Souls

Jonathan sat on the floor beside Lina, surrounded by silence—but not a comforting one. It was the kind of quiet that felt like the room itself was holding its breath.

The other children sat in the corners, watching with silent curiosity, their faint green-tinged eyes flickering like echoes of people who had once been here… and were still trapped.

Lina pointed at them one by one, introducing them to Jonathan with a soft smile:

– "This is Emma, my closest friend. This is Mike he loved making paper kites. Sara dreamed of becoming a dancer, and Noor always sang softly before bed..."

Then she glanced at the others:

– "Luca, Eve, and Kai… they were all from a nearby village once, just like me."

Jonathan listened quietly, exchanging glances with the children, waving shyly whenever a name was spoken.

They smiled back at him… but their smiles were hollow.

Then Lina's voice lowered slightly.

– "Before we were trapped here… Emma and I loved exploring the green forest."

She looked at Emma, who sat silently, her smile not quite reaching her dull eyes.

Lina continued:

– "One day… that man appeared. The one in the green robe. We never saw his face, but he was watching us. Before we understood anything… he took us."

She hesitated, then clasped her hands together.

– "We woke up here, inside the palace. Bound. We weren't alone."

Jonathan swallowed hard.

– "Who else was there?"

Lina met his gaze and whispered:

– "A man… wearing a pig's mask."

Jonathan's heart lurched.

A man with a mask? That wasn't what he expected to hear from a child.

– "He came at night. Spoke in a rough voice… carried strange tools. He said he wanted to extract our souls… our magical energy. We didn't understand. All we felt was cold… then pain."

She glanced at Emma before adding:

– "He succeeded… partly. We didn't die. But we're not fully human anymore either. We're something in between. We waited, forgotten by everyone."

– "And this palace…?" Jonathan asked faintly.

– "A shackle. A prison. A seal. We don't know who placed it, but it keeps us from leaving. It's like our souls are tied to its walls. If we step out… we burn."

Lina paused, then smiled gently at him:

– "But when I saw you enter… I felt something strange. Your energy… it's different. Like an old hope returning."

Jonathan didn't answer.

A faint tightness gripped his chest, as if something inside him knew this wasn't just coincidence.

He looked at the children again…

Spirits trapped in a room painted with memories.

Meanwhile, in a world with no sky, no ground…

Where the only sound was the echo of his own breath.

Maomao stood in a void of glass and cold light.

Everything around him was a mirror.

The walls, the ceiling, even the floor—reflecting his image endlessly, thousands of copies watching him in silence.

But he wasn't afraid.

– "What is this place…?"

He muttered, taking a step forward—his movements replicated infinitely in the same instant.

The Mirror World.

As if the palace itself had swallowed him, as if this dimension had been waiting for his arrival.

He tried jumping, spinning, striking the glass, even scratching the glowing walls with his claws…

But nothing changed.

Trapped.

– "Feels like a maze with no exit…"

He sighed, watching one of his reflections mouth the same words back at him.

But…

Among all those mirrors…

One didn't reflect his image.

Maomao froze, his pupils narrowing.

– "...?!"

He approached it cautiously.

In that single pane of glass, he didn't see a white cat…

But—

A sixteen-year-old boy.

Brown hair, blue eyes burning with a familiar intensity.

– "You…"

Maomao whispered.

The boy in the mirror raised his hand, knocking on the glass as if trying to get his attention:

– "Maomao! Listen carefully!"

Maomao's breath hitched.

– "Jonathan is in danger. The man in the green robe is moving. If you don't get out of here now… you won't save him."

– "But… how?!"

Maomao yowled. "This place is completely sealed!"

The boy smirked faintly, then said:

– "Find the mirror that doesn't reflect what's in your heart… only it can lead you out."

Back in the palace…

The man in the green robe walked silently through the halls.

His footsteps made no sound…

But he knew the way well.

He was heading to the upper floors…

To that small room filled with memories…

Where Jonathan now sat, surrounded by children who were no longer what they once were.

His eyes behind the mask didn't blink.

His hands didn't tremble.

But he could feel it that energy… growing stronger.

– "The time is near, Heir of Light…"

He whispered in a voice devoid of all emotion.