RickAdams

A war-scarred military commander. A world-renowned doctor shrouded in mystery. Bound by secrets, hunted by enemies, and tied by a vow soaked in blood — together they must fight the forces that seek to tear them apart.
Love, power, and revenge converge in this spellbinding romance where nothing is as it seems.

Tactical Desires

Location: Nexus Rift – Hidden Beneath Halem Reach

The orb floated before them, encased in a field of violet energy. As Victor extended his palm, the artifact responded, glowing with a low hum that grew louder with each breath. Nora and Zuri stood flanking him, weapons ready, expressions grim.

"Once we cross," Nora said, "we won't know how time works in there—or if it bends against us."

Victor nodded. "We've risked worse for less."

A final surge of power burst from the orb, expanding into a vortex that shimmered like shattered glass suspended midair. The walls around them trembled. The earth howled. The very fabric of reality was tearing.

Location: Xir'al-Rah — The Mirror Realm

The transition was not a step but a sensation—a thousand memories colliding into the present, then vanishing. The air here was thick, unnatural. The ground was made of obsidian veins with cracks that pulsed red beneath every footstep.

The sky… wasn't a sky at all, but a dome of moving shadows reflecting twisted versions of their world. Cities that once stood proud were now monuments of ash. Oceans floated like inverted clouds overhead, leaking upward into stars that didn't shine.

Zuri stumbled beside Victor, muttering, "This place wants to be real. It wants to replace our world."

Nora, more composed, scanned the horizon. "Then it has a blueprint—and that blueprint is us."

Ahead, they spotted movement. A figure in black armor, eerily similar to Victor's own tactical suit, stepped into view. He was tall, strong, but wrong—his eyes devoid of humanity, replaced by glowing red slits.

Victor narrowed his eyes. "No. That's not me. That's what they wanted me to become."

The mirror-Victor smirked, drawing a blade that curved like a claw. Behind him, mirrored versions of Zuri and Nora emerged—distorted, cruel, their presence exuding dread.

"They're defenses," Victor said. "Sentient memories. Shadows made solid."

Zuri lifted her gun. "Then let's shatter the mirror."

Location: Xir'al-Rah — Dominion Citadel Ruins

Meanwhile, back in the real world, the Dominion detected the rift opening. Commander Valen, watching from a monitoring deck, spoke coldly.

Ghael's face grew pale. "Fools. Xir'al-Rah doesn't just show you what you fear—it tries to bind you to it. If Kane falls there, we may never get him back."

Valen turned away. "Then let's hope he was never truly like them."

Location: Mirror Battlefield

Blades clashed. Bullets hissed through air like angry whispers. Victor met his mirrored self in a brutal hand-to-hand exchange, each blow echoing not just physically but emotionally—every strike a reminder of what he might have become had he chosen power over principle.

Nora faced a version of herself that used pain as a cure. "You let them die," the mirror sneered. "You could've saved them if you'd just let go of your morals."

She fired, heart steady. "And lose myself? Never."

Zuri's fight was faster, more erratic—her dark twin laughed as she dodged every strike, taunting, "You're just a footnote in their legacy."

Zuri grinned. "Better a footnote than a ghost." And shot her straight through the forehead.

Aftermath: A Fracture Within

Victor finally subdued his double, standing over him as the copy cracked like glass. But before it disintegrated, it whispered:

> "You fight me now. But one day, you'll need me."

Victor stood in silence. Then he turned away.

Nora touched his shoulder. "That wasn't you."

Because part of him wasn't so sure.

Enter the Mirror