The Zodiac Cycle

NO 3.29 Ophiuchus

"Ophiuchus?" I laughed softly. "That's a bit of a mouthful, huh?"

Keith chuckled as well. "yeah, I guess it is." he closed the book he was searching through and set it down, picking up the Tracker instead. 

"but I still don't get it, Iris is 26, so how could the sign just show up that late?"

Keith smiled softly, looking at me. "I knew something was different about this cycle the moment I first met you." 

"and what was so different about me?"

"you're female." he stated bluntly. "all the primary leos till now have been male."

"didn't you ask me if I was trans or something?" I asked.

"yeah. you were both confused and offended."

"cant blame me that much can you? I mean, I haven't even gotten used to the fact that Carson is a demiboy."

"that's not too bad." Keith shrugged. "he uses he/they pronouns, so you don't have all that much trouble. not as much trouble as you had with Alex at first."

"yeah." I blinked. "we were talking about Iris, we got off topic."

"oh yeah!" Keith put a finger up, then handed the tracker to me. there was a thirteenth dot added to it glowing in a cyan color. "As far as I'm aware, Ophiuchus was added to the charts in 2011."

"so?"

"it being added in the middle of an already going cycle presented a problem. guess the cycle wanted to add it, but the matter of how to add it was the main question." Keith crossed his arms, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in across from me. 

"do you think it appeared in a moment of need?"

"possibly, but my main theory has to do with who it chose to appear on, rather than why." Keith huffed. "but it's still just a theory."

"its more than not knowing anything." I urged.

"Iris is soul bonded to stormy, right?"

I nodded.

"Stormy is a phoenix, a symbol of rebirth, and reincarnation. theoretically, I doubt a phoenix could receive the sign, but when Iris was soul bonded to him, she was brought back to life, basically reborn, right?"

"yeah..." I wasn't certain where he was going with this. 

"Iris died on December 2nd, and had to have been brought back within ten days. the dates for Ophiuchus in the new chart are from November 29 to December 18. the signs won't go to anyone younger than thirteen, and the primary, in this case, would most likely still have to be 21 at least."

I realized then what he was suggesting. "so you're saying the sign went to Iris because she had supposedly been 'reborn' within the dates of the sign and was over the age of 21."

"yes." Keith nodded.

"and what does Stormy have to do with this?"

"as a phoenix, sharing part of his life energy with Iris, I believe it made her truly 'reborn' in a sense." Keith seemed a bit excited. "since the sign was added in 2011, there are no Ophiuchus today that are thirteen yet, not until this winter. and, as you said before, there was a moment of need." 

"yes, but Gemini's have died before, and it didn't present itself then."

Keith sighed, looking solemn for a second. "there's a limit to how many times a sign can be transferred in one cycle. if that limit is surpassed, the entire cycle is broken."

i felt a pang of pain in my stomach, sensing what he was about to say.

"Zach most likely knew this and attempted the Gemini massacre to break the cycle. however, he didn't finish it."