"She doesn't dream. She remembers things that haven't happened yet."—Liora's caretaker
Nairobi – The Horizon Institute
Hidden within the shell of an old observatory, the Horizon Institute was not on any global registry. It didn't need to be.
It housed seven children, all born post-Convergence.
Only one mattered now.
Her name was Liora.
Observation Room – Level 5
Riri stood behind a one-way mirror. On the other side, an eight-year-old girl with platinum hair sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed, whispering to herself.
Not gibberish.Not imagination.Fragments.
"Time is a circle made of teeth.""The shadow-Kael isn't Kael, but remembers Kael.""The forest bleeds again."
Riri's fingers tightened on the glass.
"How often does she speak like this?" she asked the caretaker.
"Only when she's dreaming," the woman replied. "And when the stars shift wrong."
Moments Later – Private Room
Liora opened her eyes as Riri entered. The room darkened, windows auto-tinting. No tech except a manual recorder and paper.
"You came too late," the girl said. No greeting. Just certainty.
"You know who I am?" Riri asked, sitting across from her.
Liora nodded. "You were the key. Now you're the lock."
"And Kael?"
The girl frowned, almost… mournfully.
"He broke himself to keep the world whole. But the wrong half is waking."
"Null-Kael?"
"The scream version. He's hungry."
Riri swallowed. "Can you still hear Kael—the real one?"
Liora paused. Closed her eyes. For several long seconds, the silence was thick.
Then—
"Yes. But he's far. Deep. In the in-between."
Riri leaned forward.
"Can you reach him?"
Liora looked up.
And smiled.
"Only if we go to the forest."
Elsewhere – The Rifted Wild
The forest where the Eidolon first crossed into Earth had healed—or pretended to.
But roots beneath the soil still glowed faintly blue, and the animals sometimes looked with eyes too knowing.
There, between trees shaped like claws, a rift flickered.
Not open.But watching.
Waiting.
Final Panel
Riri, Seris-Va, Wong, and Liora stand before a Quinjet, packed for wilderness incursion.
Liora, calm as ever, whispers as they board:
"Kael is dreaming in pieces.The forest remembers his name."
❖ To Be Continued in Chapter 4 – Into the Rift ❖