POV: Kael Riven
Kael woke up in total darkness.
But this wasn't the kind of darkness you see with your eyes. It felt like it was inside him, deep and heavy, like something waiting to come alive.
His wrists hurt. Metal cuffs were still locked around them, glowing with strange symbols. The walls buzzed with energy, trying to keep him trapped.
But it didn't feel like before.
Something inside him had changed.
The Spiral was awake now.
Kael could feel it beating inside him, like a second heart but not made of blood. This one was made of command. It didn't shout. It whispered.
> "Not power. Dominion."
Kael didn't fully understand what that meant, but he felt it.
He slowly sat up. The chains sparked, but not as strong. It was like they were scared of him now.
He looked at the wall. His reflection stared back, eyes darker, stranger. On his chest, the Spiral symbol was glowing softly, like it had a heartbeat of its own.
"What are you?" Kael whispered, not sure if he was talking to himself or the thing inside him.
> "We are one," the Spiral replied. "I'm not a stranger. I'm the part of you that remembers."
It wasn't an enemy.
It was part of him.
Old… but still him.
Suddenly, Kael heard footsteps.
Guards.
He stood up. He had no plan. Just a strange calmness in his chest.
The door slid open. Two GenCore soldiers rushed in, pointing guns at him.
"Get on the floor! Now!" one of them yelled.
Kael didn't move.
The lights above flickered.
He raised his hands, not to give up.
To feel.
The Spiral reached out from inside him.
And Kael saw them, like lines of code.
Their body makeup. Their weapons. Even their fear.
> "Rewrite," the Spiral said quietly.
Kael blinked.
The soldiers froze.
Their weapons began to melt, turning into glowing dust. Their armor twisted. One dropped to the ground. The other screamed in fear.
Kael stepped back, shocked.
"I didn't mean to"
> "You didn't kill them," said the Spiral. "You fixed the mistake. They weren't meant to hold rank."
Then the lights exploded.
Sirens rang outside.
Kael didn't wait. He ran.
Not because he was scared of the guards, but because he was scared of what he could do now.
He reached the end of the hallway.
A door shut in front of him.
Locked.
But Kael didn't panic.
He placed his hand on the door.
And willed it to open.
The metal bent, groaned, and finally shattered.
The Spiral wasn't giving him orders.
It was giving him permission.
Kael didn't want to escape anymore.
He wanted the truth.
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End of Chapter 11