The palace shook with a low, guttural rumble that echoed through the cracked marble walls. Ethan's heart beat wildly as the golden-eyed version of Noel stepped closer, every footstep sounding like a warning.
"Noel," Ethan whispered, grabbing his arm. "Who is he?"
Noel's jaw clenched. "His name is Calen. He's not a reflection. He's what the mirror made out of my pain."
Calen smirked. "Pain is power, dear brother. And you gave me so much of it."
Ethan stood behind Noel, watching Calen carefully. He was beautiful, but in a way that made your chest tighten with unease. His features mirrored Noel's, but sharper. Colder. His gaze flicked to Ethan.
"And you," Calen said, his voice smooth like black velvet. "You've seen too much."
Ethan opened his mouth to speak, but Noel moved in front of him again. "He's not part of this."
"Oh, he is," Calen replied, stepping to the side. "He's part of it now. The moment he touched the mirror and brought it back to life, he became a tether."
"Tether?" Ethan asked, confused.
"The bridge between our world and yours," Calen explained. "You're the reason we're waking up. The reason I'm no longer confined to flickering glimpses."
Noel looked horrified. "You planned this."
"I am this," Calen said simply. "You tried to bury me, Noel. But the mirror remembers. It always remembers."
The mirror behind them rippled with silver light, as though alive. Ethan turned to look, and in its surface, he saw a vision: himself, but not quite. He looked older. Stronger. And beside him stood Calen.
"What is that?" Ethan asked, chilled to his core.
"A possible future," Calen said. "One where you embrace your reflection. Where you stop running and start ruling."
Ethan turned to Noel. "Is it true? Am I becoming like him?"
"No," Noel said firmly. "You have a choice. That's the one thing the mirror can't steal."
Calen laughed. "Choice is an illusion. You're already changing, Ethan. I can feel it."
The palace trembled again, and pieces of the ceiling crumbled. Noel grabbed Ethan's hand. "We have to go. Now."
Ethan hesitated. "But I need answers!"
"You'll get them," Noel promised, pulling him toward the crumbling hallway. "But not from him."
As they ran, Calen's voice echoed behind them:
> "You can't run from your reflection forever, Ethan. One day, you'll have to face what's inside you."
They dove back into the Silver Garden, the mirror sealing behind them like a heartbeat closing a wound.
---
Back in Ethan's room, the mirror was dark again.
Ethan dropped to the floor, breathless.
"What does he mean?" he asked aloud. "That I'm changing?"
He looked at his hand. It looked normal. But when he focused—really focused—he saw a faint shimmer. Silver, like the mirror.
He was changing.
And he didn't know how to stop it.
---
In the mirror realm, Calen stood alone in the ruins. He looked into the mirror that still hovered between the crumbling pillars and touched the surface gently.
"Soon," he whispered. "Soon he'll see what you were too afraid to become, dear brother."
The mirror pulsed with a heartbeat of its own.
And in its depth, another shadow stirred