The next morning, Aria barely made it out of bed.
Her dreams had felt more real than waking up—and the ghost of Kael's kiss still tingled on her lips. Her heart was beating too fast, her wrist still marked with faint silver light, even though the magic had faded.
But there was no time to linger in feelings. Aetherfall wasn't a place that slowed down for the confused or heartbroken.
She pulled on her uniform and ran to her first class—Aetheric Theory & Bloodlines.
A tall, crescent-shaped room built from glimmering crystal stone greeted her. Floating glyphs hovered in the air, each pulsing in rhythm with the magical ley lines of the school.
She barely slipped into her seat before the professor entered.
Professor Elren.
A half-elf mage with glowing eyes, centuries of magic coiled beneath his skin. He didn't walk. He glided, robes trailing behind him like mist.
"Elites of the New Age," he began, voice echoing even though he didn't raise it, "today you begin understanding why your bonds and bloodlines make you dangerous."
The word dangerous sparked murmurs across the room.
Beside her, someone snorted.
She turned—and nearly choked.
Lyra Halcor.
Top-ranked Aetherborn. Daughter of the War Chancellor. Long silver hair braided in woven spells, eyes glinting like frozen sapphires.
Lyra smirked. "Don't worry. Intro classes are always boring. Until someone explodes."
Aria blinked. "Explodes?"
"Last year, a guy accidentally bonded with a phantom relic. Took three weeks to scrape his consciousness off the tower."
"…Great."
"By the way," Lyra said, leaning in, "I saw Kael leaving the west dorm tower this morning. You two close?"
Aria's stomach dropped. "W-What? No."
Lyra raised a perfectly arched brow.
But before Aria could deflect again, the glyphs in the room suddenly flared.
And in the center of the classroom, a massive mirror appeared—shimmering like water caught in a storm.
Professor Elren turned slowly.
"Today, you will face your Reflection."
Gasps.
Some students backed away.
Aria frowned. "What's a Reflection?"
Lyra grinned. "A mirror that reveals your true self. Strips away the masks. The Mirror of Magelorn."
The professor gestured. "Step forward, Velthorn."
Aria's blood turned cold.
She moved toward the mirror. With each step, the temperature dropped. Her magic pulsed restlessly beneath her skin.
The moment she stood before it—
The mirror changed.
Instead of her reflection, it showed two versions of herself:
One, cloaked in white fire, eyes glowing with celestial power.
The other… corrupted. Eyes black with void, shadows crawling over her body like armor.
She stumbled back.
The class whispered.
Even Professor Elren narrowed his eyes.
"Curious," he muttered. "A dual path. Rare. Dangerous."
The mirror shattered.
Shards rained to the floor—but didn't cut her. Instead, they hovered around her in slow motion, glowing with power.
One shard floated higher than the rest—engraved with a symbol that wasn't hers.
Kael's crest.
---
Outside the classroom, Kael stood in the shadows, watching.
He clenched his fist. His own mark was burning again.
> "The mirror cracked because of her," he whispered to himself. "It's starting."
Behind him, a voice spoke softly.
> "If the bond deepens… you'll both fall."
Kael didn't respond.
He already knew that.
But he also knew something else.
He was already falling.
---