The ocean trembled.
As Astraeus and Joga shot upward through the swirling current, the Phoenix Gate remained open for just a few seconds longer… but time slowed inside it.
Because something had seen them.
And it wasn't just watching.
It was learning.
In the upper Dome, alarms echoed. Leviathan guards rushed to Queen Naihelis's side, securing the chamber. The Queen held her chest, panting, her eyes wide.
"The Gate should not have been opened," she whispered. "Not without the Key."
Joga and Astraeus burst from the chasm below, their bodies bruised and burning. Astraeus was clutching his ribs, his hands still wet with his own blood — and glowing.
"Wait—" Joga stopped him. "You're burning underwater."
Astraeus looked down.
His blood wasn't red anymore. It was Gold, burning in spirals of cosmic fire — and it wasn't dying in water. It was thriving.
Queen Naihelis approached slowly. "That blood… that fire… it's reacting to what you saw."
"I saw… myself," Astraeus said. "But not really. He was—he was wrong. Like a shadow made of flame."
The Queen's face went pale.
"Then it's true," she whispered. "The Mirror Flame lives."
—A thousand years ago…
A godlike being attempted to absorb the full power of the Astro Phoenix and the Flame Titan simultaneously. But the moment both divine fire touched — the paradox tore a hole in reality.
From that breach came a reflection.
A flame not born of stars or life, but of regret. It took form.
It took a name.
And it waited.
Buried beneath the sea.
At the bottom of the world.
Behind the Phoenix Gate.
Back in the present, Astraeus sat in silence.
Joga paced, gripping his sword. "If that thing is you — or worse — will become you… then we've got a real problem."
"It Knew my name," Astraeus muttered. "Not like it learned it. Like it remembered it."
Queen Naihelis turned away. "It remembers everything because it's bound to your fate. You were never just chosen by the Phoenix. You were mirrored by it."
Astraeus looked up. "Then I need to finish this. I have to go back down there."
Joga spun. "Are you insane?! You barely survived that fight!"
Astraeus stood up, flames sparkling in his wet hair.
"I'm not going back to fight."
"I'm going to learn."
—Warning:
That night, Astraeus descended alone.
No guards. No Joga. Just silence.
He floated before the Gate — still sealed, now quite. He placed his hand against it.
For a moment, he expected nothing.
Then—
A ripple.
A voice.
"Hello, Astraeus."
The surface of the Gate turned to liquid fire. And there, starting back at him from the other side, was himself.
Only this version had no light in his eyes. No warmth in his aura.
Just endless, perfect stillness.
"You want to Know what I am?" The mirror Flame asked. "I'm what you become if you let pain shape you. If you let vengeance become your god."
Astraeus didn't flinch. "I've already made my choice."
The Mirror smiled. "Then why are you here?"
Astraeus's voice trembled.
"…to see how far I could fall."
The reflection stepped closer. "And I'm here to warn you. Because something worse is coming. Not me."
Astraeus's eyes widened. "Worse than you?"
"Yes," said the mirror Flame.
"The Original Flame is stirring."
Astraeus staggered back. "But that's a myth. The first fire is long gone."
"No. It's just been hiding… in Landara's
Heart. In the city that floats above this very sea."
The Gate flickered.
The reflection began to fade.
The final words echoed in Astraeus's soul:
"When the first flame returns, both you and
I will burn."
To be continued…