The forge room within Aetherion pulsed with a steady blue glow. Runes shimmered across its walls, alive with soft hums of circulating mana. It wasn't like the cramped metal chambers of their old shelters — this place breathed, alive and aware, adapting with every command Shadow gave. The heat was sharp but controlled, the air vibrating with the quiet rhythm of something ancient at work.
Shadow stood before the floating workbench, his gauntlets pulsing with faint crimson light. Hovering before him were the fragments Lena had brought back — translucent shards that gleamed like glass but felt alive, shifting slightly when touched by light. They reflected not only his face but also faint echoes of mana within him.
"These shards," Shadow muttered under his breath, "they react like they have a will of their own."
Lena stood nearby, her posture firm yet restless, eyes locked on the shards. "The Valkyrie called them Aetherglass. She said they mirror the soul of whoever wields them. But she also warned that no ordinary blacksmith can shape them."
Shadow smirked faintly, rubbing his thumb against Solfang's edge. "So she gave them to me anyway. Great."
He paused, glancing back at her. "Before I start, I need to know—what kind of weapon do you want?"
The question caught Lena off guard. She frowned, folding her arms, deep in thought. "Something lighter than my greatsword," she said slowly. "I realized during that trial… I depend too much on brute strength. I want something that moves with me—something that dances, not crushes."
Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Dances? You?"
She pouted. "Hey. I can learn to be graceful if I want to."
He chuckled, shaking his head. "Alright. So, light, balanced, quick. What about its role? You want reach, power, or adaptability?"
"Adaptability," she answered without hesitation. "I want to redirect attacks, not just block them. Something that lets me react, adapt, flow. Like Rena does with her sword dances, but in my own way."
Her tone softened as her gaze lingered on the shimmering shards. "That trial showed me that fighting isn't about overpowering your reflection. It's about accepting it — and turning it into strength."
Shadow didn't speak for a while. He just watched her, realizing how much she'd changed. The uncertainty that once shadowed her eyes was gone, replaced by calm resolve. He nodded at last. "Alright then. We'll forge something that reflects you."
He began sketching rough blueprints on a hovering mana screen while Aetherion's core pulsed softly behind him.
"Warning," Aetherion's voice echoed throughout the forge, cool and detached. "Material instability detected. Estimated probability of successful fusion: twenty-eight percent."
Shadow sighed. "You're as cheerful as ever."
"Would you prefer a comforting lie?" the AI replied flatly.
Lena couldn't help but laugh softly. "You two sound like you argue more than siblings."
Shadow muttered under his breath, "At least siblings listen sometimes."
He activated Solfang, its surface glowing as it transformed into a massive hammer lined with molten veins. The first strike rang like thunder, sending ripples through the air. Sparks of azure light burst outward, illuminating the forge in waves. The Aetherglass bent slightly under the impact — but the mana inside refused to yield. When he struck again, the shards repelled the force entirely, scattering across the room in a burst of white flame.
The first attempt failed.
For days, he tried everything — temperature adjustments, mana infusion ratios, different catalysts. Every strike ended the same way: failure. The Aetherglass either shattered or rejected the fusion completely. Lena helped gather new spirit minerals from the nearby mountains, each attempt bringing small progress but never success. Even Aetherion, calculating endlessly, offered no solution beyond "insufficient synchronization."
It was only after countless sleepless nights that Shadow finally stood before the forge and whispered, "So it's not the material that's rejecting me… it's the soul inside."
He realized then — the Aetherglass wasn't meant to be forged like ordinary steel. It needed to resonate, to align itself with a spirit. An ego.
He closed his eyes, his aura flickering into view, threads of black and silver intertwining. Solfang's voice resonated faintly within his mind, sharp and proud. "You intend to make another like me, don't you?"
"It's the only way," Shadow replied quietly. "But this one isn't mine. It has to reflect her."
Solfang's laughter was a low hum of metal against metal. "Then let's see if she's worthy of a voice."
The forge roared to life. Shadow invoked Ego Forging, his ultimate skill, rarely used since his own awakening. The air trembled. Symbols older than language bloomed around the anvil, and the heat became so intense even Aetherion's core fluctuated to stabilize it. Shadows bent toward the forge as if pulled by gravity itself. Lena watched silently, clutching her chest as her heartbeat echoed in rhythm with the hammer's strikes.
Each blow rang through her soul, and each one carried a memory — flashes of her struggles, her envy, her longing to stand equal among them. The Aetherglass began to pulse with light, mirroring her emotions. For a moment, she could feel the weapon responding — not to Shadow's mana, but to hers.
Two months passed in that relentless rhythm.
Day and night, Shadow refined the soul within the metal, shaping its will. He bled his mana into it, then stepped back, letting the shards absorb Lena's own energy through resonance. Every time she touched the core, it shimmered brighter, humming softly, like a heartbeat that wasn't her own.
By the end of the sixty-first day, the forge was silent again. The last spark faded into stillness. On the anvil rested a weapon unlike any other — slender, gleaming like liquid glass, with twin edges that curved slightly outward. It was neither sword nor dagger, neither greatsword nor rapier. It was something entirely new — something that mirrored Lena's spirit perfectly.
Shadow exhaled slowly, sweat glistening along his neck. "It's done… though I have no idea what to call it."
Lena stepped forward, her reflection shimmering along the blade. Her hand trembled as she reached out, and the weapon pulsed in response — a faint hum that felt like recognition. The glassy edge shimmered with shifting hues, from silver to pale blue, until it settled into a translucent sheen that mirrored her eyes.
She smiled softly. "Then I'll name it myself."
Shadow leaned against the wall, smirking faintly. "Go on, then."
Lena thought for a moment, her voice quiet but steady. "I'll call it Eclipsera. Because it was born from both light and shadow — from what I was, and what I've become."
The blade resonated, a clear tone echoing through the forge, as if acknowledging its name. A faint aura wrapped around Lena, her reflection shimmering behind her for an instant before vanishing.
Shadow nodded approvingly. "Fitting. Looks like your mirror found its voice."
As the two stood there, the room glowed softly — Aetherion's core pulsating in tune with the new ego's awakening. The weapon's light flickered gently, alive and listening, just like Solfang once had.
And in that silent forge, a new bond was born — not of envy, but of reflection.