Between the Blade and the Mirror

The mirror smiled.

Not in a human way — it had no mouth, no features. But its surface rippled, dark glass shifting like a held breath.

Behind me, she was still watching.

Delmira.

Or maybe I was her.

Or maybe we were both something else now.

The knight-commander didn't move. Neither did I.

Only his sword shifted — tilting slightly to catch the dim torchlight. He was tall, armored in matte black, face obscured beneath a hooded helm that bore the royal crest.

I knew him.

Not by name. Not by voice.

But by stance.

By silence.

He was the one who tied the chains around my wrists before I burned.

The man who looked away when I begged for my mother's name.

"You came alone," I said quietly.

"I'm not the one being hunted," he replied.

"You should be."

His grip tightened. "Step away from the mirror, girl."

"I'm not a girl."

"That's what I thought before. Clearly, I was mistaken."

I didn't wait for him to strike.

Because he already had — sixteen months ago. With fire. With silence. With the kind of loyalty that bends its head to tyranny.

I moved left.

He lunged forward.

Steel scraped against stone as I ducked behind a shattered mirror to my right. His blade carved a deep arc in the air, missing me by inches, but the gust of it sliced my cheek.

The sting was immediate.

Fresh pain.

Pain Conversion: 59%

System active.

Threshold approaching.

My vision shimmered.

Not from blood.

From memory.

A flicker — my hand holding a sword, a real one. Not wooden practice blades. Not symbolic pageantry. Warsteel.

I remembered the weight.

The balance.

The way my wrist never shook.

He came again.

This time, I ducked under his swing and slammed my shoulder into his ribs. Armor bruised me instantly, but he staggered back.

I didn't.

Because now I was burning from the inside out.

And it felt right.

He recovered fast.

Spun. Slashed.

I had no weapon. Just instinct.

So I grabbed the shard from my bag.

Held it like a dagger.

He didn't laugh. He didn't speak.

He just came again.

Blade met glass.

And the shard exploded.

Not into pieces — into light.

A flash of searing red and silver.

I was thrown backward into the base of the mirror. My skull cracked against the pedestal. For a second, I couldn't breathe.

And then—

Pain Conversion: 60%

System update in progress...

Skill unlocked: Ashbind (Lv. 1)

You may now channel residual heat from internal pain into physical form. Duration: 60 seconds.

Warning: Overuse may trigger permanent system imprint.

I rose.

Not because I had control.

Because she did.

Delmira.

Or… something older.

My hand opened.

The air wavered — then twisted into flame.

No—

Ash.

It swirled around my fingers. Hardened into the shape of a weapon.

A spear.

Formed entirely of scorched, black ash.

Beautiful. Impermanent. Deadly.

The knight didn't hesitate.

Neither did I.

We clashed.

Spear met sword.

Steel screamed.

The ash cracked — reformed.

I spun low, sliced across his leg.

He grunted.

I struck again — high, this time. Shoulder.

The spear flickered.

Dissolving.

But I didn't stop.

Couldn't.

The pain was guiding me now.

No, fueling me.

He dropped back, breath ragged.

"You…" he rasped, for the first time.

I stepped forward, one hand outstretched.

Ash trailed in my wake.

"You killed her," I said softly.

"I watched her burn."

"You'll watch me rise."

And I threw the spear.

It struck his shoulder with a blast of heated air.

His armor cracked.

He slammed back against the stone wall, sword falling from his hand.

But I didn't follow to finish it.

Because the mirror had changed.

Its surface shimmered like smoke pulled into a spiral.

And then—

It spoke.

Not in sound.

In memory.

"Find me."

The knight stirred behind me.

Groaning.

Bleeding.

But alive.

I didn't have time to end him.

Because the mirror — the whole vault — began to collapse.

Dust fell from the ceiling. A deep grinding noise echoed from above.

A failsafe.

Someone had set a trap in the vault.

If the mirror was touched, if the seal was broken—

It would bury itself forever.

I turned and ran.

The mirror's whisper clung to my ears.

"Find me…"

Stone shattered behind me.

One last burst of heat from the mirror's pulse struck my back — like a goodbye. Or a command.

I didn't stop running.

Not even when the ground buckled beneath my feet.

Not even when I reached the surface again, lungs burning.

Not even when I collapsed outside the East Tower ruin with nothing but blood on my hands and a voice inside me that refused to die.

Pain Conversion: 62%

System active.

Skill unlocked: Ashbind (Lv. 1)

System imprint detected. Unknown reaction forming.....