You've been taught to fear silence. But what if silence is the one thing that actually knows what to do with your thoughts?
The slope was becoming gentler. With every step, Aria, Sophie, and Jazz left the city farther behind, reduced to a distant hum that already felt unreal.
The air had changed. Gone were the dryness, the metal, the dust. Here, everything felt damp and alive. The scent of sap and rich earth lingered in the air. A green freshness settled in the throat, strange and comforting, like a forgotten childhood memory.
The ground, carpeted with moss and leaves, softened their footsteps. Their bodies felt lighter, carried by a new elasticity.
Above them, the canopy opened in scattered patches. Sunlight filtered through, painting shifting shadows across the trunks. Drops occasionally fell without warning, tapping softly against the ferns. The air smelled of an approaching storm as if something were waiting.
"Twelve meters more, then a left turn," Jazz said quietly.
A gentle breeze drifted past. It slipped between them, lifting a strand of Sophie's hair and brushing against Aria's neck. Then it vanished. Only to return moments later in soft waves, like a curious animal circling nearby.
Invisible insects traced delicate patterns through the air. Now and then, something heavier rustled in the shadows, a lizard, a snake… a hidden bird ? And every time, the silence returned.
Sophie stopped. Her hand rested gently against a lichen-covered trunk, as though touching living skin. Something had changed. Her eyes shone.
"You okay?" Aria asked softly. "Do you see something?"
Sophie slowly shook her head.
"No... that's the thing."
She searched for the right words. A slight furrow appeared between her brows.
"Right now..."
She hesitated.
"It's like I don't have any thoughts."
Aria blinked.
"No thoughts?"
"Not empty."
A small smile appeared.
"Just... no noise."
She took a deep breath.
"It's like someone finally turned off the noise in my head."
Another breath.
"And it's... really nice."
Jazz tilted his dome slightly.
"Heart rate stable. Skin conductivity decreasing. Interpretation: unusual state of calm."
"I know," Sophie replied softly.
"I'm not fighting it."
She looked up at the canopy.
"It's so peaceful here and kind of scary too."
Aria remained silent for a few seconds. She felt it too. Not as strongly, but it was there.
Ever since she was little, Sophie had possessed that strange sensitivity — dreams, intuitions, flashes. She sensed things before they happened, as if she could read between the lines of reality itself.
Aria had always been the opposite — logical, technical, grounded. And yet… Here… Something was changing. She inhaled deeply.
"This..."
She shook her head.
"This is new for me too."
The anxiety that had clung to her skin for years seemed to be fading. As if someone had loosened an invisible vice around her chest. Even the pain in her arms had eased.
"We should drink a little, then head for higher ground," she suggested.
"After that, we stop."
She glanced toward Sophie.
"And we talk about all this."
They resumed climbing. The path was barely a path anymore. Sophie and Aria cleared their way with their machetes. Vines hung like forgotten ropes. Sometimes they had to duck. Sometimes circle around. Sometimes simply guess.
On a nearby trunk, an azure-blue butterfly slowly opened its wings. It seemed to stare at Aria for a moment. Then vanished in a flash of light.
"Plateau eight meters ahead," Jazz whispered.
They reached a grassy rise surrounded by enormous trees. Their roots formed natural alcoves. There was no clear view from the top and yet a strange sensation settled over them as though invisible eyes had turned toward them at the exact same moment.
Aria dropped her backpack and winced.
"Okay..."
She stretched slightly.
"My muscles are definitely unhappy and my arms too."
Sophie crouched down and took a few careful sips from her canteen.
"The water tastes incredible."
"Night stop recommended," Jazz announced.
"Hydration. Inspection. Camp setup. Food intake. Debrief."
Aria sat against a twisted root. By reflex, she pulled out her phone and lifted it slightly, searching for a signal. Nothing of course. And somehow… That felt better. She realized it a second later, then she unlocked the device and scrolled through a few files. Her thumb stopped.
Aurelia — Journal I: Dissolving Shadows (Where Dark Thoughts Fall Silent)
Her mother's face crossed her mind, her voice, her gestures, her smile. Aria inhaled.
"Sophie... look."
