Page 143 - DivineSparkRisingFinal

Nicholas Boothman
The spiral glowed brighter: Every breath is a
chance to begin again.
The shadow snarled: Surrender to the system
within you.
And the final clash: No one can write your story
but you.
Against: There is no need to choose anymore.
This is the new freedom.
For a moment the world teetered, suspended
between two stories. Millions split-screened, eyes
flicking back and forth. Some seduced by the clean
simplicity of surrender. Others unsettled but stirred
by the raw edge of choice. And millions more
flickered between both, caught in a war inside their
own minds.
“It’s like two songs playing at once,” Carolina
whispered. “One in a major key. One in a minor.
Both beautiful. But only one is true.”
Henry’s jaw tightened. “We need to anchor the
signal.”
Then, Jinji’s voice slipped through on their
emergency channel:
“I buried the real Word in their feed in the code.
They won’t notice, but it’ll plant a fight inside
anyone who hears it.”
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