Chapter 5: Visions and Fractures
The bathroom lights flickered.
Morningstar leaned over the sink in the boys' bathroom at St. Luthor's, palms braced against the marble, cold water dripping from his fingers. He stared into the mirror—eyes bloodshot, jaw clenched. For a second, just a second, his reflection warped. The silver-framed glass pulsed like liquid, and in it he saw a battlefield shrouded in shadows, blood, and wings. A sword. A scream. And then—her.
His head snapped back, blinking away the vision.
"What the hell is happening to me?" he muttered.
The bathroom door burst open. Ezra stormed in, panic etched across his face.
"There you are!" he snapped. "Dude, I'm losing it. Why do I keep having dreams—your voice calling my name. It's like... like you're inside my head or something."
Morningstar didn't answer.
"I swear, it's insane," Ezra went on, pacing. "Some days I'm fine, other days I feel like there's this huge part of me I've forgotten. Like something massive. Important. Isn't that crazy?"
Morningstar wiped his face with a paper towel, eyes locked on the sink. "Maybe you just need rest."
Ezra stared at him. "That's all you've got? No 'me too'? No 'yeah I'm feeling weird as hell lately'? You're hiding something."
But Morningstar said nothing. He couldn't explain it, not when he barely understood it himself. His adoptive parents had told him the truth when he turned thirteen: he wasn't their biological son. But they had raised him as their heir, loved him as their own. Still, that missing piece inside him... it was growing louder.
Across town, Eniya slammed the front door behind her. She tossed her bag to the floor and paced the hallway like a storm.
Her dad was waiting in the living room, arms folded tightly across his chest. He stepped forward.
"I need to speak with you. It's important."
She stopped, wary. "Okay...?"
"You're not just human, Eniya."
She laughed nervously. "What?"
"You're a hybrid. Half-human... half-elf. I am the elf. I kept this from you to protect you, but now the signs are showing. Your powers are stirring. The Awakening has begun."
"Wait—what are you saying right now? Dad, you're not making sense."
"I'm saying you're changing. And if you don't accept it soon, you'll lose control and won't be abel to handle what's to come."
Her hands trembled. "No. No, this isn't real. You're being delusional. This is some kind of joke, right?"
He looked at her, sadness swimming behind his eyes.
"Dad, you're not joking."
She backed away, heart hammering. "I—I need space. I need to understand this before you go dropping mystical bombshells on me!"
She turned and bolted up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door shut.
He followed, knocking gently. "Eniya... please listen. If you don't know who you are, you won't survive what's coming. Your powers are waking. And soon—"
"Just stop," she cried from behind the door, voice cracking. "I can't. Not tonight."
He leaned his forehead against the wood, knowing he couldn't force the truth on her all at once. But time was running out.