The mirrors glowed around us, each reflecting a different version of what could be—some calm, some violent, one with Aria cradling a wounded Kael, another with Kael alone under a shattering sky. They pulsed in silence, demanding attention.
Kael swallowed hard. The shard in his chest surged. Every reflection seemed to react, shifting with his heartbeat.
Lyra's whisper came beside him: Focus.He blinked. One mirror held Kael and Aria close, face-to-face—her eyes glowing faintly, his gaze soft.
He reached toward it.
But the mirror cracked at his touch. A tendril of black light snaked out, slicing the air between them.
Aria screamed, snapping Kael's head up.Her fingers clenched the hem of his shirt, her glare steady despite the fear in her eyes.
"What… was that?" he muttered, voice tight.
Lyra advanced. Her calm shattered the tension."This field shows paths—some despair, some hope. But none are fixed. They're tests. The Veil wants to know where your blood flows."
From the treeline, something stirred. Shadows emerged. They weren't wolves, not exactly. Tall figures, sinewy and pale, with silver eyes glinting like moonlight on steel.
They advanced—silent, deliberate—each step making the mirror field ripple.
Kael planted his clawed hand into the mossy ground. The shard burned.Aria's glow bloomed at once, reaching for him.
She whispered, "Kael, don't... let the mirrors lie."
Lyra nodded. "They're illusions. But real in intention."
One pale figure lunged, and Kael intercepted it. The collision shattered mirrors in a jagged arc. Reflections cracked and faded, but the tension only tightened.
Every remaining figure circled them, pressing closer. The shard heated under Kael's skin. The figures paused—an unspoken picket of judgment, waiting.
Kael shifted, body rigid and steady."We decide which path is real," he said.
Aria steadied, meeting his eyes. "Together."
A breath later, they charged.Kael uncloaked flame-tipped claws; Aria's light burst like dawn shattering the mirrors.
Together, they shattered the pale figures—their forms dissolving into mist. Each fading figure caused a mirror to vanish in turn until only one remained.
It held the strongest reflection: Kael dragging a hidden Aria through darkness. He stared at the image and shuddered.
Lyra's voice came low behind him: "That's one possibility. Not destiny."
Kael turned. His eyes burned darker, faint ember glow under moon-shadowed skin.
Aria touched his chest gently. "We choose. Right now."
He exhaled and shifted. The shard pulsed, softer now, as if waiting.
The mirror flickered—and then dissolved completely.
Silence settled. The forest returned. The sky cleared.
Aria leaned into him, exhausted. Kael held her steady, warm fingers curled around her.
Lyra approached, expression distant. "That was the Guardian's test. You both passed—it recognizes we walk our own path."
Kael looked at the space where the mirror had been, then at Aria."Our next path is deeper," he said. "And darker."
Aria nodded. The forest shifted again—darker, colder—as if hearing.
But Kael felt something else, beneath the chill: promise.