Kael's breathing hadn't returned to normal since the moment the TV lit up.
Choose your tether.
That symbol. That phrase. That flash of white.
It still haunted the backs of his eyes.
Now he was gripping his car's steering wheel in a parking lot soaked with neon. The downtown arcade looked the same as always—dusty windows, cracked sign, colors bleeding into the night—but tonight, it felt wrong. Like walking into a memory someone else owned.
He stepped out and slammed the door behind him.
Neon Haven buzzed faintly as he pushed open the entrance. The scent of old snacks, machine oil, and stale soda washed over him in a wave. He half expected the space to be empty, lifeless.
But they were already there.
Juno leaned on the counter by the claw machine, expression unreadable beneath his hoodie. Mace sat on a stool by the air hockey table, chewing the inside of his cheek. Rin stood closest to the door, arms crossed tight, jaw set like she hadn't blinked in minutes.
No one smiled.
"You made it," Juno said simply.
Kael nodded and moved closer, heart racing. "You all got the message?"
Rin's eyes met his. "We didn't need to. We felt it."
Mace scoffed. "More like bled it. I woke up with claw marks down my back. Still don't know if it was from a dream or—" He waved a hand vaguely. "Whatever the hell this is."
Kael swallowed. "The feathers. They were back when I woke up. Five of them. One for each of us."
Juno pulled up his sleeve. There, on the inside of his forearm, was a faint imprint. A scar that hadn't been there before—curved and jagged, like a rune burned into his skin.
"I'm marked too," he said quietly. "We all are."
Rin nodded and lifted her hand. On her palm, a matching sigil. Smaller. Fainter. But real.
Kael turned to Mace.
The guy just sighed and pulled up the collar of his hoodie, revealing a blackened line crawling along the side of his neck. "Yeah. Got mine too. Feels like a brand."
Kael felt the tightness in his chest return. He glanced at his own hand—the one that had held the rune-marked note. The skin there still tingled.
"It's not just physical," he said, voice low. "We've been linked to something. Chosen or cursed—I don't even know."
Juno pushed off the counter. "You saw something, didn't you? Before you got here."
Kael hesitated.
"…Yeah."
He told them everything. The knock. The alley. The note. The flash of light. And the vision—
---
White. Endless.
A cloaked figure, faceless and towering, lifted a hand. Five cords unfurled—each glowing, shifting like they had minds of their own.
Silver. Obsidian. Blood-red. Sapphire. Amber.
> "The tether is the line between worlds. It is the promise of power… and the threat of ruin."
Kael couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. The cords pulsed, orbiting him like snakes made of soul.
> "Each binds you to a path. Choose the silver for clarity. Obsidian for strength. Red for passion. Sapphire for insight. Amber for balance. But beware…"
The figure's hand curled into a fist.
> "Only one will save you. The rest will claim you."
Then—
---
He blinked and was back in the arcade, trembling.
The others were watching him like he'd spoken in tongues.
"So," Mace said finally. "You're telling me some ghost freak gave you the Power Rangers color wheel of doom and said, 'Pick your poison'?"
Kael let out a shaky breath. "It wasn't a choice. It was a warning."
Juno exchanged a glance with Rin. "He's not wrong. I've seen flashes of that same vision. But not as clear. Just fragments. Silver threads. Chains. And a city of mirrors."
Rin finally spoke. "I think the mark is more than a sign. It's a lock. And we've already turned the key."
Kael looked between them. "Why didn't you say anything about tethers when I walked in?"
Rin narrowed her eyes slightly. "We were waiting for you to bring it up. We figured it hadn't hit you yet."
Kael rubbed his temples. "Well, it hit. Like a train."
Juno stepped forward. "Then we need to figure this out. Before we're forced to choose something we can't undo."
Mace scoffed. "You say that like we have options."
Rin turned to him, voice low but firm. "We do. But only if we move fast. Study the signs. Compare what each of us saw. There's a pattern. There always is."
Kael nodded slowly. "I don't know which tether I'm meant for. But I'm not letting this thing decide for me."
Juno's gaze locked with his. "Then we start tonight."
They stood there, the four of them, surrounded by blinking lights and forgotten games, as something ancient stirred beneath their feet. Outside, the neon sign buzzed and blinked—casting flickers of red, blue, and gold across the glass.
In the far corner of the arcade, the old CRT screen flickered once more.
The blade.
The chains.
The tether.
And this time, it wasn't just calling Kael.
It was waiting for all of them.