Chapter 6 : The Fracture Between Worlds
The room was in ruins.
Rain blew in through the shattered window, scattering shards of glass across the floor like fallen stars. The air throbbed with a low hum — the same vibration Aria had felt earlier beneath her skin — only stronger now, sharper, alive.
Kael stood over the broken window frame, chest heaving, his clothes torn and streaked with blood. The creature he’d fought lay crumpled outside on the wet pavement, its form flickering between shadow and flesh before dissolving entirely into black mist.
Aria could barely breathe. “What… what was that?”
Kael turned slowly. His eyes still gleamed silver, fading only as he looked at her. “A Remnant,” he said quietly. “Something that shouldn’t exist anymore.”
She backed away until she hit the wall. “You broke into my house—through my window—and killed… that thing. And you expect me to believe it shouldn’t exist?”
Kael didn’t answer. His gaze was distant, haunted. The mark on his arm was still glowing faintly — the same pattern she’d seen flicker beneath her own skin.
“Aria,” he said softly, stepping closer, “you weren’t supposed to see this yet.”
“See what?” Her voice cracked. “What’s happening to me? Who are you?”
Before he could answer, a door slammed downstairs.
“Aria!” her father’s voice shouted.
Kael’s head snapped toward the sound, his posture instantly defensive. “We don’t have time.”
“My parents—”
“I’ll handle it.”
He moved toward the door, but Aria grabbed his arm. “No! You’ll terrify them!”
Kael hesitated — then his expression shifted, softening just enough for her to see the man beneath the monster. “You’re right. Stay here.”
He vanished down the hall in silence, not even the floorboards creaking under his steps.
Aria pressed a trembling hand to her chest. Her heartbeat felt too loud, too fast — but it wasn’t panic. It was recognition. Somehow, her body knew Kael.
Downstairs, voices echoed — her father’s sharp, confused tone, her mother’s gasp, and then Kael’s voice, calm and strangely commanding.
Moments later, the house went silent.
Aria edged toward the door. “Kael?”
He reappeared in the hallway, rain dripping from his hair. “They’re safe,” he said. “They’ll sleep through the night. They won’t remember the noise.”
Her stomach dropped. “What did you do?”
“A simple ward. I had to. The Remnant was tracking your aura — it might still be.”
“My what?”
Kael ran a hand through his hair, clearly fighting for control. “Aria, you’ve been waking up something inside you. That light earlier — the pulse under your skin — it’s a fragment of your true essence. The Remnants sense that kind of energy. They hunt it.”
“True essence?” she repeated. “You make it sound like I’m not even—”
“Human?” he finished quietly. “You’re human, Aria. You just aren’t ordinary.”
By morning, the rain had stopped.
The world looked the same — but felt entirely different.
Her parents remembered nothing of the night before; her mother even teased her about “sleepwalking into another creative crisis.” Aria forced a smile, made excuses, and left for work early.
Cassian was already in the office when she arrived.
He looked up the moment she stepped in. “You didn’t answer your phone.”
“I dropped it,” she said automatically. “It… broke.”
Cassian’s gaze flickered to the faint cut on her cheek, the bruise blooming near her collarbone. “What happened?”
Aria hesitated. She couldn’t tell him. How could she even begin to explain a monster made of smoke and a man who glowed like lightning?
“Just an accident. The window shattered.”
“Aria,” Cassian said softly, “don’t lie to me.”
She froze. Something in his voice — calm, measured, but edged with steel — made her pulse jump.
“I’m not lying,” she whispered.
He sighed, running a hand over his jaw. “You think I don’t recognise when something’s wrong? You’ve been… different lately. Distracted. Distant. Tell me what’s going on.”
Her lips parted — then she stopped.
Because for the briefest moment, as the sunlight hit Cassian’s desk, she saw a faint shimmer near his wrist — a symbol, not unlike the one that had burned on Kael’s arm.
Her throat went dry.
“Cassian…” she said carefully, “how long have you known me?”
He blinked, surprised by the question. “Since you were sixteen. Why?”
“And before that?”
He smiled faintly. “You were still you.”
But something in the way he said it didn’t sound like reassurance. It sounded like knowledge.
She took a step back. “You know something.”
Cassian didn’t answer — but his silence said enough.
Then the office lights flickered, just like they had yesterday.
Kael appeared in the doorway.
The atmosphere changed instantly. Cassian straightened, the easy calm on his face turning to quiet hostility.
“Kael,” he said evenly. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Neither should you,” Kael replied. His voice was low, sharp — edged with threat.
Aria looked between them, confusion mounting. “Wait — you two know each other?”
Cassian’s eyes never left Kael’s. “We’ve crossed paths.”
Kael’s jaw tightened. “You mean you’ve been watching her. Again.”
Cassian’s expression didn’t change, but his knuckles whitened slightly. “I was protecting her.”
“By lying to her?”
“I did what was necessary.”
“Necessary for whom?”
Aria stepped between them, her voice shaking. “Stop! Both of you! What are you talking about?”
Neither man answered. The air was thick — charged with some silent current of old grudges and unspoken truth.
Finally, Kael turned to her. “You need to come with me. It’s not safe here anymore.”
Cassian’s voice hardened. “Don’t you dare take her.”
Kael ignored him. “Aria, please. If you stay near him, you’ll draw attention. His kind—”
“My kind?” Cassian interrupted, his tone suddenly cold. “Careful, Kael. You forget how fragile your hold on this world is.”
Something flickered across Kael’s face — anger, pain, maybe regret. “I didn’t forget. I was banished.”
The word hit the room like a thunderclap.
Cassian went still. Aria’s heart skipped a beat.
“Banished?” she whispered. “From where?”
Kael’s eyes met hers — and for the first time, she saw the full depth of them. The loneliness. The fury. The guilt.
“From the same realm you once belonged to,” he said softly. “Before you forgot who you were.”
Her breath caught. “What are you saying?”
But before he could answer, Cassian stepped forward, his hand moving subtly — and the lights in the office flared blinding white.
Kael snarled, stumbling back, shadows curling around him as if trying to shield him from the glare.
Aria screamed, shielding her eyes.
When the light dimmed, Kael was gone — vanished like smoke.
Cassian stood by the desk, his expression unreadable. “You shouldn’t listen to him,” he said quietly. “He’s dangerous. He’s always been dangerous.”
Aria stared at him, her heart racing. “Then why did he save me?”
Cassian didn’t answer.
Instead, he turned toward the window, looking out at the skyline. “Because,” he said finally, his voice low, “he believes saving you will save himself. And if he’s right…” He paused, glancing back at her.
“…then you might be the one who destroys us all.”