Chapter 4 - No Way Back

They called us first. Angelus. Angelus. Angelus.

The name was enough. No questions needed. No explanations. Klaus, Themdo, and I stood up in silence,

under the weight of the others stares. Our feet sank into the dirty snow. No one stopped us. No one followed.

We passed through the line. Voices whispered behind uslow, rough, and frayed.

Theyre children of the Blessed... But raised in the filth of the Old World... They call them Angelus, like a

name could wash them clean.

We didnt reply. Wed heard it a thousand times. But this time, it was colder.

Klaus walked ahead with his usual smile. But his shoulders trembled. Themdo followed with the calm of

someone who has learned never to react. Me... I tried to keep my heart still.

In front of us, the Portal. A fracture of light in the sky. Motionless, yet moving. It seemed to breathe. Nomore

than that. It seemed to **think**.

It made no sound, but the air around it felt different. Denser. Heavier. Each step we took slowed time.

It was as if reality itself tried to back away from us. Or maybe the Portal was slowly pulling everything in,

inch by inch.

I turned. Klaus was searching for Elena in the crowd. One glance was enough to reassure him. She was there.

No words needed. He nodded faintly, but his smile was gone.

Themdo stared at the Portal. Still. Unreachable, as always. As if he already knew what awaited him.

Our eyes met briefly. He stared, serious, tilting his head slightly. No words. But it was as if he said, You feel it

too, dont you? I nodded. For a moment, we were allies.

And I... remembered.

We were kids. Maybe eight. It was snowing. The orphanage roof had collapsed, and the flakes fell inside like

the sky had forgotten us too. The blankets were rags. The cold cut through our hands. Our breath too weak to

warm our chests. We hadnt eaten in days. Real hunger. The kind that hollows your eyes.

I curled into a corner, knees against my chest, wishing the night would end. That my body would finally give

out.

Then Klaus looked at me. He said nothing. Didnt come closer. But he smiled. A broken smile, teeth chattering.

As if to say, Youre still here?Yes. And in that moment, I wasnt alone.

That night was long. But not endless. I fell asleep with ice in my bones and my heart beating slow. Not out of

courage. Out of habit.

Now, the cold was inside. It didnt come from the snow. It came from the wait.

General Morozov watched us from afar. He didnt speak. He didnt move. But he was there. Like a mountain.

Like judgment itself.

I stepped toward the Portal.

The ground creaked. Not like ice. Like skin stretched too tight. The Portal contracted. It vibrated. Not with

lightbut something invisible. A wave. An echo. A presence.

My eyes started to water. Not from emotion. The light was too much. The air vibrated wrong.

Every part of me knew this wasnt a passage. It was a threshold. A border between two versions of myself.

And then I heard it.

> You... are ready to lie even to yourself.

I froze. It wasnt my thought. It wasnt a memory. It was a voice. Internal. Silent. Absolute.

It burned behind my eyes. A sting at the temple. Rage surgednot toward the Angel. Toward myself.

Because maybe... it was true.

The Angel. I didnt see it. But I knew it was there. Even now.

Id heard the truth as a child. The catastrophe wasnt caused by the Portal. It was the Angel who triggered itwith

one message, one act. The Portal came **after**. Not to destroy. But to choose.

A gate. A judge. A divine scalpel to separate who stays... and who changes.

Klaus came closer. His lips tight.

If I dont come back... You will. I cut him off. I didnt want to hear him falter. Not today.

He nodded, but didnt stop looking at me. Like he feared I would be the one not to return.

The Portal... shifted. Not in color. Not in shape. In space.

Shadows stretched. Voices distorted. Someone called my namebut the accent was wrong. As if the world itselfwas losing focus.

A heartbeat. Not mine. Another.

Then another. Too slow. Too deep. Like it came from underground.

The Portal opened. Or maybe... we were falling into it.

I stepped forward. My bones felt light. Another step.

The worlds sound vanished.

I closed my eyes.

And in that instant, I understood: **Someone was already reading me.**