The Hollow faded behind him, but the weight of it did not.
Kael walked in silence, boots crunching over dead leaves that had never turned color, only black. The System said nothing. For once, it felt merciful.
But the memory of the pendant still pulsed behind his ribs like a phantom heartbeat.
"Lyra," he had whispered. And it still tasted like ash.
The forest thinned into ruins—spindly walls choked by moss and soot. Pillars that once held banners now jutted upward like broken fingers. At the center of it all was a shrine—or what remained of one.
Something about the air changed here. It wasn't colder. Just… sharper. Every breath scraped a little more than it should have.
Kael paused, studying the structure ahead. Its stonework was smoother than the ruin around it, as if fire had cauterized every edge. Carvings spiraled down its sides in patterns that hurt to look at directly—glyphs that flickered between familiarity and nonsense.
The System stirred.
[Anomaly Detected: Submerged Echo. Classification: Reflective.]Caution: Visual distortion and memory bleed likely. Proceed with emotional grounding.
"Right," Kael muttered. "Because that's been going so well."
The shrine's entrance was a low arch just tall enough for him to duck through. The moment he crossed the threshold, sound fell away. No birds. No wind. Not even his footsteps.
It was wrong. The kind of wrong that felt like being inside a wound that hadn't healed.
At the center of the chamber, mounted on a slab of stone and bone, was a mirror.
Oval. Dustless.
Waiting.
Kael approached slowly.
His reflection moved with him. Same fire-scored skin. Same tired eyes. Same ash in his hair.
But it wasn't him.
Not exactly.
The reflection's expression was wrong—just a little too still. The way the lips curled—not tired, not pained. Amused.
And the eyes—They were burning. Not glowing. Burning.
Kael reached toward the glass.
The reflection didn't.
His fingers touched the surface.
And the world broke.
He stood in a throne room of white flame.
No roof. No floor. Just the shape of a hall held together by memory and fire. The throne ahead was empty, but a figure knelt before it.
Kael approached, breath shallow.
The kneeling figure stood.
It was him.
No older. No younger. But draped in regal crimson, flame trailing from his eyes like blood.
Kael stared. "Who are you?"
The reflection smiled. "I'm what you'll become if you stop pretending."
Kael took a step back. "I'm not—"
"Not him?" the reflection finished. "Not the one who razed cities to protect children who spat on your name? Not the one who forgave his brother's betrayal, only to be gutted in his sleep?"
Kael's hands curled into fists.
The reflection tilted its head. "You think this fire was given to you as a gift? You tore it out of the gods' throats. Every drop of power you hold was bought in blood."
The room cracked.
Glass fractures splintered across the space, revealing glimpses of other Kaels—some crowned, some weeping, some monstrous. One knelt with Lyra's corpse in his arms, whispering her name like a prayer.
Kael's breath hitched.
"I don't want to become you," he said.
The reflection stepped forward, burning brighter.
"You don't get to want," it said. "You only get to choose. Burn, or be burned. That's the law of this world."
A hand reached out from the reflection through the mirror.
Kael raised his own hand. Not to touch. To fight.
[Combat Protocols: Temporarily Synced.][Reflective Host Detected: Shadow Kael – Instinct Manifestation.]
The first blow came fast—heat and pain. Kael staggered back, flame grazing his shoulder. He ducked low and countered, flame twisting from his palm like a whip. The reflection caught it mid-air and pulled.
Kael flew forward—into a knee, into flame, into darkness.
He hit the ground hard.
The mirror shattered around him, shards skittering into dust. Blood dripped down his cheek—just a shallow cut, but it stung more than it should have.
He was back in the shrine.
Alone.
The air was no longer silent. Wind rustled through the cracks above. Somewhere distant, birds screamed.
The System's voice returned, flickering but stable.
[Submerged Echo defeated. Instinct stabilized.][New Ember Trait Unlocked: Mirrorfire – Your flame now adapts to emotional intention.][Ember Sync: 25%.]
Kael sat back, breathing hard.
"Was that me?" he asked aloud. "Or a warning?"
The System didn't answer.
He closed his eyes and pressed his palm to the floor. It was warm. Not from the fire. From him.
He wasn't sure what that meant yet.
But maybe… just maybe… he was more than what the reflection showed.
He stood slowly, favoring his left leg.
As he stepped out of the shrine and into the dying light, he didn't feel stronger.
Just more real.