Kael sat on the edge of his bed, fingers curled around the sheets, staring at nothing and everything at once. The sunlight poured in unevenly, striking the polished floor, but it didn't reach the shadows clinging to the corners of his mind. The dream—or whatever it had been—clung to him like a second skin.
Every heartbeat was loud, insistent, accusing. The whispers still lingered behind his eyes, like threads of sound weaving through his skull: Protect him… do not fail… watch the present…
He pressed a hand to his chest. His pulse was frantic, irregular, yet beneath it all, a deep, unfamiliar calm hummed. It was the echo of something ancient, something that had stirred awake while he slept. Something that remembered before he even existed.
Kael's gaze drifted to the mirror in the corner. The reflection stared back with the same dark intensity, but now he could see it—faint, almost imperceptible—a ring of light in his eyes, pulsing slowly. Alive. Restless. Patient. Waiting.
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, fingers flexing, unsure if he wanted to touch the glass or smash it. The memory of the spectral Elior flickered behind his eyes, a fragile, luminous figure calling silently, desperately. The past had clawed its way into his present, and it refused to leave.
"Why… why now?" he murmured, voice raw. The words were swallowed almost instantly by the quiet, but he heard the answer in the lingering pulse beneath his skin. The magic that had stirred within him wasn't fully awake yet—but it had tasted freedom, and it would hunger for more.
Kael closed his eyes, trying to steady himself, to separate dream from reality. But the images refused to fade. Faces of himself, twisted by grief and rage. Shadows reaching across centuries. And Elior… always Elior, bright and fragile, tethered to him in ways he couldn't fully comprehend.
A shiver ran down his spine. He could feel it—the first step of the past-life awakening had passed, and the second step was crawling along the edges of his soul, teasing, demanding, threatening. He had survived the dream, but the consequences were already here. Already pressing at his chest.
He exhaled slowly, shakily. His hand fell to his lap. Every instinct screamed at him to do something, to act, to protect—but he couldn't. Not yet. He could only sit, let the aftershocks of his magic thrum beneath his skin, and wonder… how long before the past reached out again, and how badly it would hurt when it did.
Kael's eyes drifted back to the mirror. He didn't move toward it. Didn't reach. He only watched, silently, waiting, the echoes of centuries settling into the edges of his consciousness.
It has begun, he realized. And nothing… nothing will ever be the same.
"..."
The academy hallway hummed with chatter, boots scraping, books closing, spells crackling faintly in practice rooms. But the moment Kael stepped in, everything sharpened—because Aevrin was already there.
He spotted Kael instantly.
And that slow smile—polished, confident, a little cruel—unfolded on his lips like he'd been waiting just for him.
"Morning, Kael," Aevrin said smoothly, falling into step beside him. "You look… distracted. Lost in thought? Or lost in someone?"
Kael didn't bother looking at him. "If I were lost in someone, Aevrin, trust me—it wouldn't be you."
"Bold of you to assume you'd get the chance to choose," Aevrin murmured, voice velvet and teasing. "People usually come to me first."
Kael shot him a sidelong glance, eyes cold, but the corner of his mouth almost lifted. "Confidence this early in the morning? Dangerous. You might overheat."
Aevrin chuckled, soft enough that only Kael heard it. "What can I say? Your presence is warming."
To anyone passing by, they looked like two close friends sharing a quiet joke.
But every word had a blade.
Kael: "You're unusually talkative. Found a new victim to impress?"
Aevrin: "Oh, I'm talking because someone looks like he woke up from a dream he couldn't control."
Kael stopped.
Just a fraction of a second.But Aevrin caught it—he always did.
He leaned closer, invading Kael's space with practiced ease. "Hit a nerve?"
Kael's voice dropped. "Careful."
"Or what?" Aevrin whispered, smile widening. "You'll stare at me with those intense eyes until I explode?"
"Don't flatter yourself."
Aevrin stepped ahead, walking backward now, facing Kael. "But I do love when you get serious. It's the closest thing you have to affection."
Kael brushed past him, shoulder grazing Aevrin's intentionally.
"You wouldn't survive my affection."
Aevrin laughed under his breath, following him again—too close, too familiar, too dangerous.
"Kael," he murmured, "I survive everything. Including you."
People around them smiled, thinking the two were just messing around, the academy's favorite pair of "friendly rivals."
But if they could hear the tension under the words,the controlled threat,the quiet spark between every breath—
they'd know:
This wasn't friendship.
It was a dangerous chemistry, wrapped in politeness, sharpened with every sentence.
And neither Kael nor Aevrin had the slightest intention of stopping.
"..."
Elior stepped out of his dorm, hair still damp, adjusting his bag—and stopped mid-step.
