The dawn broke heavy and gray — the kind of morning that carried the weight of last night's sins.
Lianna sat by the fire, her hands trembling around a soaked cloth as she pressed it to Kairen's arm. He lay unconscious, pale as the ash around them, the silver veins still glowing faintly beneath his skin. Every shallow breath he took was a war he hadn't yet lost.
She hadn't slept. Couldn't. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw that blast — the blinding light, the scream that tore through her throat, the way his body hit the water like it was already lifeless.
Her tears had dried hours ago. Now there was only quiet desperation.
"Hold on, Kairen," she whispered, brushing his hair away from his forehead. "You're too stubborn to die. So don't you dare."
But deep inside, she knew — the poison was spreading. She had bound his wounds, cooled his fever, tried every herbal trick she knew, yet nothing slowed the magic coursing through him. It wasn't meant for humans. It was meant for him — for what he truly was.
A shadow stirred near the edge of the forest.
Lianna's head snapped up, hand instinctively going for the dagger she'd stolen from the masked man before fleeing. "Who's there?"
The figure stepped forward, the hood falling back to reveal silver hair and calm, piercing eyes.
"Relax," the voice said, smooth and patient. "If I wanted you dead, I wouldn't have announced myself."
"Alaric…" Lianna's voice trembled — part relief, part guilt.
He looked past her to where Kairen lay. For a moment, his composure faltered — something flickered in his eyes, something between anger and sorrow.
"So it's true," he said softly. "You chose to save him."
Lianna rose to her feet, facing him. "He saved me first. I couldn't leave him to die."
Alaric sighed. "You're too kind, Lianna. That kindness will destroy you one day."
"Or save us all," she said quietly.
His gaze hardened. "No. Not this time. You don't know what you've done."
He stepped closer, his power pressing against the air, subtle but commanding. "That poison in him — it's not something you can heal. It's divine magic. Cursed silver. It was designed to strip immortals of their essence, to burn away what they are."
Lianna's heart clenched. "Then help me. Please, Alaric. You're the only one who can—"
"I can't," he interrupted sharply. "If I interfere now, the balance will break. Do you understand? His survival could ignite another war."
Her voice broke. "Then let it! I don't care about the war, I just want him alive!"
Alaric looked at her, and for the first time, there was pain in his eyes. "You'd trade the world for him?"
"Yes," she whispered, without hesitation.
He turned away, the wind tugging at his cloak. "You remind me of someone I once loved. She said the same thing before the world burned."
Lianna stepped forward, desperate. "Please, Alaric—"
But before she could reach him, Kairen coughed violently. Silver blood spilled from his lips, glimmering under the dull morning light.
Lianna dropped to her knees beside him, panic rising in her chest. "Kairen! Look at me! Stay with me!"
His eyes fluttered open — faintly glowing red now, fighting for control. "You… shouldn't have stayed…"
"I'm not leaving you!" she shouted, clutching his hand.
He tried to smile, though it twisted into pain. "You never listen…"
"Then tell me what to do!" she begged. "Tell me how to save you!"
His fingers brushed her cheek weakly. "There's… a way. But it'll cost you everything."
Alaric's voice turned cold. "Don't tell her, Kairen."
She glared at Alaric. "Don't you dare silence him!"
Kairen's breath hitched, the light in his veins pulsing faster. "Lianna… in the Shadow Realm… there's a mirror. The Mirror of Eternities. It can… rewrite fate. But only for one life at the price of another."
Her blood ran cold. "You mean—"
He nodded weakly. "If you use it to save me, you'll disappear."
For a heartbeat, no one spoke.
Then Lianna said quietly, "Where is it?"
"Lianna, no," Alaric said sharply. "Do you have any idea what you're saying? That mirror consumes souls. It doesn't trade — it devours."
She met his gaze — unflinching, unwavering. "Then let it devour me. If that's the price, I'll pay it."
Alaric stared at her in disbelief. "You'd die for him?"
Her tears shimmered in the firelight. "He's already died for me."
Kairen groaned, reaching for her hand again. "No… I won't let you—"
"Shh," she whispered, holding him close. "You don't get to decide this time."
The fire crackled between them, sparks rising into the wind like dying stars.
And somewhere beyond the forest, thunder rolled — faint but growing. As if the heavens themselves were warning her of what came next.
But Lianna didn't care. She only knew one thing — she would find that mirror, no matter what it cost.
