VOL. 1: CHAPTER 7: WHAT THE LIGHT COSTS
The Ebony Church did not sleep.
It listened.
After the siege pulled back and the engines outside drifted farther down the avenues of Kaloi's City, Latvier settled into a different rhythm. Not calm. Not relief. Something older and more disciplined. The kind of quiet that followed storms in places where storms were common enough to be studied.
Sionu lay on a thin mat in one of the inner chambers, staring up at a ceiling carved with overlapping sigils that looked like constellations folded inward. The light hovering above him dimmed and brightened slowly, mimicking breath.
His body ached in unfamiliar ways.
Not bruises.
Not cuts.
Deeper.
Like he'd overused muscles he didn't know existed. His bones hummed faintly, as if the electricity had left residue behind, little fingerprints of power reminding him where it had been.
He flexed his fingers.
A tiny spark jumped between his knuckles.
He cursed under his breath and clenched his hands into fists until the sensation faded.
Across the chamber, Blitz sat cross-legged on the floor, bat laid across her knees like a sword she hadn't decided whether to sheathe. She stared at nothing, eyes sharp, jaw set. Every few minutes, the air around her shimmered faintly, humidity rising and falling with her mood.
Ultimo paced.
Slow at first.
Then slower.
Each step landed heavier than the last, as if the floor itself had opinions about how much he weighed. Dust lifted around his sneakers, then settled again, reluctant.
"Bro," he muttered, stopping. "I swear, the ground keep looking at me funny."
Blitz snorted without looking up. "You imagining it."
Ultimo pointed at the floor. "Then why that crack moving?"
Blitz finally glanced down.
The hairline fracture in the stone beneath Ultimo's foot widened slightly, then stopped.
She frowned. "Okay. Maybe don't pace."
Ultimo lifted both hands. "See? That's what I'm saying. I'm not even mad right now."
Sionu exhaled slowly, eyes still on the ceiling. "Try sitting."
Ultimo hesitated. Then lowered himself carefully onto a bench.
The air eased.
Ultimo blinked. "That's wild."
Blitz shook her head. "This whole night wild."
Sionu closed his eyes.
The darkness behind his lids wasn't empty.
It pulsed.
Images drifted in and out of focus, not dreams exactly, but impressions. The Event Horizon, that unseen seam in reality. The sensation of falling sideways through existence. The feeling of being recognized.
And underneath it all, something else.
A quiet question.
Not from outside.
From within.
What are you willing to lose?
Sionu's jaw tightened.
1) THE TRAINING THAT ISN'T TRAINING
Kael returned an hour later, moving without announcement, his presence felt before it was seen. The door opened soundlessly, and suddenly he was there, dark robes brushing the floor, eyes reflecting the low light like polished obsidian.
"You're awake," he said, not surprised.
Blitz scoffed. "Hard to sleep when the world wants your boyfriend dead."
Kael inclined his head. "A fair obstacle."
He looked at Ultimo. "You feel unstable."
Ultimo snorted. "That obvious?"
Kael nodded. "Gravity hates indecision."
Ultimo frowned. "You keep saying that like it's a person."
Kael replied calmly, "It is a relationship."
He turned to Sionu.
"And you," Kael said softly, "are avoiding yourself."
Sionu opened his eyes. "I'm tired."
Kael nodded. "Yes. But not why you're restless."
Sionu didn't answer.
Kael gestured toward the center of the chamber, where a smaller sigil was etched into the floor. "Stand."
Blitz stiffened. "He just burned half his soul an hour ago."
Kael met her gaze. "And if he doesn't learn what that felt like, he'll burn the other half by accident."
Sionu sighed and pushed himself up, legs stiff, balance slightly off. As he stepped into the sigil, the light beneath his feet brightened, responding like it recognized him.
Kael circled slowly.
"Close your eyes," he instructed.
Sionu hesitated, then obeyed.
"Now," Kael continued, "tell me what you feel."
Sionu swallowed. "Everything."
Kael nodded. "Specifics."
Sionu breathed. "My chest feels… hollow. Like I screamed without opening my mouth."
Blitz's expression softened.
Ultimo leaned forward.
Kael's voice remained steady. "That is SOL depletion. You forced output faster than replenishment."
Sionu clenched his fists. "So what, I almost killed myself?"
Kael corrected gently, "You almost taught your power that self-destruction is acceptable."
Sionu's stomach dropped.
Kael continued, "Power is a language. Every use is a sentence. Every emotional state is punctuation."
Blitz muttered, "So he yelled."
Kael nodded. "Yes. Loudly."
Sionu opened his eyes. "Then what do I do when I need it?"
Kael stopped in front of him. "You ask instead of demand."
Sionu frowned. "That don't sound like lightning."
Kael allowed himself the faintest smile. "Lightning does not scream at the sky. It answers tension."
He tapped the center of Sionu's chest with two fingers.
