Page 304 of Axis of Fire

Then stepped into its center.

And waited.

Nothing.

The installation gave me no response.

Seconds passed.

Maybe even minutes.

Silence continued expanding around me.

The room felt...

Unwilling to acknowledge my existence.

As though it didn't want me here.

Or perhaps there was simply nothing inside me worth recognizing.

I had just opened my mouth to voice the thought—

When a sharp chime echoed through the chamber.

The darkness swallowed it whole.

A heartbeat later...

Every sphere ignited at once.

They began flickering.

One after another.

As though each was fighting for the right to choose me.

Then...

Darkness again.

A few long seconds passed.

And finally—

The sphere marked with Libra burst into a pale golden glow.

The surrounding darkness swallowed the light almost immediately.

Slowly...

Letters began appearing across the mirror.

One by one.

Forming words.

I froze.