Even if it meant facing the gods themselves.
---
The night came fast, swallowing the forest in a curtain of blue mist. The air hummed faintly — a low vibration that prickled at Lianna's skin. She could feel it now, deep in her bones: the pull of something ancient calling her name.
Kairen had fallen into a restless sleep, his breath shallow but steady. Alaric stood guard near the edge of the camp, his back turned, silver hair glinting like a blade in the moonlight.
Lianna wrapped her cloak tighter and rose. She knew what she had to do.
"I know you're awake," Alaric said without turning.
She froze. "Then you know I'm leaving."
He sighed. "You can't find the Mirror alone."
"I'm not asking for your permission."
He turned then, his eyes dark with something that wasn't anger — it was sorrow, maybe even fear. "Do you even know what the Mirror of Eternities is, Lianna? It's not a tool. It's a curse given form. The last person who tried to use it was erased from existence — not even the gods remembered their name."
Lianna's gaze flicked toward Kairen, sleeping beneath the flicker of the dying fire. "Then it's perfect for me. I don't need to be remembered."
Alaric clenched his jaw. "You think that's love? Throwing yourself into oblivion for a creature who's lived a thousand lives and will live a thousand more?"
"It's not about love," she said quietly. "It's about debt. He saved me when I was nobody. He saw me when the world didn't. Now he's the one drowning — and I'm the only one who can reach him."
For a long moment, Alaric said nothing. Then, he moved closer, the air thickening with the quiet hum of his power. "You don't understand. That mirror doesn't give back what you lose — it twists it. It rewrites reality until nothing makes sense. If you trade your soul for his, you might save his life, but you'll destroy his mind."
Her breath hitched. "Then tell me what else to do."
He shook his head. "There's no other way. That's why he never told you."
Lianna turned away, her eyes hardening. "Then I'll find my own way."
She walked toward the forest edge, her boots crunching over frost-bitten leaves. The night wind whispered like a thousand voices calling her name.
But Alaric's voice stopped her. "You remind me more and more of her."
Lianna glanced back. "Of who?"
He met her gaze. "Amara. The one who once defied gods to save her king."
Lianna froze. The name hit her like a storm through her chest. "Amara…?"
Alaric nodded slowly. "The woman you once were."
She felt her knees weaken. "What are you saying?"
"You think your dreams are visions of someone else's past," he said, walking closer. "But they're your own. You've lived before, Lianna. You were Amara — the High Seer of the Celestial Court. You and Kairen were bound by oath and blood. You died trying to save him the first time too."
Her heart thundered. "That's not possible…"
Alaric's expression softened. "You've always been drawn to him because your soul remembers what your mind has forgotten."
Lianna staggered back, gripping her chest. Images flooded her mind — a silver palace, a man with crimson eyes, a promise sealed under the moon.
"If you fall, I will follow."
It was his voice. Kairen's.
And hers replying — "If you burn, I will burn too."
The memory shattered, and she gasped for air. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because fate always finds its way back to ruin," Alaric said bitterly. "You were never meant to meet him again. Every time you do, the world breaks a little more."
Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Then why let me live at all?"
"Because even the gods fear what happens when love refuses to die."
She turned to look at Kairen — pale, trembling, but still alive. Her heart twisted painfully.
"I don't care who I was," she whispered. "All I know is who I am now. And right now, I'm the only one who won't abandon him."
Alaric stepped forward, desperation flickering in his tone. "Lianna, listen to me—"
But she was already gone, her cloak vanishing into the mist as the forest swallowed her whole.
Alaric cursed under his breath and knelt beside Kairen. "You fool," he muttered. "You both just keep repeating the same tragedy."
Kairen's eyes snapped open, glowing faintly red even in the darkness. His voice came out rough, weak — but aware. "She's gone, hasn't she?"
Alaric looked at him. "She's going to the Shadow Realm."
Kairen closed his eyes, a single tear trailing down his cheek. "Then I have to follow her."
"You can barely breathe," Alaric said coldly. "And yet you'd risk what's left of your soul for her again?"
A faint smile tugged at Kairen's lips. "It's not a risk. It's destiny."
And as the night deepened, both immortals felt it — the shift in the wind, the tremor in the stars. The Mirror of Eternities was awakening once more.
---
❓️❓️❓️❓️
If you discovered that the person you loved in this life was the same soul you once died for in another… would you try to change fate this time, or let destiny repeat itself?