Echo Bloom
## Echo Bloom The rain tasted like iron. Not a sharp, metallic tang, but the dull ache of rusted nails pressed against the tongue. Elara licked her lips, the chill clinging to them despite the humid Georgia air. She stood…
guardian
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The Taste of Ash
## The Taste of Ash The flour dusted Elara’s hands, a comforting weight. She kneaded the dough with practiced ease, the rhythmic push and pull familiar as her own heartbeat. Outside, rain lashed against the bakery’s windows—a relentless drumming that…
The Echo Bloom
## The Echo Bloom The rain tasted like pennies on Leo’s tongue. He hunched deeper into the doorway of Mrs. Petrov’s antique shop, the neon sign buzzing a frantic lullaby above him. It was late October in Portland—that particular damp,…
The Bloom
## The Bloom The air tasted of iron and wet stone. Rain, not gentle drizzle but a solid sheet, hammered against the corrugated roof of Elias’s workshop. He ignored it, focused on the moss growing in intricate patterns across the…
Glitchpoint
## Glitchpoint The desert shimmered, heat rising from cracked earth like a phantom city. Rain hadn’t kissed this stretch of Arizona in six months. Jax wiped sweat from his brow, the gritty film clinging to his skin. He squinted at…
The Algorithmic Gambit
The rain hammered against the corrugated iron roof of O’Malley’s Bait & Tackle, a relentless percussion that mirrored the anxiety thrumming beneath Silas’ skin. He wiped condensation from his worn baseball cap, letting it fall back into place with a…