The moment Lein caught his own reflection in Kyle's eyes, he jerked back.
He watched him, tense, waiting to see what would happen next.
Kyle stopped clawing at his face and ripping out his hair.
Slowly pushing himself up off the ground, he looked at Lein — and grinned like a madman.
"Well… well… well… who might this be…? Could it truly be… Lein Edgar himself?"
"Shut your mouth, scum. Your voice disgusts me."
"Oh… you've grown… bolder? Not long ago… you were still… hiding… weren't you…"
Lein exhaled.
«Originally I wanted to set up a mirror trap in the dark, but everything kept shifting. Plenty of my tricks were doomed to fail — Kyle turning traitor, the Story's assignment, his knowledge of it. And then… luck smiled on me again. Perfectly so — almost too perfect. Makes me think it's a setup…»
Oddly, Lein didn't panic at the Demon's appearance.
Nor was he shocked it had chosen Kyle — logically, it fit.
And he noticed… something inside him had gone still.
Yes — ever since devouring Kyle's uniqueness, Lein had changed.
His thoughts were sharper — his emotions no longer steering his actions as strongly.
Calmer… as if it had become nearly impossible to unnerve him.
But what shifted most was his perception.
He could now see in the dark like it was daylight.
He sensed where the shadows deepened.
And most importantly — he could see them.
The cracks.
"You're… stalling…?" — the Demon hissed.
Lein gave a slight shake of his head.
"No," he said, simply.
He stared at the creeping cracks crawling around the Demon wearing Kyle's skin.
They writhed, almost alive — but undeniably there.
The same cracks Kyle had spoken of truly existed.
Looking at them, Lein felt — instinctively — that they did not belong.
A glitch.
Something foreign to reality.
Something that shouldn't be.
«Looks a bit like that rift… only… darker. Much darker.»
"Enough… I grow tired… let's drop… the masquerade."
The Demon lunged.
Slowly — absurdly so — letting Lein just step aside.
It blinked in confusion.
The grin dropped.
Lein smirked at the baffled face.
"Did you actually think a child could kill me?"
Its confusion deepened.
"Dark eyes… vast… spiritual force… reinforced… body…"
Then it grinned again.
"Without a doubt… exactly what we seek… the missing… uniqueness…"
"What are you muttering about?" — Lein asked, sounding bored.
Suddenly, the mirror fiend cackled, raised its right hand — and tore out its own eye.
Lein froze — stunned.
"Bastard!" — he roared.
Still grinning, the Demon flung Kyle's eye to Lein's right.
Time seemed to crawl — the bloody orb spinning, veins dangling.
In its surface, Lein saw himself.
Before he could react, it dragged him in — body and soul — straight into that single gleam.
A heartbeat later, the earth vanished beneath his feet. Mirrors surrounded him on every side, all reflecting his own wide, manic grin.
«What… is this? Where am I?»
"Welcome… to the mirror world..." — echoed a hundred mouths.
«As if one of me wasn't enough…»
Lein's lips twisted.
«Running won't be easy…»
He didn't know this place, how to escape, or even what it wanted.
Mirrors. Everywhere. Each one — him, smiling that awful smile.
As if trapped in a maze of himself — reflections intent on killing.
"Haa… what did I ever do to deserve this…" — he muttered.
He scanned again, hunting for cracks.
«Holy hell… there's way more here. That one feels… spatial?»
Instinct whispered at him.
«That's time… maybe. What happens if I touch it? Probably suicide… but I'm out of options.»
"Lein Edgar… give me what I want… and your family… will live… Refuse… and…"
"You'll do nothing," — Lein cut in, crookedly smiling.
«After a fragment you forget everything. I don't.»
That reminder calmed him — stripping fear away.
«Now I just need to survive…»
The Demon's grin widened.
"One idle thought… and my kind finds… your family…"
Lein stayed silent.
"Perhaps… you manage to kill me… still they'll find… your loved ones…"
Nothing.
"Your brother… sister… parents… all dead… unless… you hand it over…"
Lein burst into laughter — jagged, merciless, echoing.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" — it sounded worse than the Demon's. He covered half his face, eyes blazing.
The laughter died, leaving his eyes empty and black.
"Kill them? You? And who are you to speak of death? Am I afraid? Hardly. If they die — so be it. But first… try surviving me. I won't run — I'll hunt. Every last mirror parasite. I'll gut you — and leave you for last. And when you finally look at me… I'll smile — and end you. That's a promise."
He rammed his hand into the nearest crack.
«Will I ever get a normal choice…?»
Power poured out of him, into the rift.
The Demon charged with every mirrored body at once.
Some had blades for limbs. Others towered over him.
Too slow.
«Villains always make the same mistake — they love listening to the hero's speech.»
The mirror world shattered. Copies blew apart into dust.
Lein felt himself ripped in every direction — and slammed back into the real cave.
Smashed eye.
And a short distance off… Kyle, motionless, eyes shut.
Lein approached cautiously.
"Kh-khe… that you, Lein?" — Kyle croaked.
Lein's shoulders loosened.
"It's me."
Kyle gave a faint smile.
"Demon… dead?"
"Not yet. Waiting for his chance."
Kyle reached out blindly with a bloodied hand.
Lein clenched his jaw and took it, kneeling beside him — forcing himself to look.
Flayed flesh. Torn skin. And still… a fragile smile.
"Lein… never touch cracks that hold knowledge… kh-khe… they'll kill you…"
Lein said nothing.
"And please… forgive me…"
His lips trembled.
Words stuck in his throat.
"I… never blamed you…" — he whispered hoarsely.
Kyle felt how badly Lein's hands were shaking — and exhaled softly.
"Lein… now you could know my secret. Do you want to?"
Lein didn't pause.
"No… let it stay yours. I'll figure it out someday. On my own."
Every word took effort.
He had never felt this much at once —
anger,
hatred,
grief.
"One last thing…"
Lein smiled gently.
"Name it."
"Would you… stroke my head again? It… felt nice."
His smile wavered.
He laid a hand on Kyle's head and stroked slowly, gently.
Seconds later — a final whisper:
"Lein… I'm scared…"
Lein had no strength left to answer.
When he finally opened his mouth — a whisper came first… and a familiar window appeared before his eyes:
[Chosen One, your first fragment has been successfully passed.]