---
## Chapter 29: *"The Bloodline of the Spiral"*
> _"Some bloodlines carry curses. Others carry memories. But the worst… carry both."_
---
No one spoke for a long time.
The Black Harlot was gone.
But her words lingered like poison in the air.
_"The truth is worse than you can imagine."_
Majid stared at the book on the floor.
It looked harmless.
Old leather.
Faded ink.
But it pulsed — just slightly.
Like it was alive.
Or waiting.
Layla still held her breath.
Her own handwriting.
Words she hadn't written yet.
A betrayal she didn't remember planning.
Rana finally broke the silence.
— Don't open it, Majid.
— Not yet.
— We don't know what it will do to you.
Majid didn't look at her.
His voice was quiet.
— I already know what it will do.
He picked up the book.
And opened it.
---
### 🔮 Part II: The First Memory
The first page was blank.
Then words began to appear.
Not written.
Emerging.
Like ink rising from the paper itself.
> _"Abdul Karim Al-Harthi did not die."_
> _He was erased."_
> _He tried to close the first gate."_
> _But he failed."_
> _So they took his name."_
> _They rewrote his past."_
> _And gave his future to another."_
Majid's fingers trembled.
He turned the page.
More words.
> _"Your father is not your father."_
> _You were never born."_
> _You were placed."_
> _Carried forward by the spiral."_
> _A vessel before you could speak."_
> _A sacrifice before you could walk."_
Rana stepped back.
Her voice shook.
— This isn't real.
— This has to be a trick.
Samir said nothing.
He was staring at the spirals carved into the walls.
They were glowing again.
Pulsing with each sentence Majid read.
Fatima whispered:
— Who wrote this?
The book answered.
Not in writing.
In sound.
A whisper came from the pages themselves.
In **his** voice.
Abdul Karim's voice.
Old.
Broken.
Sad.
> _"I did."_
> _"Before I was taken."_
> _"Before I was forgotten."_
> _"I left this for you, my son."_
> _"Or should I say… my replacement?"_
Majid closed the book quickly.
Too quickly.
The room shuddered.
The mirror cracked further.
And from its depths…
Something watched.
Waiting.
---
### 🧩 Part III: The Letter From the Mirror
Later that night, Fatima couldn't sleep.
She stood alone in the ruined chamber.
Facing the mirror.
It no longer bled.
Now it waited.
Like it had something to say.
Suddenly, a piece of paper slipped out from beneath its frame.
She bent down.
Picked it up.
It was a letter.
Written in perfect Arabic.
Signed with her name.
Dated tomorrow.
She read it once.
Then again.
Her hands shook.
Because the letter wasn't just addressed to her.
It was written by her.
And it said:
> _"By the time you read this, I will have made my choice."_
> _"I will have sided with the Sleeper."_
> _"Not because I believe in him."_
> _"But because I believe in myself."_
> _"— Fatima."_
She dropped the letter.
Backed away.
Whispered to herself:
— No.
— Not me.
— Never me.
But deep inside…
She wasn't sure anymore.
---
### 🕯️ Part IV: The Bloodline Revealed
The next morning, Layla sat with Majid.
Quietly.
Carefully.
— What else did the book say?
Majid looked at her.
His eyes still black.
Still hollow.
But now… filled with something new.
Understanding.
He opened the book again.
One more page.
One more truth.
> _"The bloodline of the spiral is not born."_
> _It is chosen."_
> _Each generation carries a fragment."_
> _Each vessel forgets."_
> _Each sacrifice repeats."_
> _And when the spiral closes…"_
> _One will remain."_
> _The true heir of the Sleeper."_
Silence.
Then Majid whispered:
— I'm not the only one.
Layla frowned.
— What do you mean?
He looked around the room.
At Rana.
At Samir.
At Fatima.
At Layla herself.
— One of us…
— Is next.
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