The hall felt heavier than usual. Lanterns flickered, casting shadows that stretched and twisted across the walls. The silence pressed against Lyra's chest, making each breath feel sharp and deliberate. She knew another soul was coming, and she braced herself.
The door opened slowly, deliberately, making the hall itself seem to hold its breath.
A woman stepped through, tall and lithe, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders like a curtain of night. Her eyes were sharp and piercing, glinting with intelligence and something darker. Her lips curved into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. Lyra shivered without knowing why. There was no weapon, no scar, no obvious sign of danger. Yet every movement radiated a quiet threat, a predator confident in its prey.
Kaelen's voice broke the silence, calm but firm. "You stand in the Hall of Judgment. Here, your life will be revealed."
The woman tilted her head, assessing him as if amused. "A hall to judge souls. How quaint. How fascinating." Her voice was smooth, like silk sliding over glass, but it carried a subtle sting.
Kaelen did not react. "The mirror will show all. No lies will hide here."
The woman's smile widened. "No lies, you say? How charming. My dear judge, lies are the only truth some people understand. And I was… exceptionally good at teaching them."
Lyra instinctively stepped back. Her hands shook, and she pressed her palms to her chest. She had faced killers and deceivers, yet this presence was different. It felt invasive, as though the woman could peer into her very soul, twisting the corners of her mind without even trying.
The mirror shimmered into existence beside Kaelen. Its surface pulsed faintly, silver and fluid.
The woman's reflection appeared first as a child. She sat quietly in the corner of a crowded room, listening to arguments she had no business hearing. A word here, a sigh there. She interjected just enough to twist the meaning, to make one sibling distrust another. The boy's scowl and the girl's tears brought her a thrill she could not hide. She smiled at their confusion, delighting in her unseen power.
Lyra's lips parted in disbelief. "She's… enjoying it."
The woman's gaze swept toward Lyra, almost imperceptibly amused. "Of course. Control is intoxicating. Watching others unravel in ways they cannot foresee is a gift."
The mirror shifted. She was older now, surrounded by friends and neighbours. Her whispers spread like poison. Half-truths, insinuations, tiny lies meant to spark suspicion. Friendships cracked, trust eroded. And through it all, she remained untouchable, the innocent girl everyone wanted to believe in.
Lyra's stomach knotted. She could feel the ripples of fear and confusion as though the hall itself carried the weight of the suffering. "She… she didn't even have to fight. She just…"
"Exactly," Kaelen said softly, "her weapon was human weakness. She found it and exploited it with precision."
The woman laughed quietly, the sound light but icy. "And they adored me for it, or thought they did. How delightful to be loved while pulling the strings from behind the curtain."
The mirror pulsed again.
Time sped forward. The woman's influence spread wider. She advised merchants, councillors, and even noble families. Each suggestion carried subtle manipulations, each word crafted to break bonds and breed doubt. Families argued. Businesses collapsed. Alliances crumbled. She watched it all unfold, serene, smiling behind the veil of propriety.
Lyra pressed a trembling hand to her mouth. "Why? Why do this to them?"
The woman's smile glimmered like steel. "Because I could. Because it was easy. Because it gave me joy to watch them beg for guidance and fail. Watching despair take root is… intoxicating."
Kaelen's voice was steady but heavy. "You thrived on the suffering of others. That is no survival. That is cruelty."
The woman's eyes glimmered, sharp and calculating. "And what of you, little one? Do you believe you are free from such impulses? Every heart has darkness. Some hearts merely learn to hide it better than others."
Lyra's hands shook. "No… I… I could never do that."
Her voice trembled as fear curled through her veins. The air felt heavy, almost viscous, as though the shadows themselves were aware of this soul's cruelty. "I would never hurt anyone just for pleasure."
The woman's smile softened, almost pitying. "Then you are naive. Pain is the only mirror people cannot ignore. It exposes what they hide even from themselves."
The mirror pulsed again. Her later years appeared. Wealth surrounded her. Servants obeyed, merchants feared, people fawned. And yet, she was alone. No family, no friends, no one who truly cared. She reached for a hand that was never returned. She whispered for companionship that never came. Still, she smiled, as if even solitude was a stage and she remained the star.
Lyra's hands flew to her face. Her tears spilt freely. "All that suffering… all that joy taken from others… and she ended alone. It's… It's terrifying."
Kaelen placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "Power built on the suffering of others is always hollow. She could control, manipulate, destroy, but she could not create, could not love. That emptiness is her judgment."
The woman turned, locking eyes with Lyra. "And you? Do you despise me? Do you judge me?"
Lyra's voice was small but steady. "I am horrified. You hurt people for pleasure. You never cared. That is wrong."
The woman's smile softened into something like acknowledgement. "Perhaps. But pain teaches. And I gave them lessons they will never forget."
The shadows in the hall twisted, coiling around her form like living smoke. The lanterns flared as though reacting to her presence. Lyra's knees shook, and a cold sweat covered her forehead. She could almost feel the malice dripping from the woman's words, seeping into the hall itself.
Kaelen lifted his hand. "It ends now."
The shadows constricted, wrapping the woman's slender form. She did not struggle. Her eyes sparkled with mischief even as the darkness consumed her. She faded slowly, her voice lingering like a whisper in the corners of the hall. "Remember… even the kindest heart can shatter."
The lanterns steadied. Silence returned, heavy and profound.
Lyra sank to her knees, shivering. "Kaelen… she… she felt worse than the killer or the liar. He had rage, she had deceit, but this… this was a darkness that whispered into the soul. I could feel it."
Kaelen knelt beside her. "And that is why you must learn. Darkness wears many faces. Some roar, some whisper. But all leave marks on the world and on the heart. You must see it to understand it, not to emulate it."
Lyra wiped her tears. She felt the weight of the hall pressing down, the echo of lives destroyed, and her own heart strained to hold it. "I think… I am beginning to understand. It hurts, but I see why it must be revealed."
Kaelen's hand on her shoulder was steady and warm. "Pain is the teacher. Every soul, every story, every life you witness shapes you. You will carry these truths not to break, but to grow."
The far door pulsed faintly, waiting.
Lyra straightened, trembling but with determination building in her chest. "Let the next one come. I will face them, no matter how dark, no matter what they hide."
Kaelen's eyes glimmered with approval. "Then you are ready to see more of the world as it truly is."
Even in the stillness, the echo of cruelty lingered, brushing against the edges of the hall like a cold wind, reminding Lyra that the darkness was far from over.