"You are the storm front."
Sionu swallowed hard.
Kael stepped back. "Again. Close your eyes."
Sionu did.
"Think of the moment before the blast," Kael said. "Not the explosion. Before."
Sionu's breath caught.
Blitz's face tightened, but she stayed silent.
Sionu spoke slowly. "I was on my bike. Light was green. I felt… pressure. Like something about to happen."
Kael nodded. "Stay there."
Sionu's hands twitched.
The electricity stirred faintly, not flaring, not aggressive. Curious.
Kael's voice dropped. "Now think of Blitz. Not fear for her. Trust in her."
Sionu's chest warmed.
Blitz blinked, surprised by the sudden shift in air.
Sionu's electricity softened, spreading evenly under his skin instead of bursting outward.
Ultimo whispered, "Yo…"
Kael watched closely. "Good. That is regulation."
Sionu opened his eyes. "That felt… different."
Kael nodded. "Because it was connection, not reaction."
Blitz smirked faintly. "You saying I'm his grounding wire?"
Kael replied, "You are his anchor. Whether you like it or not."
Blitz didn't deny it.
2) THE PRICE TAGS NO ONE TALKS ABOUT
Later, when Kael left them alone again, the chamber felt quieter.
Not safe.
But honest.
Ultimo leaned back against the wall. "So let me get this straight. If I get mad, I might flatten a block."
Blitz shrugged. "If I get mad, I might boil one."
Ultimo looked at Sionu. "And if you get mad—"
Sionu cut him off quietly. "I light the city up."
Silence settled.
Blitz broke it first. "So we gotta not lose our sh*t."
Ultimo laughed nervously. "In this city?"
Sionu stared at his hands. "Feels like a trap."
Blitz leaned forward, elbows on knees. "Everything about this city a trap. Difference now is… we can see the wires."
Ultimo exhaled. "Government don't like that."
Sionu shook his head slowly. "I keep thinking about the people outside. The ones infected. The ones they calling monsters."
Blitz's jaw tightened. "They hunting us."
"I know," Sionu said. "But they didn't choose that either."
Ultimo frowned. "You thinking about saving them?"
Sionu hesitated. "I don't know. I just know… if my power comes from SOL, from life… then what happens if I use it to erase life?"
Blitz studied him.
Then she said quietly, "You been like this since before the blast. Always asking who pay the cost."
Ultimo muttered, "That's how you get killed."
Blitz shot him a look. "That's how you stay human."
Sionu exhaled.
Kael's earlier words echoed in his mind.
Power remembers how you used it.
He didn't want to be remembered as a weapon.
3) THE CITY'S NEW MYTH
Outside Latvier, Kaloi's City whispered.
Stories spread faster than signals.
They didn't say "Starborne" with fear everywhere. In some corners, the word carried awe. In others, resentment. In others, hope sharp enough to hurt.
A man in a boarded-up bar whispered, "They say someone lit up the church and made the soldiers run."
A woman in a dark apartment clutched her phone and murmured, "If that's true… maybe they can stop this."
A teenage kid with a cracked screen replayed a blurry clip of blue-white light and whispered, "That's a hero."
Elsewhere, in a secured command vehicle, Commander Hale watched the same footage again, frame by frame.
He paused it on Sionu's silhouette.
"Notice the hesitation," Hale said to the analysts around him. "He doesn't enjoy it."
An aide frowned. "Isn't that good?"
Hale shook his head. "It makes him unpredictable."
He leaned back. "Prep countermeasures. Psychological profiles. If we can't break the power, we break the person."
4) BLITZ'S QUESTION
Hours later, Blitz sat beside Sionu as he lay back down, exhaustion finally pulling at him.
She nudged him gently. "You asleep?"
Sionu shook his head. "Nah."
She hesitated, then asked quietly, "If this keeps going… you still see a future?"
Sionu turned his head toward her.
"With me?" she clarified, voice steady but eyes searching.
Sionu didn't answer immediately.
Then he said, "I see a lot of smoke."
Blitz's jaw tightened.
"But," he continued, "I see you standing in it. And that makes it… survivable."
Blitz huffed a soft laugh and leaned her shoulder against his.
"Good," she murmured. "Cause I ain't going nowhere."
The mist around her ankles curled faintly, protective, warm.
5) THE HORIZON STIRS
Deep beneath reality, far below Kaloi's City, the Event Horizon pulsed again.
Not loud.
Not urgent.
Patient.
The shimmer spread further now, threading through more SOL, waking more sleepers. Some would break. Some would bloom. Some would be eaten alive by the hunger that followed power like a shadow.
And somewhere in that unseen realm, something watched Sionu with growing interest.
Not as prey.
Not as threat.
As potential.
The Starborne had taken his first real step.
Not into war.
Into choice.
And choice, the universe knew, was always the most dangerous thing a human could make.
to be continued...