The decoy sprinted down the marble corridor, its cloak fluttering like smoke. From a distance, it was indistinguishable from the real Kael—same tousled black hair, same sarcastic stride, same aura of contained chaos.
Kael stood far behind with Noelle, hidden behind a shimmering illusion woven from his reality-bending gift. The mirage he'd crafted danced through the compound, leading a full unit of cultists directly away from Arlen's location.
"Five—no, six of them," Noelle whispered, peering through a fractured reflective panel. "Your little clone's popular."
Kael smirked faintly, lowering his hand as the projection disappeared around the far bend. "What can I say? I'm charming. Even in my fake form."
Noelle rolled her eyes, but the moment lingered. The corridor was quiet now—eerily so.
"Think it'll buy us enough time?"
Kael nodded. "It better. I'm not up for another dramatic rescue with mirror powers that make my head feel like it's full of static."
She leaned closer, brushing his shoulder. "You get used to the nosebleeds."
"Comforting."
They moved quickly through the next corridor, hugging the shadows. As the tension momentarily dipped, Kael shot a sideways glance at her.
"You ever wonder what we'd be doing if the world wasn't trying to implode?"
Noelle glanced at him, her expression softening. "You'd still be weird, I'd still be dangerous. Just… maybe in a coffee shop instead of a bunker."
Kael laughed under his breath. "Plot twist—I don't even like coffee."
"You're a menace."
"And yet here we are."
Their banter died the moment Noelle's body tensed. Her eyes widened slightly, focusing on something just ahead.
A figure emerged silently from the far side of the hallway—slim, hooded, with an oddly familiar gait. The cultist's cloak fluttered, but what stopped Noelle cold was the flash of a silver locket dangling from her neck.
"No..." she breathed. Her fingers went numb around her dagger.
Kael raised a brow. "What?"
"Stay here." She stepped forward. "I... I know her."
"Talia?"
The girl pulled her hood back slowly, revealing a familiar face that hadn't aged a day since the accident. Pale skin. Green eyes. A haunting smile that split across her lips.
"You remember," Talia said, voice light. "That's sweet."
Noelle's heart pounded in her ears. "You're... you're alive."
"I'm more than alive. I'm saved."
Kael instinctively backed into the shadows, knowing his presence here could ruin everything. If Talia recognized him—worse, if she saw through the decoy illusion—the entire plan could collapse. He slipped behind a nearby pillar, out of view.
Talia didn't even look in his direction. Her attention was locked fully on Noelle.
"You left me behind," she whispered. "You promised we'd stick together. Then you ran. You left me bleeding in that church."
"I thought you were dead!" Noelle said, almost shouting. "I tried to go back, but they wouldn't let me!"
Talia tilted her head. "They let me live. They showed me the truth. You know the world's broken, don't you? You see it too."
Noelle swallowed hard. "You're with the cult?"
"I am." Talia's smile stretched wider, unnaturally so. "And I believe. This world isn't real—not entirely. We're shadows of something bigger. We were chosen. You were supposed to be chosen too."
"You're not making sense," Noelle said, taking a cautious step forward. "This isn't you. You were kind. You believed in people."
Talia's expression darkened. "People let me die. But the cult? They made me whole. They gave me meaning."
Noelle's hands shook.
"I don't want to fight you."
"You won't have a choice," Talia said softly. "You'll understand soon."
She turned slightly, then paused.
Her eyes narrowed. "That decoy... I have a feeling that's not the real Kael."
Noelle froze.
Talia's gaze drifted along the edges of the hallway, not quite landing on Kael—but close. "Tell me where he is. Now."
Kael's pulse spiked. Without a word, he erased himself. Not physically—but from perception. His power bent the reflection of presence, reality itself ignoring his existence in this moment. He vanished from the mind's eye, unseen, unacknowledged.
Talia's eyes flared. "Noelle. Don't make me hurt you. You know what I can do."
Noelle stepped forward, blade raised, defiant. "Then come try."
Talia smiled like glass cracking. "Gladly."