## The Chroma Inheritance The scent of aged paper and leather always clung to Eleanor Vance. It permeated her clothes, settled in the deep valleys of her face, and seemed woven into the very air surrounding her. As chief librarian…
## The Weaver’s Bloom The rain tasted of iron and damp earth. It beaded on Elara’s cheek, tracing a path toward her chin as she navigated the elevated walkway. Crimson canopies arched above, thick and pulsing with geothermal light –…
## Lumina The hum vibrated through Riley’s bones, a low thrum that was as intrinsic to their existence as breathing. Seven towers loomed beyond the cultivation tank’s shimmering wall, stark grey monoliths against a horizon swallowed by an endless expanse…
## The Echo Weaver The rain hammered the corrugated iron roof of Silas’ workshop, a relentless percussion against the silence he cultivated. He hadn’t spoken to another soul in seventy-two days, not since the incident at NovaTech. The air hung…
## The Cartographer’s Shadow The dust tasted of old parchment and regret. Elara spat, wiping a smear across the worn leather of her glove. The shard pulsed beneath her fingertips—a frantic heartbeat in the cavernous Archive. It depicted a harvest…
## The Echo Bloom Rain lashed against the diner window, blurring the neon glow of “Lou’s Eats.” Inside, the smell of burnt coffee and frying bacon clung to everything. Amelia traced a damp circle on the Formica tabletop with her…
## The Static Bloom The dust tasted like old pennies and regret. Kaelen spat, the grit clinging to his tongue. Below, the turquoise swirl of Xylos pulsed, a living ocean contained within a geodesic skin. Not *real* ocean, not anymore.…
## The Bloom Weaver The chipped porcelain of the mug warmed Elias’s hands, but didn’t touch the chill clinging to his bones. Rain lashed against the window of the Archive, mimicking the rhythmic throb behind his eyes. He hadn’t slept…
## The Pollen Memory The rust-colored dust tasted like regret. Old man Hemlock swore it held the flavor of every failed harvest, every lost face in Respite. I didn’t taste faces, just grit on my tongue and the metallic tang…
## The Chroma Archive Dust motes danced in the single shaft of sunlight slicing through the arched window. Elias Thorne, a man built like weathered oak and smelling faintly of old paper, ran a calloused thumb across the spine of…
The rain hammered against the corrugated iron roof of the Helix, a sound like a thousand frantic fingers drumming. Below, the city – or what was left of it – bled into an oppressive grey. Layers upon layers of concrete…
The rain tasted like rust. It hammered against the corrugated iron roof of G Catedral da Lua Negra, a constant, insistent rhythm that mirrored the frantic beat of my pulse. Lisbon clung to me, slick and fragrant with wet stone…
The rain in Havenwood tasted like ash and regret. It clung to the slate roofs, slicked the cobblestones into a bruised purple sheen, and smelled like damp wool and forgotten promises. I’d been tracking this for weeks—not a crime, exactly,…
Dust motes danced in the single shaft of light slicing the gloom of the archive. Old Man Tiber, hunched like a question mark over a brittle scroll, traced a finger across faded ink. The parchment felt like dried skin under…