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IN THE BEGINNING: MATEA
Bound by Blood, Forged by Fate, Matea’s Reckoning Begins — Part V (an eleven part series)
Innocence is the price. Eternity is the reward — or the curse
Every thread a choice. Every choice a sacrifice.
The Rope of the Dead pulsed rhythmically, its spectral heartbeat merging intimately with Matea’s own pulse, synchronizing her existence with realms that shimmered hauntingly just beyond her understanding. Each thread was a strand of possibility, entwined with lives she might have led, now laid bare in their stunning vulnerability and devastating consequence.
“Every thread a choice,” whispered the omnipresent voice, its cadence deeply resonant yet eerily tender, enveloping her like the soft caress of an unfathomable deity. “But every choice binds you closer to yourself.”
Matea, gripping the Rope fiercely, felt her awareness fracture into myriad reflections. She stood at once in places of unimaginable serenity and catastrophic chaos, realms bathed in radiant light and choking darkness. Her identity splintered and reformed endlessly, a kaleidoscope of selves grappling for coherence…
