That morning, mist still lingered low over the palace grounds. The cold air clung to the skin, as if warning anyone who dared step out of their safe zones. Areum stood at the threshold of her room, a simple cloak draped over her, the Seol Hwa manuscript tucked securely under her arm. She didn't look back. Her destination was clear: the Old Palace.
Her footsteps were silent as she followed the secret path Ji Seok had shown her the night before. Stone walls and ancient roots bore witness to her journey, deeper into a history long forgotten.
When she arrived at the Old Palace, Areum was struck speechless. The place felt suspended in time. No voices, no movement. Only dust-covered mirrors hanging along the narrow hallway.
One mirror stood taller than the rest. Its frame was engraved with the emblem of the Three-Season Flower, the same symbol that appeared in the manuscript. Areum stepped toward it, her heart racing. Her hand rose, fingers brushing the mirror's surface gently.
Suddenly, a surge of energy coursed through her body. A faint light enveloped the room, and her vision shifted.
She now stood in a grand hall — strange, yet eerily familiar. The walls were gilded. Statues of veiled women adorned the space. In the center, a woman dressed in white sat on the cold stone floor. Her hands were bound, her head bowed. Areum gasped.
"Raena…"
The woman looked up. Her face… was identical to Areum's.
Several palace ministers surrounded her.
"You're from the future," one of them barked. "Your purpose is to disrupt the balance of the throne. Who sent you?"
Raena didn't answer. Her eyes locked straight onto Areum, even though it should've been impossible for her to see her.
"If you're hearing this," Raena whispered, "it means you've been caught too. Leave before it's too late. This mirror does not forgive repeating history."
"No!" Areum screamed.
Pap!
She collapsed to the floor of the old palace, gasping for air. Her hands trembled. The glow from the mirror had faded once more.
"Areum!"
Ji Seok's voice echoed. He ran to her, helping her up. "You saw her, didn't you?"
Areum nodded, her eyes still glossy. "She… she looked just like me."
"That's why I brought you here. My father showed me that vision too. Since I was young, I knew there was a history hidden from us all."
"Why are you helping me, Ji Seok?" Areum's voice was faint.
Ji Seok hesitated. "Because I believe this repeating fate must end. Raena failed because she had no one beside her. But you're not alone."
He led Areum away before the guards could discover them. The secret corridor was dark, but their steps remained steady.
Meanwhile, in the main palace, Wang Joon stood in Areum's empty room, his expression tense. His guards bowed low.
"Where is she?" Wang Joon's voice was tight.
"We have yet to find any trace of her, Your Highness."
Wang Joon's eyes landed on a page of the manuscript left on the floor. He slowly picked it up. There, the symbol of the Three-Season Flower was drawn, and the name "Raena" had been written repeatedly.
His expression changed.
"What's going on, Areum? And why is this name returning?"
Night fell. The wind once again swept around the palace. In a hidden tower, a figure in a white cloak with a mask of three flower petals stood gazing at the moon.
The figure spoke softly, to a shadow behind them.
"Areum has touched the mirror. The time is near. Be ready."
The shadow nodded once before vanishing into the darkness.
This chapter ends with the sound of an ancient bell tolling from the direction of the Old Palace. No one knew who had rung it.
But one thing was certain:
Time had begun to crack.