Sophie immediately moved closer. Their shoulders touched and their temples brushed lightly together.
"You think this is connected to what I'm feeling?" Sophie whispered.
"I don't know."
Aria looked at the title again.
"But it sounds like it."
The document opened : handwritten pages, sketches, disorganized notes scribbled into the margins. Something deeply personal, something important.
Jazz interrupted gently.
"Recommendation: establish camp before full darkness."
The girls nodded simultaneously.
"Yes, boss."
"We'll set up camp..."
Sophie smiled.
"...eat… and then we read."
While the girls built their first campsite in the heart of the forest… The world on the broadcast stage kept turning as if nothing had changed.
Lila orchestrated the live show with flawless precision. Her smile was calibrated. Her gestures perfectly measured. Kael stood exactly where he needed to be, his silhouette seemingly designed for the cameras.
The northern barrier opened. The crews moved through. The drones repositioned themselves. The crowd vibrated with excitement, noise, and human warmth. Phones rose everywhere, even though the angle revealed almost nothing.
People wanted to be there. They wanted to see. Kael stepped toward the shadows. A camera glided close to his face.
"What are you promising us tonight?" Lila asked.
"The truth."
He smiled.
"If there's something there..."
His gaze shifted toward the Crack.
"We'll see it."
A voice crackled in Lila's earpiece : Kaissa.
"Quick safety reminder," Lila continued. "Controlled zone. Drone surveillance. Full monitoring."
The crowd applauded automatically as they always did. As if they had forgotten why those measures existed. As if they had forgotten the day the earth itself had split apart.
Behind Lila, giant screens displayed familiar images of the Crack. Some spectators watched with fascination. Others were already filming. Nobody seemed worried anymore. It was scenery, an attraction.
Yet everything had started there. Or rather… It had started the day the ground stopped obeying humanity.
Nearly twenty years ago, the earth had rolled beneath people's feet. Avenues opened like scars. Towers swayed. Bridges twisted. It wasn't merely an earthquake. It was as if the world itself had shifted.
And when the dust finally settled… Nothing was where it had once been. Entire districts leaned sideways. Others disappeared beneath rubble. Between them, massive fractures swallowed light and carved the city into wounds that refused to heal.
Then came the heat, heavy, constant. And with it… Life. Vines reclaimed railings. Ferns slipped through cracks. At Biel's borders, the forest returned. Not as an invasion as a homecoming.
That was when fear changed everything. People no longer feared only the ruins. They feared what existed beyond them. Stories spread, lights, silhouettes, presences. Things that weren't supposed to exist.
And in the middle of that chaos, one name emerged.
Kaissa.
At first, she restored water access, power grids, emergency systems. She spoke to technicians. She reassured the crowds. She accomplished what nobody else could. She brought order back to a world that had forgotten what order even was.
So people gave her more. First a task force, then a department, then a ministry. And eventually… The entire city.
She promised three things : security, continuity and a guaranteed future.
And she built the Wall.
At first, only to the north, a temporary protection. Then it grew, block by block, drone by drone, year after year.
And while the Wall expanded… The city divided.
Skyward : a place of light, safety, and abundance.
Groundward : a place of exhaustion, improvisation, and survival.
But the Wall itself wasn't the most important thing. It was what it did to the people. Kaissa changed the way they thought using simple words : breach, perimeter, anomaly, containment. Words that reassured. Words that imprisoned.
She never spoke openly about spirits, but neither did she erase them. She allowed them to exist at a distance, under control. Just enough to keep fear alive.
Because she had understood something nobody dared say aloud. You don't destroy fear. You organize it. And a city that fears obeys. A city that obeys never asks what lies beyond the other side.
Kaissa believed neither in spirits, nor legends, nor stories told around campfires. To her, there were only phenomena to measure, anomalies to classify, problems to solve.
Everything could be explained. Everything could be controlled.
At least… That's what she believed.
The Guardian Angel: within every person live three beings: the angel, the human and the demon. Every choice gives one of them a little more space.Over time, some people build a world of light around themselves.Others build a world of fear. And when that world becomes their prison… Is courage alone enough to find the way out?