𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐎𝐟 𝐄𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐧

Chapter 10: The Fractured Mirror

The flames in the brazier twisted, swirling into shapes that Mira could almost recognize—shadows of her past, of the world she had left behind. For a moment, she thought she saw her parents, her friends, even her old school. But they flickered like old film, disappearing as quickly as they appeared.

The gate shuddered, stretching open like a wound—its edges jagged and raw, a rift in the very fabric of Elderglen and Mira’s world.

Cael stepped closer to the rift, his face taut with emotion. “You don’t understand. If the mirror is destroyed, our worlds will be whole again. The boundaries will be erased. There will be no more hiding.”

“But at what cost?” Mira shouted, stepping forward, her heart pounding. “You can’t just erase everything we’ve known. What happens to all the people who live here? What happens to the lives we’ve built?”

Cael’s eyes softened for a brief second, but the shadows around him pulsed, demanding his attention. “This is the only way to save both worlds from the war.”

Mira shook her head. “No. The worlds don’t need to be destroyed to fix this. We need to find balance.”

The shadows hissed louder, and Mira’s map burned in her hands again. A new symbol appeared—a broken shard of glass with a faint golden light at its center.

The shard was the key.

She looked at Cael. “You can stop this. You can heal. But you have to choose the light, not the shadows.”

Cael’s breath caught as the shadows swirled around him, urging him to give in. But something flickered in his eyes—the tiniest spark of hope.

“I can’t do it alone,” he whispered. “I need you.”

Mira reached out, her hand trembling. “You’re not alone. Not anymore.”

She touched his hand, and a pulse of light shot through the air, filling the spire with warmth. The shadows screamed, twisting and writhing, but they couldn’t fight the light. The rift in the air began to shrink, closing, folding in on itself.

But the cost was greater than Mira imagined.

The ground beneath them trembled. A final, thunderous c***k echoed through the tower as the mirror began to fracture.

“Mira!” Thistle called from below. “The mirror is collapsing! Get out!”

Mira turned to Cael, her heart heavy. “We have to go, now!”

Together, they ran, but as they reached the door, the very tower began to collapse. The mirror shattered—splintering into hundreds of shards that cut through the air like glass daggers.

As the tower crumbled, Mira felt herself falling, the world around her tearing apart.

And then—darkness.