70. BetweenWorlds
BetweenWorlds
Playlist: Next To Me - Rufus Du Soul
Lyra
I’m ready.
I pull the thread to the window and appear on screen in the lab, but it’s empty. Kael is nowhere to be found. The usual low thrum of the core is barely there, running on alternate power, like it’s operating at half its capacity. Even the machines can’t continue without him.
The eclipse has swallowed the city whole.
Every tower dark, every holo-ad silenced, every screen reduced to blank pixels.
No neon pulse. No corporate glow. The eclipse holiday has forced the city into stillness, an eerie reminder that we can indeed remember what it was like before everything was wired, before every thought, need, and dream was monetized.
The lights of the DreamNet server blink a cool white-blue, reflecting off my on-screen image, like tiny mirrors.
Kael took DreamNet offline for the U21s of the city—but not for me.
I’ll need to enter from the inside, using my magic to move around so LINK doesn’t catch me.
I’ll be the only one accessing its layers tonight.
My reflection stretches across the polished floor, split into neat squares by the seams in the tile. I look almost real. For once, I’m not flickering, or glitching, or dissolving into static. I’m not flesh, not yet, but I’m not a ghost either.
The system may have swallowed me, but it didn’t erase me. If anything, it sharpened me.
“I will walk out of this,” I whisper to myself. I know this...
Because I have to.
My brother’s life depends on it.
I’m startled by the airy hiss of the lab door. Jett steps through, he’s traded his dark suit for a pair of black cargo pants and a flight jacket, a glowing insignia on the sleeve pulsing maroon light.
He’s looking a bit too militaristic for a peaceful rebellion.
His eyes flick up to me, scanning my image on the wall. “Lyra.” He smiles, looking around for Kael. When he sees it’s just us, he speaks softly. “You look good. It’s your big day. Are you nervous?”
“Jett,” I address him. “It is a big day. Of course, I’m nervous, but I can do this! I’m ready. I want my life back.” I cross my arms.
His smile fades to concern quickly. “You’re about to let a man who just discovered his magic and who answers to the Corporation, rewrite the laws of life and death for you. You obviously have built more trust between you. I just thought you’d be...”
“Afraid?” I cut him off before he can even finish minimizing me. “If I waited for the world to be safe, I’d still be cowering in a corner of the grid hiding from LINK. I’m not that person anymore, Jett. I refuse to let you make me second guess myself.”
His brows raise as he inhales. Didn’t see that coming, did you, SoulReaver?
He walks over to the wall, the dim light of the monitors flashing across his maroon eyes, a predator to prey. Why does he make me feel so uncomfortable? What does he know about my soul that I don’t?
“I know you’re strong, and I love that about you. It’s why I was hoping to talk to you alone before the extraction.”
I can see why U21s follow him, especially the women.
Charisma. The look too. Tall, dark, and brooding, and a magic bestowed upon him that rivals the gods of old.
He could easily be running some corporation somewhere, yet he chooses to be a protector of the forgotten souls living on the fringes of our society.
He continues. “Kael’s solution is...good, but it’s also risky. I want to let you know that it’s not the only way out. We have someone who also may be able to help you.”
My pulse stutters. I have no idea what he means by that. Who other than Kael could get me out? I don’t trust him.
“You could come with me, Lyra. The rebellion has someone who funds us; he’s crucial to the movement. He believes he may be able to use his gift to help you. Maybe an even better solution than Kael’s.”
His gaze drifts out the windows to where the neon lights and hologram images would normally be. Slowly, he turns back to my image.
“A little late for that now, Jett.”
“It’s never too late to rise up, Lyra. Oppression is just a firewall that hasn’t met a virus like us yet.”
“The rebellion doesn’t need someone like me. I’m not the one who can bridge worlds. I don’t even know what I am right now, and that likely won’t change when Kael puts me in a synthetic body.”
Saying it out loud makes my stomach flutter, that old twinge of doubt about Kael coming back online.
“You’re not human anymore. But you’re not a machine either.
You’re something in between. Embrace it.
Your magic is unique. It could be the spark that brings about a shift.
No more corporate dominance.” He looks back at me.
“You could lead, if you wanted, right beside me, a second in command. My number two.”
