Eli's pulse was still pounding in his ears.
Valo stirred weakly in his arms, whispering something he couldn't hear. The twins stood a few feet away, their faint red eyes flickering like dying embers.
Then
a voice echoed through the hallway.
It wasn't loud, but it carried weight, like it was speaking through every wall, every breath, every thought in the room.
Are they ready?
Eli froze. The sound didn't come from the twins, or from Valo. It came from everywhere as if invisible eyes were watching them, recording every heartbeat.
Valo's head lifted slowly, her voice hoarse. Who's there?
No one answered.
Only the hum of static, then another voice deeper, colder, detached.
You mean… you will make them home into more tests?
Eli's stomach turned cold.
He rose, holding Valo close as he positioned himself between her and the twins. His voice came out low, sharp. Show yourself.
The shadows shifted. The walls shimmered faintly, and for a moment, the hallway looked like it was behind glass again like they were trapped inside a giant reflection.
Another voice spoke, this one trembling but defiant.
They are still young.
A harsh laugh followed distorted, metallic, almost human but not.
Do you wish to first kill them?
Hey hey, stop it! Valo cried, clutching her head as if the voices were clawing into her mind. Sparks of blue light burst from her fingertips, scattering like broken stars.
The twins gasped, gripping each other's hands. Papa it's coming from the walls! Ethan shouted.
The deeper voice returned, mocking this time.
You know the mark hasn't shown… they are not ready.
Eli's eyes went wide. What mark? he demanded.
The reflection flickered and for a brief, horrifying second, the hallway changed.
They weren't in their home anymore. They were inside a dark room lit by red lights, glass panels lining the walls, and faint outlines of people or things watching them through the other side.
A faint mechanical hum filled the air, followed by a slow, rhythmic tapping like fingers against glass.
Valo clutched her chest, eyes wild. Eli… we're being watched.
He reached for her, his hands shaking. By who?
Then came the final whisper, faint and deliberate, like a recording being played too close to the ear:
The test begins again.
The lights went out.
And for one breathless moment, all that remained was the sound of the twins whispering in the dark
Papa… something's behind you.
Eli didn't move at first.
Every instinct screamed at him to run to grab Valo and the twins and shatter whatever wall still held them inside this nightmare.
But fear was a luxury he couldn't afford.
He turned slowly.
The air behind him rippled, bending like heat above flame. The sound of metal scraping echoed faintly, and from the dark, something began to form not stepping forward, but pulling itself through.
A silhouette.
Long, distorted arms.
A body stitched together from fragments of reflection faces shifting, eyes blinking, all wrong.
Its voice wasn't one. It was many.
Eli De'Lain… you never finished the trial.
The thing's head twitched. Its mouth opened too wide, revealing nothing but light.
Valo staggered up beside him, holding onto his sleeve. Eli… that voice. It's the same from before. The one from the garden.
Eli's jaw clenched. Stay behind me.
The twins' hands flared with a faint golden glow instinctive, protective. Sam whispered, Papa, it knows your name.
Eli didn't answer.
He could feel the pulse in his wrist syncing with the hum of the walls one beat, one breath, shared between him and it.
Then, the creature raised a hand.
Glass shards lifted from the floor like a thousand knives, circling above them.
The mark hasn't shown, it murmured again, voices overlapping, whispering through each shard.
So we'll carve it ourselves.
Valo's scream tore through the silence. Eli, MOVE!
He reacted before thinking sweeping his arm forward, summoning a burst of red fire that clashed with the glass storm.
The explosion thundered through the hallway dust, flame, and shadow colliding in chaos.
Ethan cried out as shards grazed his arm, golden light flickering weakly.
Valo pushed herself in front of him, creating a barrier of blue fire that sparked and groaned with strain.
The creature stepped through the chaos unburned, unbroken.
Its face flickered between theirs Eli's, Valo's, even the twins' like it was trying to wear their humanity as a disguise.
You think you can protect them, it said, voice shaking the walls.
But they belong to the reflection.
Eli roared back, his hand igniting with crimson light. Then I'll burn every reflection there is!
He slammed his palm to the ground. The entire floor erupted molten light tearing through the darkness, shattering the walls like breaking glass.
The creature screamed, its voice shattering into static as its body fractured into light.
The twins' glow pulsed brighter, golden threads wrapping around their hands.
They reached out together and their combined light struck the creature's chest.
A blinding flash filled the corridor.
When the light faded
the creature was gone.
Only ash and a single whisper lingered, curling through the smoke.
You can't burn what's inside you.
Eli fell to his knees, chest heaving, his hand still glowing red. Valo collapsed beside him, clutching the twins to her chest, trembling.
Silence returned heavy, suffocating, real.
But then, from somewhere above them, a faint click echoed.
Like a camera.
A distorted voice came through the air again distant, calm, surgical.
Observation complete. Subject Eli stable. Subject Valo unstable. Subjects Kooli twins resonance confirmed.
Proceed to Phase Two.
Eli's head snapped up, eyes wide. They're still watching us, he whispered.
Valo's fingers dug into his sleeve. Eli… what phase?
He looked toward the ceiling but the voice was already gone.
Only static remained.
Then, one of the twins Sam whispered, barely audible:
Papa… the mark… it's on your hand.
Eli looked down.
And there, burned into his palm by the crimson fire, was a small, circular sigil glowing faintly, pulsing with the same rhythm as the walls.