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Chapter 3 - Echoes Of The Mirror

Chapter 3- Echoes Of The Mirror

Lucas groaned, barely conscious. His face was pale. The words still flickering before his eyes:

HP: 24%

Blood loss increasing…

Movement unstable…

Recommend immediate healing.

Behind them, the creature bellowed again—and then, unbelievably, began to run.

It moved like thunder.

Faster than any monster its size should.

Faster than Leo expected.

Leo cursed under his breath. "You've got to be kidding me!"

The ground shook under their feet as the chase began—man and monster, power and fear, light and dark—racing through the endless jungle with only seconds between life and death.

Promise

Leo ran.

Faster than wind. Faster than fear.

But no matter how fast he moved, the monster kept up.

Its thunderous footsteps crashed behind them, smashing trees and sending leaves flying. The roar was deafening—like the sky itself screaming in anger.

Lucas was limp on his shoulder, bleeding, barely conscious.

Leo grit his teeth. "Come on, come on—don't die on me, man."

But Lucas wasn't listening.

He kept whispering. Voice weak, barely audible through the wind and chaos.

"Grandma said… I shouldn't go near the mirror…"

Leo cursed. "Bro, shut the hell up! We're already in this mess. Crying about it won't help us get out!"

But Lucas didn't stop.

"…I made a promise… and I broke it…"

His voice trembled—not from fear, but from guilt. Something deeper. Something sharp, buried in his chest like the branch still stuck in his shoulder.

"I promised her, Leo…"

Suddenly—

The air cracked.

BOOM!

A strange force exploded around them. The ground beneath Leo's feet turned to light. The world blurred—like a dream being ripped apart.

And then—

Silence.

The roar was gone.

The trees were gone.

The monster was… gone.

Instead, Leo was standing beside a quiet, glowing river, its water shimmering blue like the sky at dawn. The wind was calm. Birds chirped in the distance.

He stopped.

"Wha… what the hell?"

He looked around, wide-eyed. "Lucas—what the fuck did you just do?!"

He dropped to his knees and gently laid Lucas down. His friend was pale, blood-soaked, the broken branch still embedded in his shoulder.

Lucas blinked slowly. "I—I don't know… I was just thinking about Grandma…"

Leo looked around again, his heart pounding. "That river… I saw this place when we first arrived. But… how did we get here?"

He turned to Lucas. "Did you teleport us?"

Lucas didn't answer. His eyes were half-closed. His lips were cracked. Blood still dripped from the wound in his shoulder.

SYSTEM ALERT

HP: 20%

Wound stabilized.

Internal bleeding continues.

Recovery item required.

Leo cursed under his breath and ripped a piece of cloth from his own shirt. He wrapped it tightly around Lucas's wound, tying it off to stop the bleeding. The HP didn't go up—but it didn't drop either.

Small mercy.

Leo sat back, shaking.

He'd been smiling earlier. Laughing. Flexing. Excited to test his powers.

Now?

Now his hands were shaking.

His best friend was dying. And that monster—whatever the hell it was—was out there. Hunting.

This didn't feel like a game anymore.

"Lucas…" he said quietly, staring at his bloody hands. "I thought this would be fun, man. I thought I was the strong one. But now…"

Lucas coughed weakly. "We're both… in this."

Leo stared at the water.

He'd never felt more afraid in his life.

Lucas was barely breathing.

Leo sat beside him, helpless, watching the HP bar hover at 20%. Blood soaked the cloth around his shoulder. The silence of the river was heavy—like the calm before a storm.

Then—

A whisper.

Soft footsteps.

And out of the mist, a girl appeared.

At first, Leo didn't see her. One moment the space near the trees was empty… the next, she was just there.

"Who the hell—?!" Leo jumped up.

"Relax," the girl said softly. Her voice was calm, but her eyes were sharp—watching everything.

She looked about their age—though in this strange world, age meant nothing. She wore a worn brown cloak, patched in many places, and a belt with strange pouches. Her hair was long and dark, tied behind her head in a rough braid.

She kneeled beside Lucas and pulled a small glowing fruit—something like an apple made of light—from one of her pockets.

"Let him eat this," she said.

"What is that?" Leo asked, still defensive.

"Bloodfruit. It restores HP. It's rare."

Leo hesitated. Then helped Lucas raise his head just enough to take a bite.

As soon as Lucas swallowed, his body lit up faintly—a golden pulse running through his skin. His wounds sealed. The blood vanished. His breathing steadied.

SYSTEM UPDATE:

HP: 100%

Status: Stable.

Lucas sat up, wide-eyed. "I feel… fine. Like it never happened."

Leo stared. "What the hell?!"

The girl sat back, arms crossed. "You're lucky I found you when I did."

Leo stepped forward. "Who are you? What is this place? Why are we here?"

She looked at them, serious. "This world is part of the Mirror of Duties. Once you enter, you don't just escape. You follow the system's laws. If you don't… you die."

Lucas frowned. "You know about the mirror?"

The girl nodded slowly. "Too well…"

She glanced away, her voice dropping. "My mother warned me never to go near it. Told me it was cursed. Said anyone who entered would never return. But I didn't listen."

"You… jumped in willingly?" Lucas asked.

"Yes," she replied. "Unlike you, I chose this. I thought I was being brave. I wanted to prove I wasn't scared of some old story. I touched the mirror and vanished. Since then… I've been trapped here."

Leo looked confused. "For how long?"

The girl shrugged. "Time doesn't move the same here. Could be weeks. Could be years."

She stood, looking toward the jungle. "That thing chasing you—it's called a Guard Beast. It has the head of an elephant, the chest of a giant, bull legs, cow horns, and it carries a hammer that can crush trees. I've faced it before. I can't kill it… but I can hide from it."

"Invisible powers?" Lucas asked.

She nodded. "And healing. That's all I've got."

Leo scoffed, half-nervous. "Still more than us…"

The girl looked at Lucas with interest. "But you… you did something I've never seen. You teleported. That's a rare reaction. This world responds to emotion, especially guilt and duty. Maybe your power is connected to that."

Lucas stayed quiet, remembering his grandma's words.

Never touch the mirror.

"I don't even know who I'm supposed to be here," he muttered.

"None of us do," the girl said gently. "But if we're going to survive… we'll need to learn fast."

She motioned for them to follow. "Come on. I've built a hideout nearby. It's not safe to sleep in the open."

They followed her through the trees, the sky darkening above them. Somewhere, far off, the monster roared again.

This time, it sounded angry.

But they were gone.

Safe… for now.

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