Fluffy sighed, floating down until he settled into her lap beside Pebbleton.
"The rune on the collar," it said softly, "and the glow inside Pebbleton… they worked together."
Her fingers gripped tighter.
"What do you mean worked together?"
"The rune pulled its last reserve of mirror-linked magic. And Pebbleton—your companion geode—amplified it. They created a spike in mana flow. Enough to interact with the Mirror Tower. Enough to… break its seal. Whatever you saw in that mirror… the collar poured its power into opening that moment."
Her breath hitched. "So I caused this?"
"No." Fluffy shook his head. "You didn't break anything. You're the reason it *reacted.* That's very different."
"But Pebbleton's gone." Her lip trembled. "It didn't even blink goodbye."
Fluffy touched his nose to the pebble gently. "It's not gone. Just… resting. Drained."
"Like the rune," Evelisse murmured, looking at the collar. "No glow. No inscription. Like it never held magic at all."
