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The Temple of Echoes – Ruins of Eirwell
The mirror-being stepped forward from the glowing portal, its footsteps echoing on the marble floor like a heartbeat. It wore Kael's face — but not his soul. Its eyes were voids, filled with a thousand trapped voices.
Kael froze, sword half-raised. "What… are you?"
The mirror-Kael smiled faintly. "I am what you left behind. The version of you that embraced the Rift."
Elira's hand gripped his arm. "It's a reflection construct. Mirrorborns are created when someone with Aetherial blood leaves a mark on reality."
The real Kael narrowed his eyes. "So… this is what I would've become if I gave in?"
"Not would have," the Mirrorborn replied. "What you might still become."
Then it lunged.
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The Battle of Echoes
Blades clashed. Every strike Kael threw was mirrored, predicted. The Mirrorborn didn't fight with rage — it fought with knowledge, like it had lived Kael's life a hundred times and learned every weakness.
"You'll never win like this!" Elira shouted, hurling a dagger that shimmered with light.
The Mirrorborn caught it midair. "She will betray you. Just like Lyra."
Elira paled. "I would never—"
Kael's fury exploded. Aetherion veins blazed gold as he activated the Flame-Star, pushing back the entity with a blast of light. "She's not like the others. And I'm not you."
With a final strike, Kael drove his sword through the mirror-being's chest. Cracks webbed through its body. It laughed.
"You think this ends me? I was born from the Rift. And the Rift… is endless."
Then it shattered into stardust.
The sixth fragment dropped from the air, glowing in Kael's palm.
---
Meanwhile — Lucien's Awakening
Beneath the mountains, Lucien stood in silence.
The Ritual had shifted.
He felt it — the breaking of the Mirrorborn, the weakening of the tether. Kael was growing stronger. Too strong.
"Damon," he called.
The shadows coiled — and Rael Damon Rhys stepped forward, his loyalty hollowing under doubt.
"You used me," Damon said quietly. "Everything we did… Lyra, the pact, even my own family."
Lucien turned. "You think you're a victim?"
"I think," Damon said, unsheathing a hidden dagger, "it's time I remember who I am."
But before he could strike, Lucien grinned — and disappeared into smoke.
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A New Bond – Elira & Kael
As the ruins settled, Kael collapsed by the fire that night. Elira sat beside him, silent.
He turned to her, voice low. "What the mirror said… about betrayal—"
She placed a hand on his cheek. "I chose you, Kael. Not because you're the Flameborn. Because you looked at me like I wasn't a weapon."
Kael stared at her. "Elira, if I don't make it—"
She kissed him. Not urgently, but like a promise.
"You will. Because I'm not letting you burn alone."
The flames flickered. And for the first time in a long time… Kael felt warm again.
---
Elsewhere — The Second Lead Couple Begins
In the forest town of Varielle, Auren Veyne — Elira's younger brother and a rogue magic-wielder — stumbled into a trap set by Nerina Vale, an exiled royal knight turned bounty hunter.
"You again?" Nerina groaned, sword to his throat.
Auren grinned, upside-down in a net. "Missed me?"
"You still owe me a sword, three spellbooks, and a wedding I was supposed to ruin."
"Technically, I prevented the wedding. You're welcome."
She sighed, cutting the rope. He fell with a yelp — right into her arms.
Their faces were inches apart.
Auren winked. "You know… we're dangerously close to flirting."
Nerina shoved him. "Don't flatter yourself, Veyne."
But she didn't walk away.
---
As Kael and Elira descended the mountain with the sixth fragment, a pulse of darkness rolled across the sky.
And in the shadows behind them… a familiar figure stepped out.
Lyra Hale.
Watching. Waiting.
And holding a blade that pulsed with the same Aether as the Rift.
> "Let him gather the pieces," she whispered to herself. "Let him believe he's winning."
> "Then we break him."
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