Chapter 10 The Power That Shouldn't Exist

Chapter 10 The Power That Shouldn't Exist
Lyra stood frozen in place as everything around her shifted and cracked. Somehow something inside her had broken open which she was unable to understand yet. The air around her was sharp and heavy like it was alive and reacting to her fear. Valerius stood in front of her but not fully shielding her anymore because he could also feel something had changed.

“Lyra…” he called out, his voice low and careful like he wasn’t sure what would happen if he spoke too loudly at her, “what did you just do ?” He asked.

She didn’t answer immediately as she was equally confused, she looked down at her trembling hands as it felt like something was pressing against her skin.

“I…I didn’t mean to “ she whispered, her voice shaking then her eyes slowly lifted towards the figure again.

It didn’t move for the first time it had appeared, it was simply watching, its head tilting slightly as he slowly moved towards them, watching them closely like it was turning to understand something.

“Anomaly detected” it suddenly said calmly but there was something odd in its tone, it sounded curious. Valerius eyes immediately narrowed as he stepped slightly closer to Lyra not to shield her but to just stay near her.

“It stopped…” he said quietly.

Lyra nodded slowly then she whispered back at him, “I think… It’s looking at me”.

Suddenly the figure took one slow step forward not attacking just observing then it spoke again, “State your origin” it said

Lyra blink confused, “What?”

“State your origin” it repeated.

But Lyra shook her head as she responded, “I don’t know what you mean” Then, the air around her pulsed faintly again as if reacting to her confusion, and then the figure's gaze immediately sharpened.

“Inconsistency confirmed” it said.

This made Valerius tense up, “It doesn’t understand you “ he murmured to her.

She swallowed down then replied, “I don’t understand myself either “She said this, which made me worried a bit

Then the figure moved again but slower this time, as if it was approaching something dangerous. Lyra didn’t
Move as it came closer even though every instinct inside her screamed at her to make a run for it, even Valerie’s didn’t speak as he watched and waited.

Then the figure stopped right in front of Lyra again, closer than before, its eyes scanned her slowly like she was something it had never seen before.

“You are not empty,” it said, and Lyra frowned slightly

She replied quietly, “I never was,” but the figure tilted its head.

“You were, records confirm,” it says
Lyra’s chest tightened as she answered, “Then your records are wrong,” and for a moment nothing happened, and then the air pulsed again, stronger this time. Valerius felt it clearly as his body reacted instinctively and his tails rose slightly

“It’s reacting to you,” he said, and Lyra looked at him

She said quickly, “I’m not doing anything,”

But he replied, “You are, you just don’t know how,” and that scared her more than anything else.

Suddenly the figure moved again, faster this time, but then it stopped halfway like something invisible had held it back, and its arm trembled slightly in the air, its strike incomplete as it said, “Interference,” Lyra’s breath hitched as the space around her shimmered faintly like invisible lines were bending and twisting around her

Valerius stared at her, “That’s you,” he said

Lyra shook her head as she whispered, “No,” but even as she said it she could feel it, something stretching outward from her, something she couldn’t control but couldn’t deny

The figure slowly lowered its arm

“Impossible,” it said, as Lyra looked at it, fear mixed with something else inside her

She asked, “Then why did you stop?” The figure didn’t answer immediately. Instead, it stepped back, one step and then another.

It was retreating.

Valerius’s eyes widened slightly, “It’s… backing away,” he said

Lyra stared at it as she whispered, “Why?”

The figure’s gaze didn’t leave her as it finally said, “Correction failed, reassessment required”.

Lyra felt her chest rise sharply as she said, “You can’t remove me,” her voice trembling but stronger now.

The figure tilted its head one last time as it replied, “Not yet,” and then it was gone without movement or sound, just gone.

The tunnel fell completely silent again, and Lyra’s legs gave out suddenly as she dropped to her knees when the tension left her body all at once. Valerius was beside her instantly.

“Lyra,” he said, his voice softer now but still tense.

She whispered, “I don’t understand,” her hands shaking as she looked at them again, and Valerius didn’t answer right away because he didn’t understand either, so instead he reached out slowly and held her wrist gently, grounding her.

“You stopped it,” he said.

And Lyra shook her head quickly as she said, “No, I didn’t, it just…it just…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence and Valerius completed it for her

“It hesitated,” he said as Lyra looked at him

“Things like that don’t hesitate,” she replied.

His expression suddenly darkened slightly as he said, “No, they don’t”.

After a moment, Lyra pushed herself up slowly, her legs still unsteady but holding as she said, “We can’t stay here”.

Valerius nodded as he added, “It will come back”

Lyra swallowed before asking, “And next time?”

He looked at her carefully as he answered, “It will understand more,”

Her chest tightened again as she said, “Then we need to understand first”

Valerius studied her face as he said, “You’re not afraid”.

She paused before answering honestly.

“I am,” she said, “but I’m more afraid of not knowing what I am,” but he didn’t respond immediately

Instead, he nodded once and said, “Then we find out”

They started moving again, slower this time and more careful, because the tunnel didn’t feel empty anymore, it felt like something had changed in it, like it had seen them now, and Lyra stayed close to Valerius not because she needed protection but because she needed something real to hold onto, while Valerius stayed close to her not because she needed him but because he wasn’t sure what she was becoming.

Far above them, inside the great ship hidden beyond the clouds, the silence broke as a voice commanded, “Report,” and another voice replied, “The correction unit has failed”

And there was a pause before the first voice said, “That is not possible “

The second voice answered, “An anomaly was encountered,” and there was another pause, longer this time, before the command came again.

“Send everything”

Back in the tunnel, Lyra suddenly slowed down, her steps faltering slightly as something brushed against her senses again, something faint but familiar, and Valerius noticed immediately as he asked, “What is it?”

Lyra looked ahead into the darkness as she said slowly, “I think… I think it’s still watching,”

Valerius’s eyes narrowed as he asked, “Where?”

She didn’t answer right away, she just stared into the shadows as her heart began to race again, and then she whispered quietly

“…everywhere.”