The Silence After the Storm
The battlefield had quieted—but it wasn't peace. It was the kind of silence that trembled under the weight of uncertainty.
Fires still crackled in the distance. Mages tended to the wounded. Children cried in the streets as soldiers tried to restore order.
Arin sat on the edge of a ruined wall, blade across his knees, his breathing shallow.
Elira hadn't returned yet.
He kept replaying her final expression—serene, yet burning with defiance—as she clashed with the Third Herald high above the city.
"Why does every savior wear a noose?" he murmured.
Sarai's Warning
Sarai approached, her jacket scorched, face hardened. She carried something in her hand—an old mirror shard, pulsing faintly with dark light.
She tossed it beside Arin.CLINK.
"Tell me what you see."
Arin peered into it—and froze.
He didn't see himself.Not exactly.
It was him, yes. But with hair white as ash, eyes like bleeding rubies, and a cruel smile that curved upward unnaturally.
Arin whispered: "That's…"
"Your Mirror. The one you left behind."
The Return of the Forsaken
Sarai crossed her arms. "The Heralds weren't the only ones awakened by the starseed's resonance. Your Mirror has returned too."
Arin looked up sharply. "That's impossible. I destroyed him."
"No, you destroyed his form, not his echo. That part of you—your repressed rage, guilt, madness—it's alive. And now, it's hunting the city."
BOOM.
A shockwave tore through the east district.
A monstrous laugh followed.
"Ahahahaha!Look what the boy's become! A soldier for light—how boring."
Axis Under Siege—Again
Within seconds, the Guard Barracks burst into black flames.
From the smoke walked a figure wrapped in shredded robes—his face a perfect mirror of Arin's, but twisted by insanity and malevolence.
He wore no shoes. His hands glowed with inverted glyphs.
People stared in terror. "I-Is that the Guardian?"
"No… that's…"
"The Reflection."
Arin's Confrontation
Arin reached the burning quarter within minutes, Sarai and a few elite soldiers behind him.
His Mirror turned slowly, as if expecting him.They stood face-to-face.
The twisted double smirked. "Did you think casting me away would cleanse you?"
"I accepted you once," Arin growled. "But you're nothing but the rot I burned off."
"You burned yourself, Arin. I only held the matches."
ZWWWIP!In a flash, the Mirror surged forward—blade of shadow bursting from his palm.
Arin blocked.CLANG!Sparks danced between steel and smoke.
The ground trembled beneath them.
Memories Clash
Every strike from the Mirror forced visions into Arin's mind:
His exile, standing before the High Tribunal.
His betrayal, trusting a friend who framed him.
His helplessness, watching Elira fall.
Each memory carried venom.
Arin gritted his teeth, fighting back the illusions.
"I'm not that boy anymore!"
The Mirror laughed. "No? Then why are you bleeding like him?"
Blood trickled from Arin's side.
But he didn't fall.
Elira's Return
Just when the Mirror raised his blade for the killing blow—
BOOM!
The sky split again—but this time in blue light.
Elira descended like a meteor, one hand glowing with the celestial chains, the other gripping a weapon unseen before: a halo-forged spear.
She landed between the two Arins.
"Step away from him," she said, voice ringing like a war-bell.
The Mirror hissed. "Ah… the girl. You always were his weakness."
Elira narrowed her eyes.
"No. I'm his strength."
SHING!
Her spear impaled the ground, releasing a circle of holy chains that wrapped around the Mirror, halting his motion.
But He Smiles
Even as the chains closed in, the Mirror grinned.
"You bind me today, Guardian... but every mirror cracks."
With one last laugh, he shattered into shadow shards and vanished.
Elira collapsed to one knee. "He'll be back."
Arin caught her before she fell completely. "Then next time, we won't let him leave."
A Quiet Moment
Later, as the fires were doused, Arin sat with Elira on the rooftop of a still-standing chapel.
She leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Do you think we can win this?"
Arin looked at the stars, distant and uncaring.
"We have to. Or at least… we keep trying until the end."
She smiled softly. "Then I'm glad I'm fighting beside you."
He brushed her hair back. "So am I."