Chapter Fifty-Six – Forest of What Could Have Been

The map shimmered as Kael held it above the black river. The runes glowed faintly, guiding us to a place none of us truly wanted to go.

"Are you sure this is the only path?" Riven asked, his voice low, tight with distrust.

Kael nodded. "If we want to reach the Citadel before the next unraveling, we have to pass through the Forest of Mirrors."

"Sounds inviting," I muttered.

But we moved.

The trees welcomed no sunlight. Their bark shimmered like obsidian, and the leaves whispered in a language I almost recognized. I could feel the Loom's breath here—like this place had once been part of it but had long since been cut away.

"This place isn't right," Riven murmured. "It's... watching."

He was right.

Not long after entering, we saw the first mirage.

A flicker. Then a full image.

It was me—standing at the edge of a lake with a child in my arms. A man approached me, smiling, and I... I looked happy.

Whole.

Kael touched my shoulder. "Don't look too long. This forest feeds on desire."

I turned away, throat burning.

Next, Riven stopped.

Before him stood his sister, Ayleen—one of the many lost during the Third Riftfall. She opened her arms. "Come home."

He didn't move. Didn't speak. Just stared.

Kael dragged him away, whispering, "It's not her. It's not real."

And then Kael saw his.

I didn't see the full illusion—only a flash of his mother, and a home long gone. His hand trembled, and I caught it.

"Kael," I whispered, grounding him. "Stay with me."

He did.

And so we walked. Deeper and deeper. Past the echoes of lives we'd never lived. Each illusion a trap designed to soothe, to seduce, to break.

Eventually, we reached the center.

There, in the clearing, stood a mirror that reflected nothing.

No forest. No sky. No us.

Just... absence.

It pulsed once.

And a voice—smooth, soft, familiar—slipped into my ear:

> "Desire is not what you want. It's what you are."

I stepped forward, heart pounding.

Because somehow, I knew.

This mirror was alive.

And it wanted to show me something.

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