Stepping through the Echo Gate felt like falling without gravity — not terrifying, just surreal. Light folded around them in waves, refracting like water. For a moment, they were each alone, suspended in a silence that vibrated deep in their chests. And then—
Thud.
Eren landed first, face-first in what appeared to be… marble?
"Ow," he groaned. "This magic gate couldn't find us a comfier landing?"
Cain landed next, graceful as ever, followed by Selene and Leo, who looked around with awe.
They stood in a vast, circular room where the walls were mirrors — floor to ceiling. No dust. No cracks. Just endless reflections of themselves and their surroundings. The strange part? Their reflections weren't doing the same movements.
Selene stepped toward one. Her reflection tilted her head in the opposite direction.
"Uh…" she whispered, goosebumps crawling up her spine.
"This place is messed up," Leo muttered, drawing his blade.
Cain narrowed his eyes. "This realm plays with perception."
A soft whisper slithered through the air.
"Which one is the real you?"
They all froze.
"Did anyone else hear that?" Eren asked, backing closer to Cain.
Cain nodded. "Stay close."
As they moved deeper, the reflections grew bolder — mimicking wrong expressions, smiling when they weren't, frowning when they laughed. One of Cain's reflections suddenly grinned wickedly.
"I hate this," Selene whispered. "I hate this so much."
Then they heard it — a cry. A woman's voice, faint, almost like Eira.
"Did you hear that?" Leo asked, heart thudding.
Eren spun toward one mirror and gasped. Inside it, Eira stood, hand pressed to the glass.
She was alive. Whole. But… wrong.
"She's not real," Selene said gently.
Eren trembled. "But it's her. Look."
"She's part of the trap," Cain said grimly. "Don't believe anything here."
But the illusions got crueler.
In one mirror, Cain was alone, bleeding, screaming for help.
In another, Leo was turned to stone, frozen mid-swing.
In yet another, Selene was sobbing, cradling Cain's lifeless body.
Selene turned away, heart racing. "This place feeds off our worst fears."
Then the mirrors shattered — not with a bang, but with a hiss.
And out of the shards stepped versions of themselves. Pale-eyed, soulless, warped copies — twisted Cain, manic Eren, cold Leo, crying Selene.
The real Cain stepped forward. "This ends now."
The battle began.
Fake-Cain lunged with raw strength, but real Cain countered with fire in his veins and fury in his heart. His fists struck true.
Selene battled her double with sharp light magic, the air filled with the sound of clashing spells. "You don't get to be me," she spat.
Eren's clone was more deranged, swinging wildly. "You're always afraid! Always hiding behind jokes!" the fake screamed.
"Maybe I am," Eren growled. "But at least I'm me."
He blasted the double into shards.
Leo fought smart, not strong — weaving around his clone's strikes, reading every movement. "You're just a reflection," he said, "and I break mirrors when they lie."
After the dust settled, they were panting, bruised, but victorious.
The remaining mirrors turned black… and revealed a door — simple, wooden, glowing with gold lines.
Cain walked up to it, placing his hand on the surface. "We're getting close."
Selene, still catching her breath, touched his shoulder. "You okay?"
Cain nodded. "I saw Eira again. For a second, I hoped…"
"I know," she whispered, eyes wet. "She would've wanted us to go on."
Leo clapped them both on the back. "I vote we never come back here."
Eren raised a hand. "Seconded."
Cain grinned. "Let's go."
And they walked through the golden door — one step closer to the heart of their enemy's realm… and the truth behind the war.