The corridor widened into a hall, and Kael knew right away it wasn't normal.
Mirrors lined both walls from floor to ceiling. Their frames were dusty, but the glass itself was spotless — too spotless. Torchlight bounced back too sharp.
Kael stopped. His reflection in the nearest mirror didn't match. His face looked paler, eyes darker. Behind him, Riven's shadow stretched twice as high as it should. Seren's mirrored eyes were pitch black.
"Ugh," Riven groaned. "I look uglier than usual." He leaned closer, then froze. "Wait—fuck. It's still moving."
Kael's gut twisted. Riven was right. His reflection hadn't stopped when he did. It kept walking.
The system cut in:
[Room Detected: Hall of Mirrors] Rule: Reflections remember what you forget. Condition: Do not follow yourself. Fail: Identity break.
Riven frowned. "Identity break? What, like… soul gets unplugged?"
Kael thought: More like erased.
Seren scribbled: Don't look too long. Then she pointed at the floor, tracing quick lines. Path shows in glass.
Kael tested it. The tile cracks under his feet looked random. But in the mirror — they made a faint arrow. A path.
"Great," Kael rasped. "We walk by staring at lies."
Riven chuckled nervously. "Story of my life."
They moved, eyes flicking between the floor and the mirrors. The reflections twitched more with every step. Seren's reflection tilted her head at a wrong angle. Kael's reflection smiled when he didn't. Riven's reflection grinned too wide, teeth sharp.
A low sound rolled through the hall.
BOOOONG.
The mirrors trembled. The gong's echo lingered, like the world's heartbeat.
Riven swore under his breath. "If my reflection jumps out, I'm stabbing myself first."
Seren scribbled: Don't touch glass. She underlined it twice.
They pressed on.
Halfway through, the reflections stopped copying them. They just stared. Seren's mirror-self lifted her parchment. The words written there were different: Leave him. He's Hollow.
Kael's pulse spiked. He almost looked away — then remembered the rule. Don't follow. Don't obey.
Another gong struck.
BOOOONG.
The mirrors shook harder. One cracked down the middle, a faint glow spilling through. The Compass at Kael's chest tugged toward it.
Riven's reflection pressed a hand to the glass, still grinning.
"Not good," Riven muttered.
Kael pulled his hood lower, covered part of his face, forced himself to walk blind. Seren grabbed his wrist, guiding him sure-footed. Riven copied, cursing the whole time.
The gong tolled again.
BOOOONG.
The crack split open, air rushing cold. Kael shoved the Key into the seam, twisted. The mirror folded back, opening into a narrow door.
"Go!" he rasped.
Seren pulled him through. Riven followed, sword out, snarling.
The seam slammed shut behind them. The mirrors fell silent.
But Kael swore he still saw his reflection grinning in the dark as the echo of the gong faded in his bones.