Chapter 1: The Law of the Chime
Nova Thorne understood cause and effect.
Not in a vague, philosophical way. In the mathematical certainty of it.
She had spent her life studying systems. Political structures, economic models, the design of control itself. She understood why a government functioned. Why laws existed. Why order was essential.
That was why, when the man stopped moving, she didn’t flinch.
When the Enforcers arrived—black uniforms, faces hidden behind mirrored visors—no one reacted.
Not because they were afraid.
Because this was just the way things worked.
The Law of Midnight
Aurelis ran on precision.
Every citizen had a Compliance Band—a sleek, silver cuff worn on the wrist, biometrically locked to their DNA.
It logged everything.
Work shifts. Meal consumption. Sleep cycles. Location.
At midnight, it locked their doors.
At midnight, the city emptied.
At midnight, no one was outside.
Not because they were told to stay inside.
Because the ones who weren’t inside… didn’t come back.
No one questioned the law.
No one needed to.
The Plaza Execution
Nova sat in the Central Plaza, her tablet in front of her, drinking black tea. She wasn’t watching the Enforcers.
She was aware of them.
Just as she was aware of everything. The interval of the trams gliding past, the minute fluctuations in air temperature, the way the entire city functioned like a perfect, mechanical organism.
The man at the fountain was already dead.
Not biologically. Systemically.
His Compliance Band was dark.
A severed thread in the city’s design.
The Enforcers moved in.
The plaza remained calm. People continued their meals. Someone scrolled a newsfeed. A woman adjusted her child’s jacket.
There were no public executions in Aurelis. That would be barbaric. Inefficient.
Instead, the Enforcers corrected the error.
Nova didn’t watch.
She listened.
A small mechanical click.
A thin, almost imperceptible hum.
And the man was gone.
No body. No blood. No struggle.
One moment present.
The next—nothing.
The Enforcers left.
Order restored.
Nova sipped her tea.
And she didn’t feel anything at all.
The Architect of Order
President Callix had built Aurelis from the wreckage of failed civilizations.
There had been chaos before him. Societies crumbling under their own weight. Leaders swayed by emotion rather than logic.
The Compliance Bands, the Law of Midnight—these weren’t tyranny.
They were solutions.
Every policy had a function.
Every function had a purpose.
And every time a Compliance Band went dark, it only proved the necessity of the system.
The people who vanished weren’t victims.
They were errors.
The city did not punish them.
It simply removed them.
The Late Visitor
Nova’s alarm sounded at 11:50 PM.
A nightly reminder: Prepare for curfew.
She never missed it.
She had never been late.
She had never even considered—
A knock at the door.
Nova froze.
No one knocked.
Ever.
Another knock.
Harder.
She rose slowly. Moved to the door. Pressed her hand to the scanner.
UNREGISTERED VISITOR.
No name. No ID. No record of existence.
That wasn’t possible.
Nova’s pulse ticked upward. A cold, analytical part of her brain calculated the risks.
If she answered, she would be breaking procedure.
If she didn’t…
She exhaled. Pressed her palm to the scanner.
The door slid open.
The hallway was empty.
No. Not empty.
Something was on the floor.
A small bundle, wrapped in black cloth.
Nova’s breath hitched. She crouched, peeled back the fabric.
Inside—
A Compliance Band.
Just the band. No wrist attached to it.
Her stomach turned. She picked it up, turned it in her fingers. The band was active. The soft blue pulse still flickered.
This wasn’t discarded.
It had been removed while the person was still alive.
That was impossible.
The bands were permanent.
They could not be removed.
They could only go dark.
Nova straightened, mind racing. The hallway remained still. Silent.
She should report this. Immediately.
She should close the door.
She should—
A hand shot from the darkness.
Fingers curled around her wrist—tight, unyielding—and yanked her forward.
Nova stumbled—the Compliance Band flashing frantically—and suddenly, she was outside.
The cold air hit her like a slap.
The door slammed shut behind her.
And she was no longer alone.
A figure loomed in the shadows of the alley—just out of reach of the flickering streetlights. Not fully visible. Not quite real.
Its voice was soft. Almost amused.
“You just broke one of your precious rules.”
Nova’s stomach twisted.
She lunged for the door panel. Locked.
Her Compliance Band pulsed once—
And died.
The streetlights flickered once—
And went out.
The city exhaled, like something deep within it had just woken up.
Nova’s breath hitched. She could not see the figure.
But she felt it watching her.
It leaned closer.
Spoke right against her ear.
“I wonder how long you’ll last.”
The city bell tolled.
Midnight.
And everything went black.