The lake was so clear it reflected the sky perfectly.
If I didn't know there was water there, I would swear I was walking over the firmament.
The Sanctum of Meridia rose at its center—a structure of white marble and gray crystals, ancient enough to seem part of nature.
And silent enough to feel like a tomb.
"Is this where Zephyron tried to erase the flame?" I asked.
Celine nodded. "Meridia was one of the temples dedicated to balance. They say he came alone, wounded, and tried to submerge the flame in the mirrored lake… but the lake rejected him."
"Elara," I said, looking at the reflection beneath me, "can you see this? It's like there's another world under us."
"I can," she replied. "And the reflection moves… one second after ours."
Vespera leaned forward, fascinated. "A delayed mirror. I love when physics ignores logic."
"It's more than a reflection," Liriel said seriously. "The Sanctum holds what they call the 'Twin Heart': two realities coexisting, bound by a thread of ancient magic. If Zephyron tried to extinguish the flame here, he may have been trapped between the two sides."
Celine knelt by the water's edge. "The energy is unstable. The barriers separating the reflections are… fragile. We need to cross carefully."
"And how do you cross something that is literally our reflection?" I asked.
"Simple," Vespera replied. "You jump first, and if you don't die, we follow."
"Sounds fair," I muttered.
Diving into a magical lake is never a good idea.
But the group already knew me—and, as always, I was the first to try.
The water wasn't cold, or even wet. It felt like… liquid time.
As soon as I touched the bottom, the world distorted, and the air changed color.
When I opened my eyes, I was somewhere else.
The same lake, the same temple—but in ruins, covered in shadows.
The reflection had a life of its own.
Minutes later, the others appeared beside me.
Vespera looked around. "Okay… mental note: never jump after you again."
Celine raised her staff. "We're not in the lake. We're in its mirror."
"And what lives in a mirror?" I asked.
"Everything that was left behind," Liriel replied.
The reflected Sanctum was a labyrinth. The columns were twisted, the inscriptions reversed, and instead of water, the ground reflected memories—brief scenes of battles, laughter, and a golden flame fading slowly.
"This place…" Elara whispered. "It feels sad."
"It's what remained of the attempt to extinguish the flame," Celine explained. "Zephyron created a reflection to trap the fire itself. But the memory… multiplied."
We continued through the corridors, and the air began to vibrate.
Suddenly, a voice echoed—calm, but broken.
"Whoever carries the fire… must know the void."
A figure appeared between the columns.
It was Zephyron—or something like him. Half of the body made of light, half of shadow.
"You're not him," Liriel said.
"I am what remained of what he wished to forget," the voice replied. "The fragment that wanted to erase the fire."
The surrounding shadows began to move, forming distorted versions of ourselves—expressionless, armed, and silent.
"Wonderful," I muttered. "Now we're fighting our own summaries."
Vespera stepped forward. "I always wanted to see what I'd look like if I messed up fewer potions."
"Focus," Celine said. "These reflections are shaped by each one's doubts. If you hesitate, they grow stronger."
Elara already had her bow drawn. "Then we just don't doubt."
"Easy as that," I murmured, unsheathing my sword.
The fight began without warning.
My reflection struck first—copying every one of my movements, but with more precision, more calm.
It was strange fighting someone who even knew the rhythm of my breathing.
"Takumi!" Liriel shouted, conjuring a barrier around Elara. "They learn fast! We can't defeat them with force!"
"Then with what?"
"With identity."
I looked again at the reflection.
It stared at me, cold eyes, perfect posture—everything I pretended to be when I wanted to look in control.
"You're not real," I said, lowering my sword.
The reflection hesitated.
"You're what I think I need to be. And I… am tired of that."
The reflection flickered, cracked, and dissolved into light.
Little by little, the others did the same.
Vespera simply yelled, "I am wonderful and explosive!" — and her reflection exploded with her.
Elara, steady, whispered, "I've lost too many people already. I won't lose those I trust." — and her copy crumbled like dust.
Liriel was the last. Her reflection had wings, like an angel. She looked at it calmly.
"I don't need to be divine to have worth."
And with that, the light vanished.
The temple seemed to breathe. The shadows receded. The fragmented Zephyron watched us.
"You have understood," he said. "The flame is not a burden… it is the reflection of what you are."
"And you?" I asked. "What are you now?"
"I am the accepted mistake. The forgetfulness that learned to exist."
The figure approached and touched a hand to my chest.
A soft warmth spread through my body — it didn't burn, it only illuminated.
"Carry this memory," he said. "So that, when the fire decides what is real, someone still remembers who Zephyron was."
And then, he disappeared.
When we emerged back into the real world, the lake was calm, without reflection.
The Sanctum looked clearer, as if the sun had finally reached the bottom of the water.
Celine looked at the now ordinary mirror. "The seal has been broken. Zephyron achieved what he tried to do centuries ago… thanks to you."
"And what exactly did we do?" I asked.
Liriel answered. "We helped a memory accept that it no longer needs to be a mirror."
Vespera sighed. "Translation: we saved a philosophical ghost and almost drowned. Normal day."
"Almost normal," Elara said, looking at the lake. "This time, it feels… light."
"That's because it has ended," Celine added. "Each freed fragment stabilizes the flame. But the final awakening approaches."
The wind blew over the water, and the sky's reflection shimmered.
For a moment, I saw something down below — a golden eye, watching, serene.
Maybe it was just imagination.
Or maybe Zephyron was still there, watching over us, waiting for what would come next.
We set up camp near the shore. The air was cool, and the sound of the water resembled a distant song.
Elara cleaned her arrows; Vespera tried to fish with a "controlled" explosive; Liriel wrote everything down in the grimoire.
I sat by the water's edge, watching the moon's reflection.
The blue flame inside me was calm — for the first time since the beginning.
"You're still here, aren't you?" I asked quietly.
"Still. But each freed memory makes me less fragment… and more choice."
"Then choose well," I murmured. "Because we're in this together."
The lake responded with a faint glow.
I smiled.
Maybe it was just the moon's reflection. Or maybe it was an answer.
Either way, it was enough to make me believe — that even the oldest fire could learn to shine in a new way.