Kael's carriage was waiting at the gate.Dark, polished, unmistakable.
But Kael… wasn't there.
One of the guards approached immediately, posture sharp."Young Master Elior. Lord Kael departed early. He ordered us to escort you."
Elior blinked. "Oh—sorry if this troubled you—"
"It didn't. It was his instruction," the guard said, tone leaving no space for refusal.
So Elior nodded and climbed in.
The carriage door closed with a soft thud, and the moment it did, his thoughts started spinning.
Kael left early? He never does.Did something happen last night…? Did something bother him?Why didn't he say anything?
He pressed his fingertips together, staring at the passing scenery.The more he thought, the heavier his chest felt.
Kael wasn't someone who changed routines easily.If he did—it meant something had shaken him.
The carriage slowed to a stop.
"We've reached," the guard said, opening the door.
Elior stepped down, thanked them one by one, but the uneasiness refused to lift.
Kael's absence felt louder than his presence.
He exhaled, steadied his shoulders, and headed toward the classroom—unaware that a pair of dark eyes had been on him from a distance,watching every step he took with a quiet intensity that refused to fade.
"..."
Elior pushed open the classroom door—quietly, almost shyly—and halted.
Right in the center stood Kael and Aevrin.
Not arguing loudly.Not fighting dramatically.Just… talking in low voices that sounded far too much like flirting.
Aevrin leaned a little too close, arms crossed, wearing that easy smile that always hid a knife.Kael stood stiff, controlled, answering with that cold, sharp tone he kept only for Aevrin.
To Elior, it was clear they were exchanging barbed lines.But to everyone else around them?
It looked like two close friends teasing each other.
Aevrin smirked, brushing imaginary dust off Kael's shoulder."Honestly, Kael, you should sleep more. You look like you wrestled with your dreams and lost."
Kael didn't blink. "Worry about your own face. You look worse when you talk."
Aevrin laughed softly—too warm for a laugh meant to annoy."You missed me. Just admit it."
Kael turned his face away, jaw tight. "You wish."
They seem… closer today.The thought slipped into Elior's chest, small and uncomfortable.
But he pushed it down and put on a gentle smile.
He stepped forward with soft footsteps and greeted them, voice calm:
"Good morning."
Both Kael and Aevrin went silent.
Then—they turned toward him at the same time.
Aevrin's smile brightened instantly, like Elior's presence was sunlight.Kael's eyes, which had been sharp and irritated a moment ago, softened—just a breath, just enough that only Elior would notice.
"Morning, Elior," Aevrin said smoothly.
Kael didn't speak, but the way he looked at Elior…it was quiet, deep, almost apologetic.
And just like that,the entire atmosphere shifted around the three of them.
"..."
Elior slipped into his usual seat at the very back, placing his books neatly on the desk.Kael sat beside him, already leaning back in his chair, long fingers drumming lightly on the wooden surface.
For a few seconds, neither spoke.
But their eyes kept meeting—small glances, soft, questioning, and confusingly warm.
Elior looked away first, pretending to arrange his quill.Kael watched him for one extra heartbeat before looking forward again.
From across the room, Aevrin sat diagonally, chin resting on his palm, observing them with a subtle, unreadable smirk.
So that's why he left early…His eyes narrowed faintly, amused.Interesting.
The classroom door opened.
Professor Aldric entered—tall, with white hair and eyes like polished frost.His presence alone silenced the entire room.
"Settle down," Aldric said, placing a pale crystal sphere on the desk. "Today we begin a new branch: Arcane Mirror Arts."
Kael's fingers froze.
Elior felt him stiffen beside him.
Aldric continued, unaware of Kael's sudden tension.
"Mirror magic is one of the oldest—and most dangerous—forms known to mages," he said, pacing slowly. "It reveals truths that do not wish to be seen. It reflects not appearances, but memories… fragments… echoes."
Kael inhaled sharply.
Elior turned slightly toward him. "...Kael?" he whispered.
Kael didn't answer.His jaw was tight, eyes locked on the crystal sphere as if it had personally threatened him.
At the front, the professor touched the sphere.Its surface rippled like disturbed water.
"Some mirrors," Aldric said quietly, "do not show the present. They show who you were.Or worse… who you should have become."
The room felt colder.
Elior's fingers curled around the edge of the desk.
Kael's heart thudded once—painful, echoing—because those words felt too real, too close to last night's dream.
Across the room, Aevrin watched Kael's reaction with sharp interest.
A dream… or a memory?Aevrin's eyes glimmered.Something is waking inside him.
Aldric lifted the sphere above the students.
"Mirror Arts awaken only when the past claws its way into the present," he said, voice dropping into a chilling hush. "And when that happens… the mage is never the same again."
The sphere pulsed with silver light.