“Lead?” I laugh; it comes out even more sarcastic than I intended. “Your number two?” I shake my head. “I’m fighting just to exist, Jett, not to start a movement.” I look him right in the eyes. “Besides, Kael would never have me be second to anything. He always puts me first.”
He tilts his head, studying me the way Kael does when he’s dissecting code. “Existence and rebellion are the same thing when you’re made of EchoWeaver magic.”
He’s not going to stop pushing until I prove to him I can hold my own.
He’s so used to commanding, he’s not actively listening.
Before I can show him more of that “strength” he so loves, he steps closer and places his palm to the screens.
I won’t be swayed to join his cause. He’ll already have Eli by default. He doesn’t need me as well.
“When I pull your soul from the grid, there’s a choice to be made.
A...fork in the road, let’s call it. I can give it back to you in whole to be put in the shell, the one Kael’s been building for you.
” He lowers his voice even quieter, like someone will overhear.
“Or I can keep a fragment of you, as a failsafe, of course. A little something to make sure you’re never lost again, should Kael not be able to live up to his end of the bargain. ”
My throat constricts. He doubts him. A vote of no confidence in Kael’s ability to extract me. “You wouldn’t.” I sneer. “Is that a threat? Are you planning on holding my soul hostage just for a chance to take down the corporations?” My voice is shaky, echoing throughout the empty lab.
He shakes his head slowly. “No, Lyra. It’s to protect you. The world you’re going to wake up in won’t be kind if it ever finds out you’re basically a cyborg with human memories.”
My jaw drops. I hold his gaze for a tick. No wonder he and Kael are no longer close. I’m repulsed that a man would want to keep a piece of me for destruction.
“If you keep a piece of my soul, I’ll make sure you regret it.” I spit the words as my magic begins to bleed muted pinks across the other monitors in the room. “And Kael will too.”
That gets me an admiring smile as he notices the glitches all around him. “There she is. The ‘Taiyō’ as he calls her. The woman who looks darkness in the face and shoots rays of light. You’re already a weapon, Lyra. I’m just looking to make sure you don’t end up in the wrong hands.”
The click of footsteps on the lab floor somewhat defuses the tense air.
Kael walks in looking very raw. Surprise rolls across his face when he sees Jett and I talking.
He instantly flares, eyes filling with golden flame.
Jealousy? Possessiveness? It’s all the same, and it’s already threatening to consume his veins.
“Jett.” He looks between us but continues moving across the room cautiously. “You’re early. What exactly is going on here?” Trained to anticipate mood shifts in the room, I can see the alarms already going off in his head.
“Kael, good timing. Just chatting with Lyra about her big day.” He turns, grinning, but it’s not genuine. His expression gives away nothing of what we were just discussing.
Kael’s not buying it. His eyes track Jett as he walks over to my image. “Is that so? Well, thanks for coming. I assume you’re ready to begin since you’re here a few hours early?”
I step in before Kael ignites. “He was explaining his role in the extraction process. That’s all. I’m ready,” I assure him.
Kael is still cautious, his mouth tightening. “I can’t help getting the feeling there’s more manipulation than discussion going on.” He raises a brow at Jett.
I remain steady, at least on the surface.
Beneath it, a sense of unease ripples through me, but I keep it buried where Kael can’t see.
He needs my full trust, not my doubt. I want him to know that we’re unshakable as we step into the storm together.
It’s no longer fear but awareness. Even now, I can feel him, the hum of our magic in perfect synchrony, two frequencies locked in like a satellite in orbit.
The bridge between us isn’t just code anymore. It’s our souls beginning to intertwine.
I breathe in deeply and push calm through our tether, willing him to stay focused. He won’t lose control, he never does, but we can’t risk Jett ruining this.
I’m all too aware of Jett’s presence. It’s almost invasive.
His SoulReaver magic constantly seeps through the air like my own, brushing against every thought, every feeling, studying our fears and desires as if they were data being harvested.
It’s powerful, syncing to the rhythm of people’s connections. It feels like I’m an open book.
“The city is dark. Ember is finishing the last of the blackout criteria. Once she gives me confirmation, we’ll begin.” Kael hands Jett a comm and places one behind his own ear. “We all stay in constant communication.”
He walks closer, stopping just short of the screen. “We have about twelve hours that Vikktor won’t be watching. There’s no room for improvisation.”