Orahm lay quiet after the battle, its once-raging domes soothed under starlight. Lanterns floated above the walkways, dim and gentle, as if the city itself wished not to wake the echoes still healing inside its halls.
Laverna wandered alone.
The mirrored hall stretched before her, floor-to-ceiling panes of enchanted glass once used by the ancient nobles of Orahm to practice spirit rituals. Now, they simply reflected her—over and over, a hundred Laverna's watching her with the same furrowed brow and quiet ache.
Her tiger eye pulsed with uneasiness. Her shoulders slumped. She did not look like the kunoichi who tore through cultists earlier. Nor the girl who had survived chains and cages. Tonight, she looked like a woman lost in her own thoughts, outpaced by the others.
I was the first, she thought, resting her palm on a mirror. But does that still matter?
She remembered Shin's gaze after the battle — fierce and grateful, but not just for her. He looked at all of them that way now. And Alexandra, regal and radiant, wielded a voice that could part storms. The people called her Queen. Not just spirits. Even Maika had a kind of easy confidence that drew everyone into orbit.
But her?
She clenched her fist.
"I'm just the start," she whispered. "Never the center."
Behind her, the door eased open with a soft creak. Laverna didn't turn.
"You always walk like a whisper," she said. "Old habits?"
Alexandra stepped into the mirrored hall, robes faintly glowing under starlight. "And you always wander when something's heavier than your blades."
Laverna smirked, though her eyes didn't rise. "Not hiding. Just... thinking."
Alexandra approached slowly, giving her space. "About what?"
"Being first." Laverna finally turned. "You've seen it, haven't you? I was the first one Shin saved. The first crest. The first bond. But now I feel like I'm just... early. Like, I was just convenient. I'm not the queen. Not the clever one. Not the noble blade. I'm just... the broken girl he patched up."
Alexandra's face softened. "You think I don't feel that way, too?"
Laverna blinked. "You?"
"I lost everything. My people. My crown. My kingdom. When I saw him... Shin... it felt like the moon had turned back to find me. But then I saw you. And I envied you."
Laverna tilted her head, incredulous.
"You had something I never did — him first. His light when it was still raw. You helped build him. We came after." Alexandra looked into her eyes. "And I know how lonely that must feel now that you have to share it."
Tears welled in Laverna's eyes before she could stop them. "I thought... I thought I was supposed to be okay with all of this. The crest, the sisterhood. But every time someone new joins... I wonder if I'll still matter to him tomorrow. Sometimes I feel like I'm just waiting to be replaced."
Alexandra stepped closer. "That's not weakness, Laverna. That's trauma speaking. Fear is loud when you've known abandonment. When you've survived cruelty. You weren't just rescued — you were rebuilt. Of course your heart trembles. That doesn't make you less. That makes you real."
Laverna's voice broke. "They beat me because I healed too fast. Called me a freak. They tested poisons on me because they knew I wouldn't die. I was a thing. And now... now I'm supposed to be a person again. A sister. A woman. I don't even know how to be those things."
She looked away, trembling. "I remember the teeth the most. Thomas Lichtenstein had dogs. Big ones. Trained them on me. Said it was to test my limits. But it was just to hear me scream. And his daughter—Abigail—she would watch. Take notes. Laugh when I passed out."
Alexandra's eyes shone with pain, but she did not look away.
"They stripped my name. Made me answer to numbers. Sometimes I think I don't deserve a name at all. Shin gave it back. He gave me back. But I keep fearing that it'll all disappear. That I'll wake up and the collar's still there."
Alexandra took her hands and held them like something sacred. "You are all those things, Laverna. And more. You are the woman who stood first. Who bled and healed and kept walking. I've spent years helping others face their pain. I've walked with nobles through grief and soldiers through madness. And I've never seen strength like yours."
The mirrored hall shimmered faintly. Their reflections no longer stared with burdened eyes — they mirrored their closeness instead.
"I hated you for being perfect," Laverna confessed, her voice barely a whisper.
Alexandra smiled, bittersweet. "And I hated that you didn't need to pretend to be."
Laverna sobbed, and Alexandra drew her into a firm embrace. No hesitation. No rivalry. Just warmth.
"I'm tired of feeling like we're competing," Laverna whispered.
"Then let's stop. Let's choose each other."
Their crests pulsed in tandem — a soft golden hue that hadn't glowed before. Not in rivalry, but in recognition.
"Sisters?" Alexandra offered.
Laverna nodded, her voice breaking with the release. "Sisters."
Outside, the mirrored hall caught the first breath of dawn, and their joined reflections shone brighter than either alone.
Footsteps echoed gently at the corridor's edge.
Maika stepped into view first, her eyes drawn not to the mirrors, but to Laverna's tear-streaked face. Behind her came Zera and Tessara, who slowed as they witnessed the tender embrace between Alexandra and Laverna.
Zera's brows knitted in concern, but she said nothing. Instead, she crossed the room and offered a handkerchief.
Maika walked over, crouched down to Laverna's side. "You okay?"
Laverna sniffled, startled by their quiet presence.
"We were looking for you," Tessara said softly. "You didn't come back after the battle. Shin noticed first."
"We didn't mean to interrupt," Maika added. "But we wanted to let you know... you don't have to carry everything by yourself."
Laverna lowered her gaze. "You all… care that much?"
Zera sat beside her. "Of course we do. We're not just teammates or warriors. We're your sisters."
Tessara smiled. "A constellation doesn't shine with just one star."
Maika nudged Laverna's shoulder. "Besides, there's a meteor shower tonight. Shooting stars, whole sky full of them. Figured we'd all watch together."
Laverna blinked at them, tears glistening again—this time from joy. Her chest filled with a warmth she hadn't known she was still capable of feeling.
Maika offered her hand, and without a word, Laverna took it. Together, the girls led her gently through the crystal corridors of Orahm, the faint hum of the city still echoing with residual energy from the loom's resonance.
They stepped onto the overlook platform — a serene, wide ledge that offered a clear view of the skies above. There, leaning against the rail, Shin stood bathed in the soft moonlight, eyes lifting as he saw them approach.
He turned toward them, gaze locking with Laverna's. No words passed between them. Only the unspoken warmth of recognition.
Laverna moved toward him, guided by invisible threads of emotion. Shin extended a hand — firm, steady. She took it, curling against him with a softness born not of fragility, but trust.
As she nestled into his arms, the sky opened above them.
A cascade of stars streaked the heavens. Shooting stars ignited the darkness, long trails of silver and gold arcing above Orahm's domes.
One by one, the girls joined them. Zera on Shin's right, Tessara and Alexandra on his left, Maika draping a blanket around their shoulders. Together they sat in a circle beneath the celestial show.
No one spoke. There was no need.
Laverna stared skyward, eyes shimmering. The stars weren't falling. They were dancing.
She looked at the others — at her sisters — at Shin. And for the first time, not as a survivor or a weapon. But as a woman, held and whole.
"I'm not a slave anymore… I'm not alone," she whispered.
And above them, the stars bore witness to her truth.