into focus, the jagged pieces of light reforming into something solid. I found myself standing on a quiet street, the soft light of an unfamiliar moon illuminating the cobblestones beneath my feet. The air was cool and crisp, carrying the faint scent of blooming flowers and something distant, something… alien.
I blinked, disoriented. The last thing I remembered was the blinding light in the archive—the glow of the fragment—and then Elara’s ominous presence. But now, I was… here. Wherever “here” was.
I spun around, my heart racing. “Kian?”
There was no answer.
I was alone.
A surge of fear coursed through me, followed by a sudden, overwhelming sense of loss. Where was Kian? Where had Elara taken him? And, more importantly—where was I?
Before I could process any of it, a figure emerged from the shadows of the nearby alleyway. I tensed, ready to run, but as the figure stepped into the light, my breath caught in my throat.
It was Kian.
But something was wrong.
He stood before me, his face pale and drawn, his eyes distant, as though he was seeing something far away—something I couldn’t reach. His clothes were different too, more formal, with a heavy coat draped over his shoulders. There was an unfamiliar weight in his posture, something somber and weary that hadn’t been there before.
“Kian?” I said cautiously, taking a step toward him.
He didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he looked at me, really looked at me, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of the man I knew—the man who had kissed me so tenderly just hours before. But then the flicker was gone, replaced by something darker.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said quietly, his voice low and hoarse.
I frowned, my chest tightening. “What do you mean? What’s going on? Where are we?”
Kian looked away, his expression tight. “This is a different time, Lyra. A future that could have been. A place where everything I tried to protect fell apart.”
My heart pounded in my chest. “What are you talking about? Kian, we need to figure out how to—”
“No.” His voice was sharp now, cutting through the air like a blade. “You don’t understand. Elara’s playing with time—this is her doing. She’s trying to show you what I couldn’t tell you before.”
I stared at him, my mind spinning. “Show me what?”
Kian’s gaze softened, but there was a deep sadness in his eyes. “The truth. About me. About us.”
I took a step closer, refusing to let the distance between us grow. “I don’t care about what happened in the past, Kian. We’ll figure this out together.”
But Kian didn’t move. His expression remained strained, as though he was holding something back. “Lyra, you don’t understand. This future… it’s my fault. Everything you see here—this world—exists because of a choice I made. A choice I can’t undo.”
I shook my head, trying to process what he was saying. “But we can fix it, can’t we? There has to be a way to—”
“There isn’t,” Kian interrupted, his voice raw. “Elara’s already woven herself into the fabric of time. I thought I could stop her before, but I failed. Now I’m trapped in this loop, and I can’t drag you down with me.”
“Kian, don’t do this,” I pleaded, my voice trembling. “You don’t have to push me away. Whatever you’ve done, whatever choices you made—we can face them together.”
For a long moment, Kian was silent. Then, with a pained expression, he stepped toward me, closing the distance between us. He reached out, his hand cupping my face gently, his thumb brushing against my cheek. His touch was warm, familiar, and for a moment, I felt the tension melt away.
“I wish it were that simple,” he murmured. “But there’s more you don’t know.”
His gaze drifted past me, to something unseen, and I followed his line of sight. A flicker of movement in the shadows made my heart skip a beat.
Elara.
She stood at the edge of the street, her dark eyes fixed on us with an intensity that sent a chill down my spine. Her presence was like a storm brewing on the horizon, her power palpable even from a distance.
“Kian,” she called softly, her voice dripping with false sweetness. “You should tell her the rest of the story. The part where you left me behind.”
Kian’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t respond. Instead, he stepped in front of me, shielding me from her gaze.
“What is she talking about?” I whispered, my voice barely audible.
Elara laughed, a cruel sound that echoed through the empty street. “He didn’t tell you? How unsurprising.”
Kian’s grip on my hand tightened, but I could feel the tension radiating through him. “She’s lying,” he said through clenched teeth.
But the doubt had already been planted. I looked between the two of them, my mind racing, trying to piece together the fragments of truth hidden between their words.
“Kian…” I began, but before I could finish, Elara took a step forward, her eyes gleaming with malice.
“You’ll find out soon enough, Lyra,” she said with a smirk. “This is only the beginning.”
And with a flick of her wrist, the world around us began to warp and twist once more.
***
We were back in the archive—the glowing, pulsating orb at the center of the room flickered violently. The energy in the room felt unstable, as though reality itself was being torn apart. Kian stood beside me, his hand still gripping mine, but his expression was dark, haunted.
“I need to stop her,” he muttered under his breath, his voice barely above a whisper. “But I don’t know if I can.”
“Kian, look at me,” I said, forcing him to meet my gaze. “We can do this. Together.”
He stared at me, his eyes filled with so much doubt and pain that it took my breath away. “I don’t deserve you,” he said again, his voice cracking.
I shook my head, stepping closer, my hand resting on his chest. “I don’t care. You’re all I need.”
For a brief, fragile moment, the storm of chaos around us faded. Kian leaned down, pressing his forehead against mine, his breath warm against my skin. And then, just as before, he kissed me—softly, tenderly, as though he was trying to savor this one moment before everything fell apart.
But the moment shattered all too quickly.
Elara’s voice rang out again, sharp and commanding. “Kian! You’re running out of time.”
He pulled away, his expression torn. “I have to stop her, Lyra.”
“Then let me help you.”
Before he could answer, the walls of the archive began to tremble, the ground beneath us shaking violently. A blinding light erupted from the orb in the center of the room, and I felt the air around us crackle with energy.
“Kian!” I shouted, but my voice was lost in the roar of the collapsing room.
And then, everything went black.
***
I woke up alone, the cold metal floor beneath me sending chills through my body. My vision was blurry, but as I struggled to sit up, I realized something was wrong. The world around me was dark, silent, and eerily still.
Kian was gone.
And so was Elara.
But there, in the center of the room, lay the fragment—the glowing orb—pulsating with a soft, rhythmic light, as though it was waiting for me.
A shiver ran down my spine as I realized the truth.
I was alone in time. And now, I had to face whatever came next—without Kian.