Kael's breath hitched.
For a split second—in its reflective surface—he saw his past self, the same faint image from his dream:
Moonlit hair.Eyes that carried centuries.A haunted smile.
Then the vision blinked out.
Kael jerked back in his seat.
Elior immediately leaned closer."Kael! What happened—?"
Kael shook his head quickly, forcing calm into his voice."Nothing. It's… nothing."
But his fingers were trembling.
And Aevrin didn't miss it.
"..."
Professor Aldric rested both hands on the crystal sphere, and the room dimmed instantly.Candles flickered. Shadows stretched upward as if they were listening.
"Mirror Magic," Aldric began, voice low and steady, "is not simply a reflection spell. It is a memory-interface art that predates elemental magic itself."
The students straightened.
Kael's heartbeat thudded in his ears.
Aldric continued.
"There are three branches."
He raised one finger.
1. Reflective Conjuration
"Used to see one's own magic, intentions, and upcoming impulses.It reveals what your body remembers… even when your mind forgets."
Kael swallowed.
His dream.The mirror.The reflection whispering, Don't let him fall again.
His body did remember.
Aldric raised his second finger.
2. Echo-Veil Mirrors
"These unveil the past self—your previous incarnations, unfinished oaths, and unresolved bonds."
A soft gasp rippled through the class.
Elior froze, staring at Aldric.Kael's hands curled tighter, nails pressing into his palm.
Aevrin's gaze sharpened.This was exactly the kind of magic he was interested in.
Aldric's voice dropped to a grave whisper.
"Those who glimpse their past self often awaken magic they weren't meant to yet."
Kael's chest tightened.
Elior glanced at him again, this time with real concern.
Aldric lifted a third finger.
3. Rift-Mirror Summoning
"This is the most dangerous form," he said, letting the sphere float."It allows a mage to accidentally—or intentionally—call shadows of their past into the present. Emotions, instincts, powers… even fragments of lost memories."
The orb split into three shimmering reflections in the air — like three versions of itself.
All students leaned forward.
Except Kael.
He leaned back—eyes wide, breath unsteady—because the dividing reflections looked too much like the cracked mirror in his dream.
The left reflection whispered faintly, a sound only he heard.
"Protect him…"
Kael stiffened.
Elior's hand, trembling slightly, brushed his arm.
"Kael… are you okay?"
He gave a tiny nod, but his eyes stayed locked on the orb.
Aldric continued, unaware:
"This magic can expose the deepest parts of you.The past you want…and the past you desperately fear."
He waved his hand.
The three reflections merged back into one.
And then — slowly — the sphere turned, reflecting every student's face.
But when it reflected Kael—
the surface distorted.
The reflection sharpened into a distant version of himself—taller, older, eyes burning with ancient intensity.
Aevrin saw it.His eyes widened, but he said nothing.
Elior saw it too—just for a heartbeat—and froze.
And Kael…
Kael felt the world tilt.
The same voice from his dream echoed in the reflection—
"Don't fail this time."
The sphere dimmed.
The reflection vanished.
Aldric clapped his hands. "That concludes the theory. Later, each of you will approach the sphere for a controlled demonstration."
A murmur rippled across the class.
But Kael didn't hear any of it.
His pulse was a storm.
Because this was no lesson.This was a warning.The same warning from the dream.
Mirror magic wasn't just a topic today.
It had chosen him.
"..."
Professor Aldric paused, eyes sweeping the room as though weighing who was ready to hear the next part.
Then he spoke, voice low and resonant, each word heavy:
"And now… the last and most dangerous truth about Mirror Magic."
The classroom fell silent.Even the orb dimmed, as if it too was listening.
Aldric continued:
"Mirror magic is not merely a tool. It is a summoner of purpose.If a soul has an unfinished goal…a vow left incomplete…a bond unfulfilled…or a memory buried for reincarnation—"
His gaze sharpened.
"—the mirror becomes the bridge."
Students exchanged uneasy glances.
Kael didn't breathe.
Aldric's voice dropped deeper, almost ritual-like:
"When a soul wants to remember its true reason for being reborn…or when fate demands that past memories awaken…the first sign is always the same."
He lifted the mirror orb again.
"It calls you."
The surface rippled like disturbed water.
"It appears in dreams.In reflections.In the corner of your eye.Until finally—"his voice nearly whispered,"it shows you a glimpse of who you were…and who you must become."
Kael's throat tightened painfully.
The professor turned away, but his words echoed:
"A soul with a purpose cannot stay asleep forever.And mirror magic…is the key that awakens it."
A faint tremor pulsed through the orb—a whisper Kael could hear but no one else:
"You've begun."
—by Aurea;"A mirror never lies… it only shows what you've been running from."