Rick slid backward across the stone floor, boots grinding against dust and old runes. The impact rattled through his bones—his own strength thrown back at him, doubled.The Mirror Rick stood where Rick had been a moment before, its posture relaxed, almost amused.Collins cursed under his breath.“This thing hits harder than the real you.”“Thanks for the motivation,” Rick muttered.Seraphina spread her fingers, flame kindling between them.“Do we attack, or will that make it stronger?”Kai stepped forward.“No. A Mirror-born feeds on the original’s inner conflict. If Rick is unstable—”Mirror Rick blurred, crossing the room in an eye-blink.It seized Kai by the throat and slammed him into a pillar so hard the entire chamber shook.Kai gasped, runes flickering around his fingers but failing to ignite.Mirror Rick leaned close to him, whispering something in a voice like cracked stone.“Your light will be the first to dim.”Rick didn’t remember moving.One moment he was across the room—

Brian left his hostel before sunrise, the campus still quiet and wrapped in the pale blue of early morning. He carried only a small bag—clothes, some cash, his documents—nothing else. His mind was too heavy for anything more.He boarded the first bus heading toward his village. The engine hummed, and as the bus rolled onto the highway, he leaned his head against the window, staring at the blur of passing trees.Every second felt slow.Every bump on the road felt like a reminder of how powerless he was.He hated it.He hated being far away while his mother was in pain.---Memories on the RoadThe farther he traveled from campus, the more his memories flooded him—his mother’s laughter, her calloused hands, her voice waking him up every morning for school.A particular memory struck him hard.He was twelve the day he told her he didn’t want to go to school because kids were mocking him for his torn uniform.His mother had knelt in front of him and said:“If you don’t let their words bre

The tear in the sky widened—silent, thin, like a single stroke of a blade cutting through the heavens.But despite its stillness, its presence pressed on the valley like a second gravity.Even the monster wearing Rick’s corrupted essence paused, its head tilting toward the breach as if listening.Kai felt something cold settle into his bones.“Lira… something’s wrong. That’s not just a rift—something is watching us.”Lira didn’t look up.Her eyes stayed locked on the creature. Her aura pulsed around her like a heartbeat made of light.“I know,” she whispered. “And it’s not here for the Aspect. It’s here for me.”Another voice rippled softly out of the sky, almost gentle—too gentle.“Child of the Veil… you carry what does not belong to you.”Kai stumbled back, panic rising.“L-Lira… that voice—”“I hear it.”Her voice was steady, but her hands trembled.The creature—still holding pieces of Rick—let out a guttural growl, as if the voice irritated it.Its form flickered, shadows peeling

The creature’s claws stopped a hair’s breadth from Lira’s chest.She could feel the heat of the corrupted energy pulsing off them—like the breath of a furnace.Her instincts screamed to dodge, to parry, to run—but the Sunbrand exploded inside her instead.A blast of gold tore the air apart.The creature staggered back, shadows peeling off its body like burning cloth.For the first time since the corruption took hold, its form faltered.Kai used the moment to crawl toward Lira, gritting his teeth.“Get up—come on, get up!”But Lira wasn’t looking at the monster.She was staring into its eyes.Because for one heartbeat—behind the swirling darkness—she saw him.Rick.His face.His fear.His fight.“Rick!” she shouted, voice cracking. “You’re in there—I know it!”Inside the creature, Rick slammed himself against the mental cage suffocating him.He pushed until his vision blurred.He pushed until his essence burned.Chains of shadow wrapped around his mind, anchoring him to darkness.T

Night had already settled over Emberwake Fortress, but the halls were far from silent. Torches flickered against stone walls, casting long shadows as soldiers hurried from post to post. Rumors spread like wildfire—rumors about a masked assassin who had torn through Shadowcrest agents as if they were nothing.Rumors about Rick, though no one knew his name.Inside the fortress infirmary, Hailey sat beside a wounded scout who had been the only survivor of the ambush that afternoon. His entire body trembled, not from pain… but from fear.“He didn’t move like a normal man,” the scout whispered hoarsely. “He glided. One blink—three bodies on the ground… next blink—he was behind me.”Hailey frowned. “Did he attack you?”“No… he spoke.” The scout swallowed. “One sentence: ‘Tell Hailey I’m not her enemy.’ Then he vanished.”Hailey’s breath caught in her throat. There was only one person reckless enough, bold enough, and stubborn enough to send her a message in blood and shadows—Rick.Before s