Amara shielded her eyes as the light consumed her vision, her body weightless in the torrent of energy surging around her. She had expected pain, resistance, anything—but instead, it was eerily calm, a stillness in the chaos.
When the light receded, she found herself standing in a mirrored expanse, the surface beneath her feet gleaming like liquid silver. The air shimmered, and faint echoes whispered around her. She couldn’t make out the words, but they felt familiar, like forgotten memories brushing against her consciousness.
Ahead, the shadowed figure stood with its back to her, the shard of the core glowing faintly in its hand.
“Why do you look like me?” Amara demanded, her voice steady despite the tremor in her chest.
The figure turned slowly, its face identical to hers but marred
