—the moment the heart breaks into two frequencies—
The word choose beats through my skull like a second pulse—low, pulsing, alive.
Elias's arms are around me, grounding me, anchoring me to the world I know.His breath trembles against my ear.His fingers dig into my waist as if letting go would undo something in him too.
Behind me, the rift widens—a slow tear in the fabric of space, violet bleeding into blue.
Adrian's glowing hand reaches further.
My heart splits like thin glass.
"Lyra," Elias whispers, voice cracking,"look at me."
I do.
His face is inches from mine.Too close.Too human.Too real.
There's fear in his eyes—sharp, shimmering fear.But beneath it lies something deeper, something that tightens my throat:
He does not want to lose me.Not to the rift.Not to a ghost.Not to a memory.
"Stay," he breathes. "You don't even know what's on the other side—"
A violent pulse cuts him off.
The rift brightens.Adrian's form grows clearer—his jawline, his soft eyes, the curve of his mouth when he used to laugh quietly into my hair.
"Lyra…"
His voice cracks like guilt.Like hope.Like pain.
Elias flinches at the sound, as if it physically hits him.
"It's not him," Elias whispers. "It's not stable—Lyra, he could be a projection, an echo—"
I shake my head, tears burning my cheeks.
"You don't know him," I whisper.
"No," Elias says, voice trembling. "But I know you.And the resonance is using your heart against you."
The rift roars, a shuddering, metallic howl.
Both men—one flesh, one light—reach for me at the same time.
Adrian's hand opens desperately, violet light bleeding between his fingers.
Elias's grip tightens at my waist, pulling me into him protectively, possessively, terrified.
The resonance inside me deepens—a low, aching vibration, pulling me toward the rift.
I gasp.
"It hurts—"
Elias's hands fly to my face, cupping my cheeks, forcing my gaze onto him.
"Lyra, LISTEN. If you make the wrong choice—"
"I know!" I cry, collapsing into him."I know, I know—"
But the rift reacts instantly.Adrian's form shakes violently, as if my sob tears through him.
He whispers again—and the sound is agony.
"Lyra… don't leave me…"
My chest caves in.
Elias's breath catches.His hold on me falters for a split second—not from weakness,but from heartbreak.
He looks at me like he's watching his world tilt off-axis.
And then he whispers the thing I never expected to hear from him—
"Please… don't choose him just because you're afraid of losing him."
My breath stops.
Something inside me trembles.
Because this—this is the part that feels like betrayal:
Elias's voice is not commanding.Not scientific.Not clinical.
It's raw pain.
Soft, quiet, human.
"Stay," he whispers again, his forehead pressing to mine."I know I can't pull you away from what you feel for him.But let me protect you.Let me try."
A tear slips down his cheek—his—Elias Varrin's—and it lands on my skin like a confession.
The air cracks.
The rift surges forward, swallowing the far end of the hallway in violet flame.
Adrian's body shimmers violently.He's losing form.Losing shape.
"Lyra—hurry—"
"No!" Elias shouts, pulling me back. "You'll die—he'll drag you through unbound—"
The resonance inside me snaps like a wire.
A shockwave explodes outward.
Elias is thrown backward, hitting the wall with a grunt—but he refuses to let go of me. Even dazed, he grabs my wrist, pulling me close, keeping my body shielded.
"Lyra," he breathes, dazed but determined, "if you choose him—you may never come back."
The rift freezes.
Everything stills.
Adrian is half-formed, hand trembling inches from mine.
Elias is bruised and breathless, arms curled protectively around me as if bracing for a second explosion.
My heart tears—
between the love I lostand the love that might be growing without my permission.Between the man who diedand the man who is reaching for me with shaking handsnot made of lightbut of fear.
The resonance whispers again—a third frequency this time.
Not a command.Not a threat.
A question.
"What do you desire enough to break the world for?"
My breath stalls.
Because this choice will shatter something.
Either the pastor the future.Either Adrianor Elias.Either memoryor possibility.
The rift flares.
Elias pulls me tighter.
Adrian reaches, desperate.
My entire body vibrates with pressure—
—and then the floor beneath us cracks with a deafening scream.
The resonance collapses inward.
The rift implodes in a violent swirl of violet light, dragging the hallway into chaos. Elias pulls me against his chest, covering me completely as glass, metal, and light explode around us.
And from deep inside the imploding rift, I hear it—
A cry.
Soft.
Shocked.
Hopeless.
And unmistakably Adrian's.
"LYRA—!"
Then—silence.
The rift snaps shut.
The hallway goes dark.
I collapse against Elias, shaking uncontrollably.He holds me tight, breathing hard, refusing to let go even as dust and debris settle around us.
"Lyra…" he whispers into my hair."I've got you."
But I barely hear him.My ears are ringing.My chest is burning.
The resonance inside me lies silent—completely silent.A terrifying silence.
Elias feels it too.
His body stiffens.He pulls back just enough to meet my eyes.
"Lyra," he says slowly, voice hollow with fear,"the resonance is gone."
I stagger."No… no, that's not—Adrian—he wouldn't—he couldn't—"
Elias grips my face gently, firmly.
"Lyra… listen to me."
His voice breaks.
His eyes soften with something unbearably human.
"You need to tell me the truth now."
I swallow hard, vision blurring.
"Did you choose him?"
I freeze.
Because I don't know the answer.
Not yet.Not fully.Not honestly.
But worse—
What if the resonance disappearing means the choice was already made…without me realizing it?