Hall of the Illusion Mirrors
The stone hallway they walked through grew narrower and darker. Every step echoed long, mingling with faint whispers that called their names. At the end of the hallway, they reached an arched stone door adorned with spirals and wide-open eye symbols.
Eryvan gazed at it for a long moment. "We're about to enter the mirror room. This place doesn't just test your strength, but also your heart and mind. Every mirror will reflect illusions—the truths you don't want to see, or lies you've come to believe as reality."
Lesendra swallowed, glancing at the obsidian diamond sword in his hand, which still glowed with golden light. Seira stood beside him, her face tense. "What should we do in there?"
Eryvan sighed. "You'll need to tell what's real from what's illusion. If you get trapped by your own shadows, you'll be lost in there forever."
With a gentle push, the stone door opened, revealing a large circular room, its walls lined with massive mirrors framed in gold. The floor faintly reflected their shadows, and the air shimmered with floating, glowing dust.
As they stepped inside, the whispers grew louder, calling their names from every direction. Lesendra saw his reflection in the mirror—but it wasn't just himself holding the golden sword. The reflection smirked wickedly, its eyes glowing red, as if mocking him.
Seira approached a nearby mirror and saw her own reflection standing with a bow, but her face was splattered with blood, her eyes dark as if she had killed without mercy. "This… isn't me…" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Lesendra looked at her. "Don't trust what you see. They're just shadows." But even his own voice trembled, because in the mirror, he saw himself standing atop a god's throne, holding a golden sword dripping with blood, surrounded by the corpses of Mythra's people.
Suddenly, the mirrors vibrated, emitting a red glow that split the room into blurry shadows. Lesendra and Seira were separated, each trapped in narrow corridors of mirrors. Their reflections appeared in every pane, mimicking different movements—attacking, laughing, or reaching out as if pleading.
Lesendra tightened his grip on his sword, trying to center his mind. "I'm not them… I'm not this fear…" he whispered. The golden glow of his sword grew brighter, making the mirrored shadows tremble and crack slightly.
In her corridor, Seira ran, slashing at the mirror shadows with her blades, but each crack only summoned more shadows. "Eryvan! What do I do?!" she screamed.
Eryvan's voice echoed from afar, though he was unseen. "You have to accept your shadows! Don't fight them! Only by accepting who you are can you leave this place!"
Lesendra stood still, gazing at his cruel reflection in the mirror. Slowly, he lowered his sword, allowing the golden light to merge with his mirrored self. "I am me. I'm not your shadow. I'm not a god. I'm just a man who chooses to fight," he whispered.
The mirrors around him slowly shattered, cracks spreading like spiderwebs, until the room reopened, reuniting him with a weary Seira. Behind them, Eryvan appeared, offering a faint smile.
"Good. You've learned to accept yourselves. But the journey isn't over," he murmured. "The Ruby Stone waits in the deepest chamber. And its guardian… won't be as easy as your own shadows."
Lesendra looked at Seira, then at the dark hallway ahead. The golden sword in his hand now glowed brighter, casting a steady, warm light.
"Then… let's finish this," he whispered, his eyes blazing.
Finally, they stood before the last mirror. This one was different from the rest—taller, darker, its frame carved with symbols that seemed to writhe as if alive. Its surface didn't just reflect; it pulsed like a heart, emitting faint black mist.
Seira stood before it, her body tense. Slowly, the mirror reflected her image, but not as the hero holding a bow. The reflection was trapped in a dark space, wrapped in massive black hands tearing and rending her apart. There was no blood, no sound—just those shadowy hands shredding her light into small shards.
Lesendra fell silent, his face pale, eyes red. "Seira… this isn't real…" he whispered, but his voice trembled.
Seira stared at the reflection, her body shaking, tears starting to flow. "I… I know… but… this…" her voice broke, her hand trembling.
Eryvan stood behind them, his voice low and full of pain. "The final mirror reflects the deepest wounds. Wounds not just of the body, but of the soul. It forces you to face what you've hidden, what you didn't want to see but still lurks in the corners of your mind."
