Hana's footsteps were lighter now. The power of the Echoflame pulsed within her chest like a steady heartbeat, a quiet reminder that she was more than a reborn flame—she was a forged one.
Taemin watched her silently, his thoughts storming. She had stepped into the Mirrorgate alone and emerged as something else—something ancient, awakened, dangerously divine.
But the Spirit Plane was far from finished with them.
They walked through a quiet path lined with moonflowers that only bloomed under spiritual light. The fox spirit beside them whispered:
> "You passed the trial, Flamebearer. But to leave the plane, you must now pass through the Whispering Gate. It listens… and judges."
Taemin tensed. "That gate listens to your truth. If your heart hides a lie—it won't let you through."
"And if it finds one?" Hana asked.
The fox didn't answer.
---
At the Whispering Gate
It stood like an obsidian obelisk with a crescent crack down its center. Soft voices slipped from it—dozens at once, like overlapping memories.
Hana heard them whisper her name.
And Taemin's.
> "Yun Taemin… protector… liar… lost…"
> "Hana… reborn… bound… unready…"
Taemin's shoulders stiffened. He stepped forward.
"I'll go first."
The voices hissed louder as he touched the gate. His mind opened—against his will.
Inside Taemin's thoughts…
He saw himself during Aran's final hour—her flame flickering, her hands bloody, his powers useless.
He had failed to protect her.
And now, watching Hana awaken the same fire, he feared it would happen again. That history would repeat.
> "You don't truly believe you can save her," the gate whispered. "You fear she'll die too."
Taemin clenched his fists. "Yes. I do."
The gate pulsed.
> "But I still choose to stay. Even if I'm afraid."
The Whispering Gate hummed… and opened.
He turned to Hana. "It will see everything. Even the parts of yourself you've buried."
Hana nodded. "Then I won't hide."
---
Inside the Gate – Hana
The voices turned harsh.
> "You doubt yourself."
> "You think your fire is stolen."
> "You fear you only exist to love him. That your power only matters because of him."
The words stung. Hana's breath shook.
But then… a memory surfaced.
Taemin's hand, reaching for her in the dark. Not forcing her. Just… offering.
She stepped forward and whispered, "I don't know if I was chosen… or just leftover. But I chose to be here. With this fire. With him."
A silence fell.
Then the Whispering Gate split open and let her through.
---
Beyond the Gate
They stood now in the Spirit Crossroads—where all spirit paths intersected. It pulsed with ancient energy. Taemin looked up.
"The path back to our world is open now."
But Hana was staring at a figure in the distance.
A girl. A mirror. Familiar and faint.
"…Is that… me?"
"No," the fox spirit said. "That's the one who never forgot."
---