Chapter Nine: Reflections of the Forgotten
The air around the ruins thickened with tension as Lila's fingers brushed over the smooth, ancient symbols carved into the stone wall. Adrien's revelation still echoed in her ears, yet the deeper truths remained buried—whispers in the dark, just out of reach.
The moment their fingertips had touched, something ancient had awakened. The dream hadn't been just a dream—it was a memory. A sliver of a life lived long ago, of destinies intertwined before the stars had taken their place in the sky.
That night, Lila couldn't sleep.
The whispers returned, only now they were clearer. They beckoned her—not toward Adrien, but deeper into the woods surrounding the ruins. She rose from her bed, the pendant Adrien had given her pulsing softly against her chest. It felt warm, alive.
Drawn by a force she couldn't resist, Lila wrapped a cloak around herself and slipped out of her home. The moon was high and heavy in the sky, casting silvery threads across the ground. The woods weren't silent—they hummed with magic.
The path seemed to know her feet. Stones lit subtly beneath her steps, guiding her. Soon, she reached a clearing she had never seen before. At its center stood a weathered stone temple, half-sunken into the earth, vines tangled in its bones. And there, in the center, was a door. Carved into it were mirrors—dozens of them—each shaped differently, bordered in obsidian and bone.
As she stepped inside, the air turned cold.
The walls shimmered with reflection. The mirrors showed not just her face—but different versions of her. Some younger, some older. Some dressed in silken gowns, others clad in armor. One bled from her chest. One wept beneath a black sky. One laughed madly as fire rained around her.
Lila gasped and turned—but every wall was mirrored.
"Choose," a voice echoed from within the glass. It wasn't her own.
She stepped toward the center mirror, the largest one. Her reflection blinked at her.
"What is this place?" she whispered.
Her reflection smirked. "This is who you were. Who you could be. Or who you'll become if you're not careful."
Lightning flashed across the sky outside. The pendant flared red.
"I don't understand."
"You will. Soon."
Lila pressed her palm to the mirror. The glass rippled under her touch, and suddenly, a vision surged through her—
She stood at the edge of a battlefield. Creatures of shadow twisted across the horizon. Adrien was beside her, blood running down his cheek. She held a blade of light in her hand. Her hair was tangled, her eyes alight with fury and power.
Then darkness.
Lila stumbled back, gasping.
The voice came again. "This is your fate. Or a warning."
The mirrors began to crack—one by one. With every shatter, a scream echoed from within them.
Panicked, Lila turned and bolted from the temple. The trees outside swayed like they were trying to warn her. As she ran, thunder rolled above, and rain began to pour.
By the time she returned to the edge of the ruins, Adrien was there.
His eyes widened as he saw her drenched form. "You went to the Temple of Echoes. Alone."
She nodded, trembling. "It showed me things—versions of myself. One had a blade. Another... was laughing while the world burned."
He looked stricken. "The mirrors don't lie. But they don't always show the truth either. Only possibilities."
"Is that what I become?"
Adrien stepped closer, placing his hands on her shoulders. "No. You become who you choose to be. That's the test. Not everyone survives it."
Lila swallowed hard, meeting his gaze. "Then I want to learn everything. I want to understand. I want to be ready."
Lightning flashed again, illuminating Adrien's face. For the first time, he didn't look calm—he looked afraid.
"Then we begin tomorrow," he said. "But the closer we get to the truth, the more they'll come for you. The shadows don't want you to awaken."
Behind them, in the distance, a pair of red eyes opened in the woods, watching.
---
Later that night, Lila sat at her desk, the pendant resting in her palm.
The mirrors had shown her something she couldn't unsee. Not just power, but pain. She wasn't just a girl anymore. She was a fracture in time, a link in a chain that spanned lifetimes.
She opened the ancient book Adrien had given her again. This time, the symbols on the page flickered, slowly rearranging themselves into legible words:
"When the blood remembers, the door will open. When the soul awakens, time will fold."
Her heart pounded.
The door had opened.
And there would be no going back.