CHAPTER NINETEEN: THE RED STAR'S OATH

The light from the Sanctum faded slowly, leaving a faint hum in the air like the breath of some ancient, slumbering beast. Emberlynn stared at the sky, heart thudding as the red star pulsed—steady, watching, sentient.

It knew her name.

"Is it... him?" she whispered.

Malphas didn't answer right away. His eyes were fixed on the star, jaw clenched.

"No," he said at last. "Not yet. But he's listening."

Emberlynn lowered her gaze. Her palms still tingled from the light she had unleashed. The memory of it made her shiver—not from fear, but recognition. As though she'd done it a thousand times before.

"Then we don't have long," she said. "Do we?"

Malphas looked at her, the shadows beneath his eyes deeper than ever.

"No. Time is unraveling. The Hollow Court won't stop. And neither will the King—once he remembers who you are."

A chill crept down her spine. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hold onto the pieces of her breaking reality. Somewhere deep inside, a voice echoed—one that wasn't hers, and yet was. Whispering of blood-soaked bargains. Of betrayal by love.

Of power.

"Then I need to remember everything," she said, voice trembling. "No more hiding. No more half-truths."

Malphas's expression darkened, but he nodded.

"There's a place," he said. "The Hollow Mirror. It shows what's been taken from you—but it demands a price."

She met his eyes. "I'll pay it."

He stepped back, uncertain. "Don't say that too easily."

But Emberlynn was already walking toward the edge of the stone circle, past the barrier, past the snarling shadows still lingering in the mist.

"I've already died once," she said softly. "What's one more truth?"

Malphas caught up, walking beside her as the barrier behind them dimmed and collapsed with a sigh.

The forest beyond had changed. The trees bent away from them, their trunks twisted, leaves trembling in silence. No birds sang. No insects chirped. It was as if nature itself held its breath.

"The Mirror lies beyond the Hollow Path," Malphas said. "It's hidden in the reflection of what you fear most."

She glanced sideways at him. "And what do you fear, Malphas?"

He didn't answer, but his eyes flickered. The shadows behind his gaze rippled like disturbed water.

They walked for what felt like hours. Time lost its meaning along the Hollow Path. Sometimes the ground felt soft as marsh. Other times it crunched beneath their feet like bone. Whispers rose around them, disjointed and indistinct—echoes of past lives, lost hopes, broken vows.

At last, they came to a cliff overlooking a chasm of black water.

No stars reflected on its surface.

Only the red one.

Emberlynn stepped to the edge. The wind pushed at her back like a gentle hand. Malphas caught her wrist.

"It's in there," he said. "The Mirror isn't an object. It's a place. A thought. A piece of your mind... carved out and buried in the deep."

She looked down, her heart thudding.

"And I go alone?"

"Yes."

"I figured."

He didn't let go of her wrist.

"If you start to forget who you are, call my name. Even if you don't believe it. Just... call."

She nodded.

Then jumped.

The fall was endless. The world stretched and tore around her. Memories danced at the corners of her eyes, but she couldn't grasp them.

Until everything stopped.

She stood in a great hall made of glass and darkness. The walls reflected versions of herself—each one different. Some wore crowns. Others wore chains. One bled from the eyes, smiling softly. Another was cloaked in shadow, her mouth sewn shut.

The real Emberlynn—this version—stood trembling in the center.

A voice rang out from nowhere.

"Who are you?"

She turned, trying to find the speaker.

Nothing.

Just the Mirror.

Then it split.

A crack ran from floor to ceiling, and from it stepped a girl who looked exactly like her—but older, colder, draped in robes of night.

"I am what you left behind," the doppelgänger said. "The truth you feared."

Emberlynn clenched her fists. "Then show me."

The Mirror shattered fully, spilling black water across the floor. Visions poured out—raw and sharp.

She saw herself on a battlefield, screaming as fire rained from the sky. She saw Malphas—kneeling before her, eyes wide with worship. She saw the Demon King—beautiful and terrible, kissing her fingertips as the world burned.

She saw herself smile.

"You didn't seal him to stop him," the mirrored version whispered. "You sealed him because you knew he'd never stop loving you. And you'd never stop being his."

"No," Emberlynn whispered. "I sealed him because I had to."

"Did you?"

Her knees buckled. The room spun. The truth twisted.

She had been the flame. The architect. The Queen.

The Key.

But she had also been the weapon.

"I was wrong," she whispered, collapsing to her knees. "I destroyed everything... for love."

"And now you must choose again," the Mirror said. "Will you open the gate... or seal it forever?"

She closed her eyes.

Malphas.

His name echoed through her mind like a lifeline.

And then—he was there.

Not his body. Not his voice. But a warmth, steady and grounding. A memory of hands catching her when she fell. Of blades drawn in her defense. Of truth spoken in the dark.

"You already are."

She stood.

Faced the mirror.

Faced herself.

"I won't run anymore."

The darkness burst. The room imploded. The water vanished.

And Emberlynn awoke, gasping, on the cliff's edge.

Malphas knelt beside her, relief written all over his face.

"I remembered," she said hoarsely. "I remembered everything."

He looked at her, expression unreadable.

"Then you know... what comes next."

She nodded slowly.

"The seal will break. The King will rise. And I—"

She turned toward the sky.

"—will stand between him and the world."

Far above, the red star flared brighter.

But this time, it didn't feel like a warning.

It felt like a promise.