late summer, year 02 – eryndor academy vault, lower depths
the corridors grew narrower the deeper they went. crystal walls turned darker, veins of red light pulsing through them like a heartbeat.the air was thicker now – warm, heavy, humming with whispers that didn't belong to air.
laora winced. "these voices… they sound like prayers."acheron's eyes flickered. "no. they're bargains."kain gripped his naginata tighter. "vorseth's contracts. even in death, they keep asking."
behind them, lumiel's light spheres flickered as the mana density distorted."if this place were any older, it'd collapse under its own weight," he muttered.daniel grinned. "then let's hurry before it notices we're intruding."
1 – the mirror heart awakens
they entered a vast chamber where the floor was glass and the ceiling a swirling red storm. at the center stood a mirror unlike any other – shaped like an open eye, its iris a spinning void.
acheron's voice lowered. "the mirror heart. this is where vorseth's ritual draws from."
selene spread her wings, light touching the surface. it rippled, showing thousands of faces screaming silently.laora covered her mouth. "they're still inside."
reika began writing seals, her tails moving in precise rhythm. "i can lock some, but it's feeding from every reflection in eryndor. even a mirror shard is enough for it to breathe."
kasumi slammed her hammer against the ground. "then we break it."
"no," kain said. "we end it."
2 – the shadows remember
the floor pulsed under their feet. reflections rose from the glass – shadow versions of themselves.kain saw his own double step forward, smirking.
"we both know what you are," it whispered. "not prince, not hero – hunger with a heartbeat."
kain swung his katana. the reflection parried with the same motion.each clash made the air quake, ripples of flame and shadow shattering the walls.
"they're not just copies," acheron shouted. "they're our unclaimed shadows – every thought we buried!"
daniel's doppelganger laughed in gold light. laora's reflection cried while throwing potions that turned to poison midair.the battlefield became chaos, every soul fighting its own reflection.
kain's vision blurred. his reflection pressed closer, whispering against his ear.
"you think nihility is silence. it's thirst."
pain flared through his chest. he staggered, coughing – crimson blood spilling onto the floor.but the blood shimmered, glowing faintly silver and red.
acheron froze. "that's… dragon blood, but altered."
the reflection grinned wider. "first blood dragon, first vampire, first hunger. it sleeps in you."
3 – awakening pulse
the mirror heart flared, feeding on his awakening. kain fell to one knee, clutching his chest as his susanoo erupted instinctively – six wings spreading, claws forming of flame and shadow.
around him, the battlefield stopped. everyone felt it.the air bent inward, colors draining into black and silver.
acheron reached for him, shouting through the roaring mana. "kain – stop! you're opening a domain again!"
his eyes glowed faintly crimson. his voice was low, layered."i… can't."
the world shattered.
suddenly, everything turned silent.
the chamber was gone. the others vanished.kain stood alone in an infinite hall of glass, with countless mirrors reflecting him endlessly.in each reflection, a different version of himself stared back – king, monster, god, child.
"welcome, heir of nihility."
the voice wasn't human. it was Aeon Ix – calm, cold, vast.
"your blood remembers the first thirst. you cannot escape what you are – but you can choose what you devour."
the mirrors began to crack one by one. behind them, shapes moved – monstrous fears, faces of the souls he'd slain.
"this is my domain?" kain asked.
"not yet," Ix said. "this is your fear. to rule nihility, you must see it… and accept it."
kain closed his eyes. the flame within him pulsed once, twice. the mirrors stopped shattering. the fears froze, then faded into mist.
when he opened his eyes again, the hall was gone.he stood back in the vault – his team surrounding him, half in awe, half in shock.
acheron knelt beside him. "you vanished for a minute. what happened?"he smiled faintly. "i saw myself. all of them."selene's voice was soft. "and what did you do?""i stopped running."
4 – aftermath
the mirror heart's glow dimmed. with a final crack, the glass eye closed, sealing itself with reika's talismans and acheron's thunder.
lumiel lowered his weapons. "one node remains. vorseth's core."daniel stretched. "of course it does. villains love even numbers."
acheron brushed blood from kain's lip. "you shouldn't push the flame like that again."he met her gaze – his eyes now faintly crimson, even in rest."i didn't. it pushed me."
she hesitated. "your blood… it's changing."
he smiled wryly. "then maybe it's time I stop pretending to be only half of what I am."
5 – the vow beneath the black sun
the family stood together as the vault began to collapse.yoriko and kasumi cleared a path through the rubble. selene spread her wings, lighting the way out.
as they climbed back to the surface, the red eclipse above began to fade. fragments of sunlight broke through the clouds, glinting off broken mirrors like scattered stars.
acheron turned to kain. "what do we call that power you used?"he looked at his hands, faint silver flame coiling around his fingers."…nihility domain," he said quietly. "the realm of reflection."
"and what will you do with it?"his smile was small, but certain."devour fear until only truth remains."
[status update]
name: kain machiavelli
race: half aeon • half blood dragon (vampiric mutation beginning)
level: 28 exp: 4 080 / 4 900
tree rank: chesed (4th sphere)
guiding aeon: ix – aeon of nihility
unique skill: shadow nihility flame lv 7new ability: nihility domain – awakened (unstable)bloodline awakening: first vampire blood – stage 1 (latent)
weapons: katana, wakizashi, naginata (synced with susanoo)
objective: find vorseth's core and master the blood's hunger before it consumes him.
end of chapter 19 – echoes of nihility