After a few hours of much-needed rest, Sam and Kito dared to venture into the eerie depths of the mirror maze. As they stepped deeper, an unsettling silence enveloped the corridor. Eventually, they stumbled into a grand hall filled with mesmerising mirror figures, their glass walls glinting ominously in the dim light. It was a breathtaking sight, yet an unsettling one, with an air of otherworldliness that sent a shiver down their spines. In the heart of this hall stood two figures, shrouded in mystery. As Sam and Kito approached, the air thickened with anticipation, and their hearts raced with a mix of curiosity and fear. When they finally caught a glimpse of these figures, a chill ran through them—it was their own regrets taking shape, each a haunting reflection of their past choices. The reflections turned to face them, their eyes glimmering with a strange understanding. "We are your exact reflections, the embodiment of your regrets," one of them spoke, a haunting smile creeping across its face.Sam stood, bravado flaring up like a candle's last flicker, a smirk dancing across his face. "Wow, how is it that you're my exact reflection? You don't even hold a candle to my handsomeness!" His voice echoed through the hall, an uncertain bravado trying to mask the unease churning inside him.Kito let out a weary sigh, his gaze fixed on the strange scene unfolding.With a determined grip, Sam clasped his dagger, ready to confront whatever awaited him. Kito, prepared for battle, met his resolve with a steely determination.In a flash, both lunged forward, ready for combat. But then, to Sam's astonishment, his reflection mirrored the motion, charging at him with equal fierce. Sam quickly threw a punch aimed straight at his doppelgänger, but the reflection didn't flinch. Instead, it smiled with wicked glee and hurled itself at him, the two colliding with a force that sent them crashing against the shimmering glass wall. Yet, the glass didn't shatter; it absorbed the impact as if alive."Where are we?" Sam gasped, breathless and bewildered."This is the Mirror Dimension," the reflection replied, its voice smooth and taunting. "Here, we reflections are the dominators. You can't defeat me, Sam."
In response, Sam activated his dagger, lightning crawling along its edge like a living serpent.
Kito demanded, "Where is Sam?"
The reflection smiled—slow, twisted.
"He and my friend crossed into the Mirror World," it whispered. "There, we grow stronger than humans ever can. But I will not drag you into that realm. Your friend possesses a soul too strong—unbreakable. To overpower him, we require the power of the Mirror Dimension itself."
Kito and his reflection clashed, blades screaming as sparks tore through the air. Each strike felt heavier than the last, not on his body—but on his mind.
The reflection's voice burrowed into his skull, echoing again and again:
"Coward. You killed your own mother."
"You're not human."
"You only pretend to be one because you hide among them."
"Worthless monster."
The words sharpened, multiplying, suffocating his thoughts.
Kill yourself.
Kill. Kill. Kill.
End it.
As Kito began to lose himself, Sam faced his own nightmare on the other side. His reflection slowly drew a dagger—identical to Sam's—its blade humming with a warped, distorted lightning. After countless brutal encounters, Sam's body trembled, and his mind fractured under the pressure.
Just like Kito, Sam began to hear the whispers.
They slithered into his thoughts, tearing through his sanity.
The reflection leaned closer and spoke, its voice calm, cruel, and precise:
"You don't have a tragic story like your friend."
"But jealousy?"
"That, you have in abundance."
The mirrors around Sam ignited with visions.
"You were always jealous of Rin."
"Better than you in every way."
"And deep in your heart... you hated him."
The words grew louder, sharper.
"When you learned he was powerless, you seized the opportunity."
"You pushed him down to feel superior."
Sam screamed, clutching his head.
"No! That's not true!"
Lightning erupted violently from his dagger, black and blue entwining as something inside him snapped. The mirrors shattered one by one, reflecting not fear—but rage. The power feeding on his jealousy surged through his veins, dangerous and intoxicating.
For the first time, the reflection stepped back.
Because Sam wasn't breaking.
He was changing.
The reflection did not fade—it merged. Its form peeled apart like wet skin and poured into Sam's shadow. The mirror screamed as both figures collapsed into one, flesh and darkness stitching themselves together. When the glass finally went still, only Sam remained.
