The corridor narrowed until it opened into a vast circular chamber of glass and shadow.
The walls reflected endlessly, forming a kaleidoscope of faces — Kaelen, Lyra, and countless distorted versions of themselves staring back.
The air was heavy with silence, but unlike the Chamber of Silence before, this one carried voices. Whispers slid between the reflections, faint but cutting:
"He will betray you."
"She will abandon you."
"They all fall in the end."
Lyra flinched, clutching her temples. "Kaelen… do you hear them?"
"I hear lies," Kaelen growled, but his eyes flickered. In the glass, he saw not Lyra as she stood, but a dozen versions of her — some smiling cruelly, others turning their backs, others already falling into the arms of enemies.
The Trial Begins
At the chamber's center stood a pedestal of obsidian. Resting upon it was a crystalline shard, pulsing with faint golden light.
"The Seed calls to me," Lyra whispered, stepping forward. But as she reached out, the reflections rippled, and one broke free.
A mirrored Kaelen stepped onto the floor, blade drawn, his eyes hollow but burning.
"You will fail her," the reflection snarled. "You always fail the ones you try to protect."
Before Kaelen could answer, another figure pulled free from the glass — a mirrored Lyra, her face twisted with cold detachment.
"You're a burden," the reflection hissed at the real Lyra. "Without me, you're just a frightened girl clinging to a broken soldier."
Clash of Mirrors
Steel rang as Kaelen clashed with his own reflection. Every strike was met, every move mirrored and perfected. The doppelgänger was faster, sharper, as if the labyrinth had stripped away Kaelen's restraint and left only ruthless efficiency.
Lyra faced her own double, their resonance colliding in waves of psychic energy. Sparks of golden light scattered across the chamber as the mirrored Lyra's attacks tore at her emotions, amplifying her doubts.
"Kaelen doesn't trust you," the reflection taunted. "He sees you as the Seed, not the woman. Would you die for someone who only sees your power?"
Lyra faltered, the words cutting deep. For a moment, the shard flickered as though dimming with her hesitation.
The Breaking Point
Kaelen's mirrored self disarmed him, blade at his throat. "You can't protect her," it hissed. "You couldn't protect anyone. And when she falls, you'll let her burn, just like the rest."
Kaelen's teeth clenched, rage boiling — but instead of striking, he laughed, low and bitter.
"I've failed. Yes. And I'll fail again. But I'll never stop trying."
He caught the mirrored blade with his bare hand, blood running, and wrenched it free with a roar, shattering the reflection into shards of glass that scattered like starlight.
Lyra's Choice
Her double pressed harder, weaving visions of betrayal. She saw Kaelen leaving her behind, Rhyss turning his back, Ceyra handing her to the Dominion, even her own parents walking away into the void.
Tears streaked her face. "Stop… stop!"
The mirrored Lyra leaned close, voice a venomous whisper. "You're alone."
Lyra's chest heaved — then her expression hardened. "No. I'm not."
She reached not for power, but for Kaelen's hand. Their fingers laced, blood and golden light mingling. The shard on the pedestal pulsed, then erupted with radiance.
The mirrored Lyra screamed, body fracturing into thousands of pieces before vanishing into the reflections.
Aftermath
The chamber stilled. Their reflections returned to the glass — cracked, but no longer moving.
Kaelen staggered, bleeding but resolute. "That… was too close."
Lyra's hand trembled in his, but her eyes glowed with quiet fire. "The labyrinth wants us to doubt each other. But it just made us stronger."
As they stepped toward the next corridor, the golden shard lifted from the pedestal and dissolved into Lyra's chest, merging with the Seed's resonance.
The whispers faded, replaced by a single phrase that lingered in both their minds:
"Unity is your weapon. Break it, and you are mine."
They walked on — together, but with the knowledge that the labyrinth would keep testing the very bond they relied upon.