The ruins of Ardenvale still smoldered under a colorless sky.
Kale stood amid the shattered stone, staring at the sealed entrance of Aurelion's lab. The wind carried whispers — faint, almost mournful. The ground was scarred by mana discharge, the air itself thick with residue.
Varyn broke the silence. "They'll sense this."
Kale's hand tightened on his cloak. "I know."
Lyra stepped beside him, staff glowing faintly. "Then we have to move. If the Coven detects the awakening of those constructs—"
"They already have," Ryn interrupted. His eyes, sharp as a wolf's, turned to the ridge beyond the valley. "We're being watched."
A ripple of mana surged across the sky — violet and silver — forming a sigil that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Elric drew his blade. "What is that?"
Lyra's face drained of color. "A witch beacon. They've found us."
Before anyone could react, light speared down from the heavens — six streaks of energy slamming into the valley floor around them. When the smoke cleared, six figures stood in a half-circle.
Cloaks of woven starlight. Eyes glowing with cold mana. The Witch Enforcers.
At their center stood a girl — no older than Kale — with long white hair and eyes the color of lightning. Her aura was calm, almost serene, but it burned like a storm waiting to break.
"Kale Aurelion," she said softly, her voice carrying power that made the air hum. "By decree of the Grand Coven, you are to be captured alive for purification."
Kale's pulse quickened. "Who are you?"
The girl tilted her head slightly. "My name no longer matters. But once… they called me Seren."
The moment the name left her lips, Aurelion's voice whispered faintly in Kale's mind — a flicker of memory.
Seren… the experiment that succeeded.
Kale's eyes widened. "You're… one of his creations."
Her expression didn't change. "And you're the failure."
The air exploded.
Seren vanished in a flash of silver, reappearing behind Kale before anyone could blink. Her mana scythe materialized, swinging toward his neck. Kale ducked, barely blocking the strike — the impact sending him skidding back across the dirt.
Varyn roared, leaping at two of the Enforcers, his claws blazing gold. Lyra unleashed a barrier of radiant light, halting a wave of violet fire. Ryn dove into the shadows, striking from behind as Elric met a blade of black steel head-on.
The valley erupted into chaos.
Seren moved like a ghost — fluid, perfect. Every strike forced Kale backward, her attacks timed to the rhythm of his mana pulse.
"You shouldn't exist," she said, each word punctuated by another flash of her weapon. "Wizards with cursed mana are abominations."
Kale deflected another blow, his voice sharp. "Funny. I thought abominations followed orders."
She hesitated for half a second — enough for Kale to sweep her legs and push back. Blue sparks burst from his aura.
Their mana collided midair — blue and silver intertwining, resonating like twin notes of the same song.
The ground beneath them cracked, sending shockwaves that threw dust and shattered stone in every direction.
"Kale!" Lyra shouted, breaking through the noise. "Her mana — it's identical to yours!"
Seren's eyes glowed brighter. "Of course it is."
Kale froze. "What?"
"I was made from you," she said simply. "Aurelion's blood. His mana. His curse. I am your reflection."
The realization hit like a blade to the chest. A clone.
Not just another experiment — his twin.
Kale stepped back, disbelief twisting in his gut. "That's impossible—"
"Is it?" she whispered, pressing her palm against his chest. "You and I were never born. We were built."
The sigils on her arm pulsed. "And I was perfected."
Before Kale could react, her mana erupted. Silver fire engulfed the battlefield, forcing everyone back. Kale's vision blurred, the roar of energy swallowing all sound.
Through the storm, her voice echoed—
"You can't change the world, Kale. You're just repeating Aurelion's sins."
Then she vanished in a surge of light.
When the world stilled again, half the valley was scorched.
The Enforcers were gone. The only sound was the soft hiss of cooling stone.
Kale stood trembling, smoke rising from his arms. Lyra rushed to him, panic in her voice. "Kale, what happened?"
He didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on the burned ground where Seren had stood.
"She… she had my mana."
Varyn growled lowly. "Then the Coven's deeper than we thought."
Kale clenched his fists. "No. It's worse."
Lyra frowned. "How?"
"Because if Seren is real…" Kale's gaze lifted to the storm clouds forming above the valley, "then Aurelion never died."