Chapter 6: Breaking the Paradox
The room hummed with an eerie, mechanical rhythm. The orb in the center—bright and pulsating like a heartbeat—seemed to mock my confusion. I pushed myself up from the cold, metallic floor, my head still spinning from whatever had just happened. The weight of Kian’s absence pressed down on me, making the air feel heavier, harder to breathe.
“Kian,” I whispered, though I knew he wasn’t here. I was alone.
I glanced around, my eyes finally adjusting to the dim light. The archive’s once-grand halls now felt hollow and abandoned. Papers that had once floated gently in the air now lay scattered across the floor. The ancient machinery embedded in the walls had fallen silent. The room felt… broken, like time itself had fractured and left me stranded in the remnants.
But something caught my eye.
The orb—the fragment—was no longer as chaotic as before. It glowed steadily now, pulsing like it was calling to me. I stepped closer, my heart pounding, unsure if it was from fear or something else entirely. Was this the key to finding Kian? To stopping Elara?
I hesitated, my hand hovering over the fragment, but I knew deep down that I didn’t have a choice. Time was unraveling, and I was at its center. With a deep breath, I reached out and touched the orb.
The world around me collapsed into light.
***
I blinked, and suddenly I was somewhere else.
The sky above me was a strange, shimmering violet, streaked with silver clouds that moved unnaturally fast. I was standing in a field of tall, swaying grass that seemed to glow in the moonlight. It felt like a dream—like I’d stepped into a memory that didn’t belong to me.
And then I heard his voice.
“Lyra.”
I spun around, my heart leaping into my throat. There, standing at the edge of the field, was Kian. He looked just as I remembered him, his dark hair tousled by the wind, his expression a mixture of relief and sorrow. But something about him felt different—more distant, more… fragile.
“Kian!” I cried, running toward him.
He caught me in his arms, pulling me close, and for a moment, the rest of the world melted away. I could feel the warmth of his body, the steady rhythm of his heart against mine. It was as if nothing had changed, as if we were still in the quiet moments before everything fell apart.
“I thought I lost you,” I whispered, burying my face in his chest.
Kian held me tighter, his hand gently stroking my hair. “You shouldn’t have followed me,” he said softly, though there was no anger in his voice—only regret. “This place… it’s dangerous.”
I pulled back slightly, looking up at him. “I couldn’t just leave you. Not after everything.”
He sighed, his gaze drifting toward the violet sky. “This isn’t real, Lyra. None of this is. We’re caught in a time loop, a paradox Elara created. Every choice we make, every step we take—it’s all leading back to the same point. Over and over again.”
I frowned, trying to process what he was saying. “What do you mean? How can we be stuck if we’re here, now?”
Kian’s eyes met mine, filled with a deep sadness. “We’ve been here before, Lyra. You and I. Many times. This moment, this conversation—it’s happened a thousand times before, and it will happen a thousand times again. Unless we break the loop.”
A chill ran down my spine. “How do we stop it?”
Kian hesitated, his expression darkening. “That’s the problem. To break the loop, one of us has to make a choice—a choice that changes everything. But every time, I fail. Every time, I choose wrong.”
My heart ached at the torment in his voice. “What choice? What is it?”
He looked at me, his eyes searching mine. “It’s me, Lyra. I’m the paradox. I’m the reason we’re stuck. I’ve made choices—terrible choices—that have trapped us here. And the only way to fix it is for me to… to let go.”
I shook my head, refusing to believe what he was saying. “No. There has to be another way. We’ll find it, together.”
But Kian stepped back, his hand slipping from mine. “You don’t understand. I’ve been fighting this for so long, trying to fix everything, trying to keep you safe. But the truth is… I’m the one who’s been keeping us trapped.”
“No,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “You’re not. We can break the loop without you—without losing you.”
Kian’s expression softened, and he reached out, gently cupping my face in his hands. “Lyra, I’ve lived so many versions of this life, and in every one, I hurt you. I can’t do it again.”
Tears welled up in my eyes. “I don’t care. Whatever happened before, whatever mistakes you made—we can still change things. You don’t have to do this alone.”
For a long moment, Kian said nothing. His thumb brushed away a tear from my cheek, and he leaned down, pressing his forehead against mine. “I wish it were that simple,” he murmured, his voice filled with a quiet longing.
And then, without warning, he kissed me.
It wasn’t like before—there was no hesitation, no uncertainty. His lips pressed against mine with a desperation that sent shivers through me, as if he was trying to pour all the words he couldn’t say into that one kiss. I could feel the weight of everything—his guilt, his love, his fear—all swirling together in that one, perfect moment.
For a heartbeat, time seemed to stop. The violet sky above us, the glowing grass beneath our feet—it all faded away, leaving just the two of us, suspended in a moment outside of everything.
But it didn’t last.
When Kian pulled away, there was a finality in his eyes that made my chest tighten.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Before I could ask what he meant, the world around us began to fracture again—splintering like a cracked mirror. Kian’s form flickered, and suddenly he was slipping away, dissolving into the shards of time breaking apart around us.
“Kian!” I screamed, reaching out for him.
But it was too late. He was gone.
***
I found myself back in the archive, the orb still glowing faintly in the center of the room. My heart raced as I looked around, hoping—praying—that Kian would somehow reappear. But the room was silent, empty.
I fell to my knees, my hands trembling. I had lost him.
For a long moment, I just sat there, letting the reality of it sink in. Kian was trapped in the loop, and there was nothing I could do to bring him back.
But then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something. A faint shimmer in the air, like a ripple in the fabric of time itself. I scrambled to my feet, moving closer.
It wasn’t Kian.
It was Elara.
She stepped out of the shimmer, her expression unreadable, but there was a hint of satisfaction in her eyes.
“You were never meant to save him,” she said, her voice calm and cold. “This was always how it was going to end.”
I clenched my fists, anger surging through me. “You knew this would happen. You planned all of this.”
Elara smiled, but there was no warmth in it. “Time is a delicate thing, Lyra. And you and Kian… well, you were always bound to break it.”
I took a step toward her, my heart pounding with fury. “This isn’t over.”
But Elara’s smile widened, and she raised her hand. A flash of light erupted from the fragment, and before I could react, the world around me vanished once again.
***
When I opened my eyes, I was standing in a completely different world. The sky was dark, swirling with storm clouds, and the air was thick with tension. In the distance, I saw figures moving—shadows in the gloom.
And at the center of it all stood Elara, her eyes gleaming.
But she wasn’t alone.
Beside her, Kian stood, his expression cold and unreadable.
“Kian?” I called out, my voice breaking.
He didn’t respond.
And that’s when I realized the terrible truth.
He didn’t remember me.