Claire
The library's archive smelled of dust and forgotten time, its shelves bowed beneath the weight of ancient tomes and brittle scrolls. Claire's eyes scanned the faded ink as she traced the origins of the Cleaners—far older than anyone living could imagine.
The cult had begun centuries ago, born from tragedy and fury. A mother, shattered by the loss of her children, had carved the first Spiral into the earth—a symbol of pain, rebirth, and unbreakable bonds. She vowed to reclaim what death had stolen, no matter the cost.
This Spiral was no mere marking. It was a covenant, an eternal binding of souls through blood and ritual. The mother's grief had birthed the Cleaners, who believed themselves the chosen agents of that ancient will.
The Cleaners saw the world as a broken place in desperate need of cleansing—purification through sacrifice. But their sacrifice was unique and horrifying.
They practiced devouring the hearts and brains of those marked by the Spiral.
The heart, they believed, contained the essence of courage and strength, the fiery will to survive.
The brain held memory, knowledge, and the visions of the future.
By consuming these organs, Cleaners claimed they inherited the very souls of their victims, absorbing their power and memories.
Eden
The leather-bound Codex of Ash lay open in Eden's lap as the Matron spoke softly in the shadows.
"The Cleaners are not merely killers. They are vessels," the Matron explained. "Each heart consumed ties the past to the present. Each brain devoured grants vision beyond the mortal veil."
Eden felt a chill as the Matron's voice echoed in the cold chamber.
"The Spiral is a cycle, unending and eternal. Pain feeds power. Loss feeds life. Blood is the thread that binds it all."
Eden traced the spiral etched in the margin of the Codex, fingers trembling.
The Matron's eyes glinted as she revealed a faded prophecy:
"From ashes rise the Flameborn. The child who walks between worlds, carrying fire and shadow. The past and future are one."
Eden's breath caught in her throat.
Claire
Claire uncovered a journal penned by a Holloway ancestor, describing the Cleaners' rites:
"The ritual of inheritance requires three sacred acts: marking, feast, and binding.
Marking seals the chosen with the Spiral.
The feast consumes heart and brain to absorb strength and vision.
Binding seals the soul's passage and ties the Cleaner to the eternal Spiral."
Each step was a descent into both power and madness.
Eden
The ritual feast haunted Eden's nights.
Each ceremony brought a silver bowl with dark blood and pieces of heart and brain.
The bitter taste scorched her throat.
Each time, memories not her own flickered behind her eyes—faces, places, and sorrow that was not hers.
The Spiral was rewriting her very essence.
Claire
Beneath the Holloway estate, Claire found a crypt of shattered bones and rusted tools.
Carved on the wall was a spiral-twisted tree, roots dripping with blood.
An inscription read:
"Inheritance is the flame that consumes and creates. From blood, we are born anew."
The Spiral pulsed beneath her skin, alive and growing.
Eden
Under the moon's pale light, the Matron whispered:
"The Spiral does not forgive. Those who break the cycle become ash. Those who embrace it become flame."
Eden felt the weight of every life, every soul absorbed.
She was no longer simply Eden.
She was the Spiral's flame.