LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 31: The Ties That Bind
The Ties That Bind
1. The Rift Opens (Real World – Diane & Orion's POV)
The Astral Nexus trembled as Diane and Orion worked in tandem, tracing the remnants of the vanished thread that once connected them to Tom.
"Hold it steady," Diane murmured, weaving golden strands of fate between her fingers.
Orion grunted in response, hands crackling with void energy as he anchored the fragile bridge between worlds.
They were so close.
The illusion wasn't perfect—not yet. The Council had masked Tom and Stacy's presence, but they had left behind tiny fractures, barely perceptible, but enough for Diane to follow.
A final pull—
And then—
The rift tore open before them.
For the briefest moment, Diane and Orion saw it:
A different world, wrapped in golden light.
A world where Tom was smiling.
A world where Stacy laughed.
A world where—
Diane's heart stopped.
She was there.
Standing in the kitchen. Cooking. Humming a song she hadn't sung in years.
It was her.
And then the pull yanked her inside.
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2. A Mother's Return (Inside the Illusion – Diane's POV)
Diane gasped as she staggered, the warmth of a kitchen surrounding her. The scent of home-cooked food wrapped around her like an old memory—so real, so right.
For a moment, she panicked—where was Orion?
But then—
"Mom?"
Her breath hitched.
She turned.
And there he was.
Tom.
Standing in the doorway, his golden eyes wide with something between relief and confusion.
Diane's hands shook.
She had been chasing him, trying to save him—
And now?
He was here.
In front of her.
Whole.
Like nothing had ever gone wrong.
"Mom?" Tom stepped closer, brow furrowed. "Are you… okay?"
Diane opened her mouth—to warn him, to tell him that this wasn't real—
But the words wouldn't come.
Because this was what she wanted.
This was the son she had lost.
And this time—
She could keep him.
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3. The Lost Father (Inside the Illusion – Orion's POV)
Orion hit the ground hard, the world spinning around him.
His body felt different.
Lighter.
More… human.
His mind reeled as he looked around. A familiar street stretched before him. Houses, old streetlights, the lingering scent of autumn in the air.
He knew this place.
This was their neighborhood.
Where he had lived.
Where he had raised his—
"…Dad?"
Orion's breath caught.
He turned.
Stacy stood a few feet away, her expression frozen in shock.
"Stacy," he breathed.
The word felt foreign on his tongue.
For centuries, he had been Orion—the warrior bound to cosmic forces, stripped of his past life.
But here…
She wasn't calling him Orion.
She was calling him Dad.
And somehow—
Somehow, the illusion wasn't fighting him on it.
It was accepting him.
Stacy's face broke into a brilliant, overjoyed smile.
"Dad! You're home!"
And before he could stop her—
She ran into his arms.
Orion's hands shook as he caught her.
The weight of her, the warmth—
This was wrong.
This wasn't real.
But as Stacy buried her face in his chest, laughing, crying—
He couldn't bring himself to let go.
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4. The Council's Gambit (Outside the Illusion – The Watchers' POV)
The Celestial Council watched from the void beyond time.
The trap had snapped shut.
Diane and Orion had walked right into it.
"Too easy," one murmured.
Another chuckled. "It always is. Give mortals what they want, and they will never question it."
They turned back to the illusion, watching as the final layers solidified.
Tom, Stacy, Diane, and Orion—all together now.
A perfect family.
A perfect life.
And now?
Now, none of them would fight back.
Because the strongest chains were not forged from steel or power—
But from love.
And the moment any of them began to doubt—
The illusion would simply give them another reason to stay.
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5. The Dream World Tightens Its Grip (Tom's POV)
Tom sat at the dinner table that night, his mind oddly still.
His mother was cooking.
His sister was strong.
His father was home.
Something inside him knew—
Knew this wasn't right.
But…
What if it was?
What if he had just been dreaming before?
What if he had imagined all the pain, the loss, the battles?
What if this was always where he was meant to be?
His fingers traced the edge of his plate.
His family laughed around him.
For the first time in a long time—
He felt at peace.
And maybe—
Just maybe—
That was enough.
For now.
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