Or something wearing him.
Across the chamber, Kito struggled against the whispers clawing at his mind, gripping his humanity like a dying flame. Then the glass wall cracked—and Sam stepped out.
Kito smiled in relief.
His friend had returned in one piece.
"You defeated your reflection, Sam!" Kito said, his voice trembling with hope.
Sam tilted his head.
"Not really."
The smile that followed was wrong.
One side of his face stretched into a hollow grin, while the other twisted in silent agony—tears sliding down an eye that begged for help. Kito's breath caught.
That wasn't Sam.
"What did you do to him?" Kito shouted, stepping back in terror.
Sam's smile widened. His voice came out layered—two tones speaking as one.
"I didn't defeat him," it said calmly.
"I broke him... and took him."
The lights dimmed. The mirrors pulsed.
And whatever had walked out of the glass was no longer human.
What do I do now?
Sam is possessed... and I will be next. I can feel it crawling closer, breathing inside my thoughts. I have to do something—but I am powerless.
I killed my own mother.
How can someone like me even think of saving anyone?
I don't want to kill my friend.
I don't want to become a monster again.
Kito collapsed to his knees, his sobs swallowed by the pulsing darkness.
Memories surfaced against his will.
School.
That place was never a sanctuary—only another cage. Everyone avoided him. He wasn't talented. He wasn't rich. He was just a pitiful soul, given a place to exist only as punishment for the world's political order.
They all knew.
They knew he had killed his mother.
To them, he wasn't a student—he was a warning.
A monster shaped into a lesson.
A role model of what not to become.
Some looked at him with fear.
Others with disgust.
And a few—far worse—looked at him with interest. Not pity. Not hatred.
Opportunity.
An investment in tragedy.
A living headline.
A tool for publicity.
Kito clenched his fists as the memories twisted into screams.
If I couldn't save my mother...
If I couldn't save myself...
"How can I save Sam?" he whispered into the dark.
The mirrors trembled—as if listening.
I am not a hero.
Nor a villain.
But I will save my friend.
Not as a hero...
But as a monster.
Kito rose slowly.
When he lifted his head, his eyes no longer belonged to a boy—they were the eyes of a killer. Cold. Empty. Certain. The mirrors around him shuddered, their surfaces rippling in fear at what now stood before them.
Even the reflections hesitated.
Kito's reflection stepped back, its voice trembling.
"You're a monster."
Kito smiled faintly.
In the next heartbeat, he lunged.
Sam reacted on instinct, drawing his dagger and striking—but Kito slipped past the blade as if he had already seen the attack happen. In one smooth motion, he seized the dagger from Sam's grip, turned, and drove it straight into his own reflection.
The reflection screamed.
Its body cracked like glass, fractures spreading across its face as it clawed helplessly at the blade. Then it was torn apart—washed into nothingness, erased from existence.
Silence fell.
Kito turned slowly toward Sam.
Sam trembled.
"You will not attack me."
"Or your friend dies."
Before Sam could move, Kito grabbed him by the throat. In a single, brutal motion, he lifted him and slammed his body into the mirror pillars. The glass howled as cracks spider-webbed outward, reflecting Sam's distorted, terrified face a thousand times over.
Kito leaned in close, his grip tightening.
"If you leave... it's over."
Then, after a pause, almost thoughtfully—
"Or something worse will begin."
Sam's body went limp. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed into silence.
—
Sam woke to darkness and the cold stone beneath him. His head throbbed. The mirrors were still. Too still.
Kito sat nearby.
"What happened?" Sam asked, his voice weak.
Kito looked at him for a long moment before replying.
"It was only a trial," he said. "And we passed."
Sam managed a faint smile, relief washing over his face.
"Okay... let's rest for a few hours."
Kito nodded and lay down beside him.
They slept on the cold ground, surrounded by shattered reflections and silent glass.
But as Sam's breathing slowed, Kito's eyes remained open.
They no longer reflected light.
They belonged to something that did not sleep.
Something that had survived by becoming a monster—and was still watching, still waiting.
The trial was over.
But whatever Kito had become... was not.