I. The Wound That Never Closed
The first morning after leaving Mirror Five was bitterly cold.
Omega still slept beneath a layer of enchanted insulation cloth. His face looked peaceful… but the pulse of his aura still trembled faintly.
Jainal sat cross-legged atop the roof of an old building in the western district, unrolling the scroll he extracted from the mirror network.
There, written in rune-ink readable only by those who had seen, were three names.
Three names that should never have appeared on the same document:
Dr. Helza Ramyr – Head of Project Δ-Lambda
Marquis Dessen Vauld – Member of the Imperial Magic Council
Else Venerra – Sage of Magitek, wife of Gujarat, and... his own mentor.
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II. Three Roads to Choose From
Jainal knew he couldn't chase all three at once.
The world was too vast, and each target was protected by their own sphere of power.
"This isn't about who's most guilty.
It's about who can unravel everything."
🛤 1. The Trail of Helza Ramyr – To the Root of the Experiment
Last known location: Fractured City, far north—now a restricted zone after a major magical explosion five years ago.
Objective: Track down Helza and force her to reveal the entire experiment data and its funding.
Risk: High – The area is known as The Land That Twists Time.
🏛 2. The Trail of Marquis Dessen Vauld – Into the Heart of Power
Location: Capital of the Kurlas Empire, central region.
Objective: Infiltrate the political structure and uncover the connection between Project Δ-Lambda, military funding, and wartime policy.
Risk: Extreme – Heavy security, high-level political deception, and complex disguise required.
🔍 3. The Trail of Else – Into His Own Past
Location: Southern region, ruins of Else and Gujarat's private laboratory—now sealed off by the Adventurer's Guild.
Objective: Discover why Else was involved in the early phase of the project—whether she truly supported it, or infiltrated to sabotage it from within.
Risk: Emotionally High – Jainal must confront memory, belief, and a sacred bond from his past.
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III. Dialogue with Shadows
Omega stirred awake.
"Three names?" he asked, without needing explanation.
Jainal nodded.
"If you go to Fractured City, you'll return with wounds you still can't close."
"If you go to the Capital, they'll turn you into a pawn."
"If you go south… you might learn that someone you loved helped build my hell."
Jainal didn't respond. He simply rolled the scroll back up—slowly, carefully.
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IV. The Unopened Letter
Before they left the rooftop, Jainal unsealed one final document—a short letter, not part of the project.
Just handwritten words, no name attached:
"If you're reading this, you're already too close.
But know this: not everyone involved wanted to create monsters.
Some of us tried to break the machine before it became perfect."
— H.
Jainal kept it.
He knew this letter would matter… someday.
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Epilogue.
Omega stood beside Jainal, both staring at the ancient map now marked with fire runes—three roads, three truths, three outcomes.
Time was running short.
Because elsewhere... imperial agents had already begun to move.
And the second wave of experiments—under the codename E.P.I.T.A.P.H—had already been activated.