Dawn's first light bled gold across the Terrace of Runes, but Otoku felt only the weight of Maeve's betrayal. The torn Companion page burned against his side as he stepped onto the polished marble, Noctis at his heel, silent and watchful. Around them, students and faculty moved past—unaware that the Academy's deepest secret had just fractured.
Otoku inclined his head to Arthelia, who awaited him by the eastern colonnade. Her blindfold was tied back now, revealing eyes that glowed with concern and unspoken questions. Iseri and Korrin flanked them, their expressions unreadable in the morning glare.
"Councilor," Arthelia said softly, "they've begun reinforcing the wards. But I sense other currents—something darker."
Otoku nodded, voice low: "Maeve's choice has opened a door. We must walk through it together."
---
They descended to the Citadel's undercroft—where the Council once bound the Heart of the Veil—and found Xirene's ruined mask on the floor, broken shards of silver and black lacquer scattered like fallen stars. Noctis sniffed at the fragments, flicking his tail in irritation.
Iseri crouched to gather a shard. "She left this behind… a message or a warning."
Otoku pressed his thumb to the lacquer, smudging a streak of silver. "A warning." He turned to the narrow tunnel that led deeper beneath the Academy. "We follow it."
---
The Hidden Chamber
Past ancient pipes and echoing halls, they reached a sealed door carved with a veiled moon motif. Otoku laid the Companion's torn page over the lock. The ragged edges aligned perfectly, and the door groaned open into darkness.
Inside, a chamber of obsidian walls glittered with pale veins. At its center hung the Veil Mirror—a polished surface framed by runes of shadow and flame. Reflected in its depths, Otoku's figure shimmered: white hair bound back, silver eyes hardening to steel.
He stepped forward, hand on the mirror's edge—and nearly recoiled. Beyond his own eyes, he saw Maeve's face behind his right shoulder, tears gleaming even in reflection.
Spinning around, Otoku found her standing in the archway, hood drawn low, mask back in place. "I knew you'd come," she whispered.
---
Hidden Motive Twist
Otoku's heart clenched. "Why lure me here?"
Maeve's mask glinted in the mirror's light. She lifted a single finger, producing from her cloak a glowing lantern—one of Xirene's Pale Lanterns—its flame flickering with cold violet. "To show you truth," she replied.
She approached the mirror, touching its surface. Instantly, ripples spread outward, and the chamber's obsidian veins pulsed darker. The mirror cracked, each fissure revealing glimpses of alternate futures where Otoku's leadership led to ruin—city spires collapsing, students lost in endless loops, and Arthelia standing alone amid ash.
Maeve's voice trembled. "You fight for hope, but you have never faced what you could destroy." She raised the lantern higher. "See what waits beyond the light."
Otoku lunged—astral blade drawn—but the mirror's shards glowed, casting him backward. The mirror's voice echoed: "Choose: embrace the shadow within, or be consumed by it."
---
Aftermath
When the lantern's flame died, Otoku stood alone. Maeve had vanished, leaving only the cracked mirror and the cold lantern at his feet. Noctis nudged him, golden eye wide.
Otoku lifted the lantern and peered into its dim violet glow. The mirror's final echo whispered in his mind: "The true test begins now."
He exhaled, resolve hardening. "Then I must face it—before darkness breaks the loop."
---