Chapter 34: Crossroads
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The bronze compass never left Mr. Vale’s desk.
It sat perfectly still inside its glass case.
By morning…
Its needle had shifted.
Not north.
Not east.
Toward the heart of the city.
Vale smiled.
“So you’ve awakened.”
One of his lieutenants frowned.
“Sir?”
“The Pulse Core.”
Silence.
“So David’s son finally found it.”
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Across the city…
Rasheed woke before sunrise.
Not because of an alarm.
Because the pocket watch was ticking again.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
He opened it.
Nothing.
No message.
No vision.
Just the steady rhythm.
It wasn’t warning him anymore.
It was guiding him.
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School felt unusually tense.
Students crowded around the notice boards.
A large poster had been pinned to every hallway.
HELiX DYNAMICS HERO OUTREACH PROGRAM
Meet Velocyte this Saturday.
Questions.
Photos.
Safety demonstrations.
The school buzzed with excitement.
“Omar, are you going?”
A classmate laughed.
“As if I’d miss seeing a real superhero!”
Omar forced a smile.
“Yeah…”
“Maybe.”
Rasheed watched from across the room.
He noticed Omar’s expression.
It wasn’t excitement.
It was pressure.
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Later that afternoon…
Adesewa found Rasheed sitting beneath the old mango tree behind the science building.
“You disappeared again.”
“I needed some quiet.”
She sat beside him.
For a while…
Neither spoke.
Then she handed him a folded piece of paper.
“I drew something else.”
He unfolded it.
His smile vanished.
The sketch showed two speedsters.
One surrounded by crimson lightning.
The other by blue.
Between them stood a man holding a silver cane.
Mr. Vale.
But she had never seen him.
Beneath the drawing…
Her hand had written words she didn’t remember writing.
One will guard the future.
One will chase the past.
Only together can they survive the storm.
Rasheed read it twice.
“You don’t remember drawing this?”
She shook her head.
“It happens when I fall asleep.”
He carefully folded the page.
“I’m keeping this.”
“Because you know what it means?”
“No.”
He looked toward the city skyline.
“But I think someone does.”
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That evening…
The bookstore bell rang.
The Librarian looked up.
Mr. Vale entered.
For the first time…
The two men stood face to face.
Neither smiled.
“It’s been a long time,” Vale said.
“Not long enough,” the Librarian replied.
Vale slowly removed his gloves and examined a shelf of old books.
“You’ve always preferred paper.”
“It doesn’t lie.”
Vale chuckled.
“No.”
“Only the people writing it.”
Silence filled the shop.
Finally…
Vale placed a small envelope on the counter.
“I came to offer you a choice.”
“I’ve already made mine.”
“You haven’t heard it.”
“I don’t need to.”
Vale’s eyes narrowed.
“You know the Vaults are opening.”
“I do.”
“You know what happens if they stay closed.”
“I do.”
“And yet…”
“…you still believe David’s son is enough.”
The Librarian answered without hesitation.
“I believe in the boy.”
Vale looked almost disappointed.
“I was afraid you’d say that.”
He turned and walked toward the door.
Just before leaving…
He stopped.
“Tell Rasheed…”
The Librarian’s grip tightened on his cane.
“…that the race began twenty years ago.”
“The finish line is simply approaching.”
The bell rang.
Vale was gone.
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Hidden on the rooftop across the street…
Rasheed lowered his binoculars.
He hadn’t heard the conversation.
Only seen it.
The old man looked shaken.
For the first time since meeting him…
The Librarian looked afraid.
Rasheed whispered to himself,
“Who are you…”
“…Mr. Vale?”
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Far away…
Within the crimson skies of the Chronal Zone…
David reached the edge of a massive cliff.
Below him…
A river of glowing Chronal energy flowed endlessly through the void.
On the opposite side…
A figure stood watching him.
Its silhouette hidden beneath a tattered cloak.
David’s expression hardened.
“I was hoping you’d stay asleep.”
The figure didn’t move.
It spoke only one sentence.
“You can feel him now…”
“…can’t you?”
David slowly clenched his fists.
“My son.”
The crimson wind began to howl.
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Authors note: Please ignore the mistake in Chapter 18 they don’t know each other identities