The Soft Collapse Before the Pivot
The corridor lights flickered again — that same nervous pulse Calyx had been unconsciously syncing his breathing to. He hated that. Hated that something so broken still managed to guide him. Eira walked ahead of him, slow steps, shoulders a little too tense. She wasn’t speaking, but her silence was louder than any question she could’ve asked. “Back there,” she finally said, “what you did… Why did it feel like you were erasing yourself?” Calyx blinked, almost amused. If only she knew how literal that problem had become. “I was containing it,” he said. “The fracture point reacts to proximity. You were too close.” Eira stopped short and turned, studying him like she was trying to see through all the layers he kept taped together. “That isn’t what I asked.” There it was — the soft collap
- Writer
