"**
The sky in **Nimora** was no longer as Adam once knew it. Its clouds swirled slowly around an invisible point in the sky—like a massive eye staring, unblinking, unclosed. Everything whispered that **someone was watching**.
Zera stood a few steps away from him, wearing a black cloak, half-burned at the edges. A faint glow shimmered in her eyes. Despite the battle they'd just fought against the creature called *Al-Kharas*, she didn't seem exhausted.
In fact, she looked **more grounded than ever**, almost like someone Adam hadn't met before.
> "I feel something strange…" Adam murmured as he approached her.
> "It's not just the land that's changing. *We* are too."
Zera smiled—but the smile was faint, guarded.
She then pulled a small object from her pocket.
It was a **glass eye**, pulsing with flickering violet light.
> "This… was from your grandmother," she said softly. "She gave it to me before she vanished from my world."
Adam froze in shock.
> "What do you mean? My grandmother *appeared* to you?"
Zera nodded slowly.
> "Yes. A long time ago. She knew I would meet you. And she said… you may not be who you think you are."
Adam's heart pounded.
> "You mean I'm… not her grandson?"
Zera said nothing.
**A moment of dissonance. Silence. Wind swirled.**
From far off, a voice began to whisper—but it wasn't of this world:
> *"All who see Nimora… are not of Earth alone…"*
Suddenly, a **crack split the sky**—as if lightning had torn it in two.
A yellow beam surged down, striking the **glass eye** in Zera's hand.
It shattered, and light burst out, surrounding Adam like a wave of ancient memory.
He saw his grandmother.
But **not as he remembered her**.
She wore strange attire, held a staff covered in glowing runes from a language he didn't recognize.
She stood before a mirror-gate, speaking to a figure that looked like Adam… but whose features were **not entirely human**.
**Then, a voice echoed in his head:**
> "I was never your grandmother…
> I was your guardian.
> And the key… was never the pendant.
> The key was *you*."
He snapped back into consciousness, breathing heavily, eyes wide with terror.
> "Zera… I saw—"
> "I know," she interrupted, taking his hand.
> "You've begun to see the truth.
> And now… you're ready for the final confrontation."
Together, they stepped toward the **shattered gateway suspended in the air**.
But suddenly, **Lapopo** appeared, panting and shouting:
> "Don't go! That portal is a fake!
> It's a trap! Made by the *Embodied Shadow!*"
Before he could finish, the earth quaked, and a **pillar of fire** fell between Adam and Zera.
Through the smoke and flame… a face emerged.
**Disfigured. Smiling.**
> "At last you've met…
> the **Deception** and the **Mirror**."
---
### 👁️ Interactive Human Test:
Before you uncover the secret of *Deception and the Mirror*,
prove you are a **real human**, not just a shadow in Nimora.
Copy this link and paste it into your browser to complete the vision test:
https://unlockcontent.net/cp/i/q8320?preview=1#
(It opens in a new tab. When you're done, come back—we're watching...)
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> 💬 **Reader's Question:**
> If you discovered that all your memories were planted—and you are not who you thought you were…
> Would you chase the truth?
> Or choose to live the lie?
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