The Mirror of Fate
1474 Words
Chapter 16 – The Mirror of Fate
Malikye’s POV
The temple did not let us linger.
The moment the last fragments of the figure dissolved into silver dust, the air shifted again—subtle, but unmistakable. The quiet that followed wasn’t relief.
It was an expectation.
The Heart of the Temple dimmed slightly behind us, its steady pulse fading into the background as the deeper corridors ahead began to glow. A path revealed itself where there hadn’t been one before, the stone floor unfolding in faint lines of silver light that stretched forward like an invitation.
Or a warning.
I exhaled slowly, rolling my shoulders as I stepped off the platform.
“Well,” I said, glancing back once at where my glowing double had just been. “I’ve officially fought myself and won. I feel like that should count for something.”
“It does,” Selene said gently as she joined me, her expression calm but watchful. “Most never make it that far.”
“That’s reassuring,” I muttered.
Lyra walked past me, her gaze already fixed ahead, sharp and focused.
“Don’t get comfortable,” Lyra said. “Places like this don’t give you victories for free.”
“I wasn’t planning on celebrating,” I replied. “Maybe just acknowledging I’m still alive.”
“That’s your new standard now,” she said dryly.
Kael stepped forward beside her, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studied the corridor ahead.
“Something’s different,” Kael said.
I followed his gaze.
The corridor was narrower than the others we had passed through, but taller—its walls stretching upward into shadow. The carvings here were unlike the others. Instead of flowing patterns and lunar symbols, these were sharper, more defined.
Scenes.
Stories.
I stepped closer to one of the walls, drawn in despite myself.
At first, I couldn’t make sense of it.
Then the shapes aligned.
Figures.
Wolves.
A man standing beneath a full moon.
Another figure across from him—darker, distorted, surrounded by jagged lines that seemed to twist around his form like chains.
My chest tightened.
“That’s not subtle,” I said quietly.
Selene moved beside me.
“The temple remembers,” Selene said.
“Remembers what?” I asked.
“Everything,” she replied.
I leaned back slightly, eyeing the carvings again.
“Does it remember how to be less dramatic?”
“No,” she said simply.
“Of course it doesn’t.”
Kael moved ahead, stepping into the corridor without hesitation.
“We don’t have time to stand still,” Kael said.
“I’ve noticed that standing still tends to make things worse,” I replied, following him.
The deeper we went, the colder it became.
Not the natural kind of cold.
Something else.
A chill that settled beneath the skin, quiet and persistent.
The light dimmed further, concentrating ahead of us until the corridor opened into another chamber.
And I stopped.
Again.
“Alright,” I said under my breath. “This one feels different.”
The room was smaller than the last, but far more focused. At its center stood a tall structure—narrow and upright, like a pillar carved from polished silver stone.
Except it wasn’t stone.
It was reflective.
Perfectly smooth.
A mirror.
The surface shimmered faintly, not reflecting the room around it, but something else entirely—something deeper, shifting just beneath the surface.
I frowned.
“That’s… not ominous at all.”
Lyra stepped in beside me, her arms crossing as she studied it.
“I don’t like it,” Lyra said.
“That makes two of us,” I replied.
Selene moved forward slowly, her eyes fixed on the mirror.
“This is the Mirror of Fate,” Selene said quietly.
I glanced at her.
“That sounds significantly worse than the last thing.”
“It shows what lies ahead,” she said.
“Of course it does,” I muttered.
Kael stepped closer to the edge of the chamber, his posture tense.
“This isn’t just a vision,” Kael said. “It’s a choice.”
I looked at him.
“That word keeps coming up.”
“Because it matters,” he replied.
I sighed.
“I’m starting to regret every decision that led me here.”
Lyra smirked faintly.
“Too late now,” Lyra said.
Selene turned toward me.
“You must step forward,” Selene said.
I blinked.
“Of course I do.”
“This one is different,” she added.
“That’s not reassuring.”
“It will not test your strength,” she said.
“Let me guess,” I replied. “It tests something worse.”
She held my gaze.
“Yes.”
I exhaled slowly.
“Perfect.”
I stepped forward.
Carefully this time.
The closer I got to the mirror, the stronger the pull became—not like the temple, not like the mark.
This was something else.
Heavier.
More personal.
I stopped just in front of it.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
The surface shifted.
The silver darkened.
And suddenly—
I saw something.
Not the room.
Not myself.
A future.
I stood in a clearing.
The moon hung low overhead, full and bright.
My hand was raised.
Power surged around me—silver light twisting through the air, stronger than anything I had felt before.
But it wasn’t calm.
It wasn’t controlled.
It was overwhelming.
The ground beneath me cracked.
Trees splintered.
The forest burned with light.
My breath caught.
“That’s not—” I started.
The vision shifted.
Another scene.
The same place.
But different.
The power wasn’t wild.
It was focused.
Controlled.
The light moved with purpose, shaping the world instead of breaking it.
And then—
Damon.
He stood across from me.
Clear this time.
No shadow.
No distortion.
Just him.
His presence was overwhelming—tall, commanding, his expression calm but cold, his eyes burning with something that made my chest tighten instinctively.
I stepped back in the real world.
“No,” I whispered.
The vision continued.
I stood across from him.
Power in my hand.
Choice in front of me.
Then—
The image split.
Two paths.
On one side—
I stepped forward.
Toward him.
The power darkened.
Twisted.
Becoming something else.
Something wrong.
On the other—
I stepped forward again.
But this time—
The light remained.
Bright.
Steady.
Balanced.
The two versions stood there.
Waiting.
The vision froze.
The mirror shimmered.
And then—
It spoke.
“What will you become?”
I swallowed.
“That’s… a very large question.”
The reflection didn’t change.
“You have seen what you can be,” it said.
“I didn’t like half of it,” I replied.
“That half is still within you,” it said.
I clenched my jaw.
“I’m not him,” I said.
“No,” the voice replied. “But you could be.”
The words landed hard.
Heavier than anything else I had faced so far.
I stared at the reflection.
At the two paths.
Then—
I stepped forward.
Not toward the darkness.
Not away from it.
Through it.
The mirror flared.
Silver light surged outward.
The images shattered.
The chamber returned.
I staggered slightly.
Kael caught my arm.
“You’re back,” Kael said.
“I’m noticing a pattern,” I replied.
Lyra stepped closer.
“What did you see?” Lyra asked.
I exhaled slowly.
“My future,” I said.
Selene watched me carefully.
“And?” Selene asked.
I looked down at my hand.
The mark glowed steadily.
Then I looked back at her.
“I don’t get to ignore any part of it,” I said.
She nodded.
“That is the truth,” Selene said.
I straightened.
“But I choose what I become,” I added.
Lyra smirked slightly.
“That’s the idea,” Lyra said.
Kael nodded once.
“Then you passed,” Kael said.
I glanced back at the mirror.
Its surface was still now.
Calm.
Empty.
“Well,” I said. “That was deeply uncomfortable.”
“Good,” Lyra said.
I looked at her.
“You’re enjoying this.”
“A little,” she admitted.
I sighed.
“Of course you are.”
The chamber shifted again.
The path forward opened.
Deeper into the temple.
I looked ahead.
Then back at them.
“Let me guess,” I said. “There’s another one.”
Selene smiled faintly.
“Yes.”
I exhaled.
“I’m starting to miss the monsters.”
And as we stepped forward again, one thing was clear—
The temple wasn’t just testing my power.
It was forcing me to face everything I could become.
And that—
Might be the most dangerous thing of all.
- Writer