Seira's reflection remained enveloped by the black hands, which slowly formed a silhouette of a broken crown and torn cloak, as though stripping not just her body but her honor and identity. Each shard of the mirror reflected fragments of broken gold light—a symbol of shattered strength.
Seira collapsed to her knees, tears streaming down her face. Lesendra immediately embraced her, gripping her shoulders tightly. "Don't let this shadow defeat you. You're not them. You don't belong to them."
The mirror trembled, emitting waves of black energy that distorted the reflection, as if trying to drown Seira in denser fog. But Lesendra raised his sword, now glowing with warm gold. "You're not just a shadow. You're Seira, the one who chose to fight."
He slashed the mirror, breaking the reflection into shimmering light, causing the black hands to fade. Seira sobbed, but her eyes began to regain the light of courage.
Eryvan stepped forward, his voice low. "You did it. Not by defeating them, but by accepting and freeing yourself from the shadows."
Seira stood slowly, gazing at the broken shards of the mirror, droplets of golden light falling from the cracks as though those wounds wouldn't vanish but had now become part of her strength. Lesendra gripped her hand tightly.
"We'll keep moving forward, no matter what," Lesendra whispered. Seira nodded slowly, her eyes set with renewed determination.
After the last mirror shattered, leaving behind shimmering golden fragments on the floor, Lesendra, Seira, and Eryvan stood before the final stone door. Its carvings depicted a giant dragon entangled in chains, its eyes glowing faint red. Eryvan lifted his staff and pressed it against the dragon symbol, causing the door to slowly shift open, revealing a massive stone chamber filled with ruby-red light.
Inside stood the Ruby Stone, as tall as an adult, floating in the air, radiating a mix of red and gold light. The aura from the stone made the surrounding air vibrate, cracks spread across the stone floor, and the glow of Lesendra's sword pulsed to its rhythm.
They stepped forward cautiously. Lesendra approached the Ruby Stone, his glowing gold hand reaching out, but flashes of memories and pain surged in his mind—images of his foster parents' deaths and the blood on his hands flashed by.
Seira grasped his hand, stopping him. "Wait. This stone… it will awaken not just your sword's power, but all the wounds you carry. If you're not ready, it will destroy you."
Lesendra stared at her, his eyes red with emotion. "I have to do this. I need to be strong."
Seira shook her head gently. "You're strong not because of this sword. You're strong because you choose to keep moving forward even though you know you're wounded. Those wounds… are part of your strength."
Lesendra fell silent, staring at the Ruby Stone's blazing red light. Eryvan stepped closer, his voice deep. "True strength isn't about killing or conquering. It's about accepting wounds, making peace with pain, and still standing. This stone will force you to relive every wound you've ever endured, and test whether you can make peace with them."
Lesendra closed his eyes, took a deep breath. Slowly, he touched the Ruby Stone with his warm glowing golden hand. Red and gold light intertwined, spreading through the room, making the stone walls tremble. Flashes of memories—his foster parents' faces, their deaths, his guilt, the chaos in Mythra—flashed briefly, but Lesendra stood firm, holding his sword and the Ruby Stone.
"I am not just my wounds. I am the strength born from those wounds," he murmured. The Ruby Stone's light fused with the obsidian diamond sword, creating a brilliant red-gold flash that enveloped Lesendra, making the sword pulse steadily and merge perfectly with his golden hand.
Seira stepped closer, her eyes brimming with tears. "You did it… you've embraced your entire self, including your wounds and pain."
Lesendra gazed at her, his eyes shining with warm light. "And I'll never forget. Because those wounds aren't just memories… they're reminders not to become like them."
Eryvan stood behind them, his smile faint. "You've merged with the Ruby Stone. Now, you're not just humans… you're a flame that will challenge the Throne of Darkness."
Outside the chamber, a rumble echoed—a sign that the Throne of Darkness had begun to sense their presence. Their path had just opened, but the true battle was about to begin.