Part III – Water Mirrors and Shattered Dreams
The path they had chosen finally opened onto a small clearing.
At its center, a perfectly circular lake reflected the milky sky above, still as glass.
Yuri stopped, drawn by that unnatural calm.
The lake seemed to whisper without making a sound, as if its surface wished to tell forgotten stories.
Without thinking, she stepped forward, her feet sinking slightly into the soft, damp ground.
Yuu whimpered softly, tugging at her cloak with his teeth, but Yuri still knelt by the water.
For a moment, she saw only her own reflection: a tired face, disheveled hair, eyes full of doubt.
Then the image rippled.
From the surface of the lake, familiar shadows emerged:
silhouettes of boys and girls in school uniforms,
distant laughter and voices broken by the wind.
Her classmates—or maybe just the memory of them.
They laughed, talked, waved...
As if the life she had left behind had never changed.
Yuri felt a knot tighten in her throat.
One more step, and maybe she could reach them...
But the reflection changed again.
In one corner of the lake, a distinct figure took shape:
a woman with long dark hair, bent over a field of flowers, wearing a sweet, sorrowful smile.
Her face was blurred, as if wrapped in warm mist.
And yet Yuri knew who she was.
"You are not alone..." the wind seemed to whisper.
Yuri's foot brushed the water.
The surface rippled violently.
Kayla was on her in an instant.
Her strong hand seized Yuri's shoulder, pulling her back.
"Don't look!" she commanded, her voice harsher than Yuri had ever heard it.
The young girl fell back, her heart pounding in her chest.
When she looked up again, the lake had returned to stillness.
Only her own wavering reflection stared back at her.
Yuu was crouched beside her, trembling softly.
Lucen, silent a few meters away, watched with an unreadable expression, his hands clasped behind his back.
Kayla knelt in front of Yuri, forcing her to meet her gaze.
"The Forest knows what you long for. It knows what you're missing.
And it will use it against you."
Yuri nodded slowly, tears stinging her eyes but refusing to fall.
She stood up, fists clenched.
She wouldn't give in.
Not yet.
Not in this world she had sworn to protect, even if she still didn't know how.
With firmer steps, she followed Kayla and Lucen away from the lake,
while behind her, the reflections of the past faded silently.