The hallway stretched before us—dark, twisting, alive. As if the castle itself had grown weary of decorum and decided to play hide-and-seek. We'd been sneaking through the stone corridors for what felt like hours, ducking in and out of shadows, avoiding the sharp eyes of the royal guards.
I was already exhausted—my side throbbed from the earlier blow, and my mind reeled, still tangled in the fragments of a former life I hadn't meant to remember.
Rael led the way, his eyes flicking across every corner like a hawk sighting prey. His steps were deliberate, tense, his muscles taut as though anticipating something far worse than a simple escape.
If Rael was nervous, then by all rights, I should be panicking.
A sudden clang of metal shattered the quiet, echoing down the corridor like a thunderclap.
My heart stuttered.
"Rael!" I hissed.
He turned sharply, eyes locking with mine. His lips barely moved as he mouthed: Run.
Then chaos broke loose.
A figure emerged from the shadows, cloaked in black, its face hidden behind a blank, featureless mask. The assassin moved too fast, too fluidly. The air chilled with their presence, as if the space around them had turned hostile.
A dart whizzed past me, grazing my shoulder.
I stumbled back with a gasp—but Rael had already stepped forward, sword drawn, stance low and steady.
"Back up!" he barked, his voice tense, fierce.
I obeyed, but my mind wasn't on the danger. It was on him.
We couldn't outrun this. The assassin was too skilled, too fast. And I couldn't—wouldn't—let Rael face this alone.
A pull tightened in my chest. I could flee. Let him fight and disappear into the dark. Or… I could stay. I could fight.
I looked at him—jaw set, blade ready, determination in his eyes. But beneath it, I saw uncertainty. He was afraid. Yet he hadn't run.
And he trusted me.
The assassin moved again, dagger flashing. Closer now.
My heart raced. I couldn't run. I wouldn't.
Without thinking, I pulled a small mirror from my satchel—a farewell gift from Mira. A token I'd barely understood until now.
I hurled it at Rael.
The mirror shattered mid-air, releasing a burst of light that flared like a miniature sun. The assassin reeled back, momentarily blinded.
Rael seized the moment, lunging forward, sword poised.
But I barely noticed.
The shards of the mirror scattered across the floor, catching torchlight and glowing like embers. And in one of them, just for a flicker of a second, I saw something that shouldn't have been there.
Me.
But not me.
A cat. Myself, in that other life. Standing in a house fire, surrounded by smoke and flame. Making an impossible choice.
The vision shifted—gone in an instant—but it left something behind.
Not fear.
Clarity.
The choice before me wasn't between fleeing or staying. It was about who I was. Who I had always been. Then, and now.
The assassin surged forward again, dagger slicing past my ear, the blade kissing my cloak.
My instincts roared.
I sprang.
Not away. Toward.
I crashed into the assassin with everything I had, slamming them into the wall. Smoke and heat seemed to rise from nowhere, familiar and ancient.
Rael called out, "Mochi!"
But I didn't answer.
I fought. With teeth, nails, elbows, memory—fought like the cat I had been. Like the girl I had become. Like someone who knew that love and sacrifice always came with a cost.
The assassin twisted, but I was faster. Stronger.
They'd underestimated me.
They didn't understand what it meant to fight someone who had already given her life once for someone she loved.
With a final shove, I forced them down—but not before they let loose one last weapon. A vial slipped from their sleeve and burst on the ground.
A cloud of purple smoke billowed out, choking the corridor in seconds.
My world dimmed.
And then: nothing.
But just before the darkness claimed me, I heard Rael's voice again.
"Mochi!"
And then—silence.
I didn't know where the boundary between past and present was anymore.
I only knew that I had made the right choice.
Because maybe it wasn't a choice at all.
Maybe it had always been who I am.