The chamber felt smaller than before. The walls did not move, but the air did. It pressed in like a quiet hand. The black Quill floated beside Jax's head, calm and patient. Jax stood stiff with empty eyes. When he blinked, it didn't look like him. It looked like someone else was using his body like a coat.
The wall of names flashed again. Mira Sun 🧵. Lina Veris 🖋️. Under it, the rule glowed bright and cruel. ONE SAVED. ONE TAKEN.
Kai stood between Lina and the Quill. His shadowsteel lay low on the floor like a dark line. His face was still, but his eyes were burning. Lina could feel his heart racing under her hand. She wanted to say his name to pull him back, but she was afraid even that would feed the room.
Mira stood to Lina's side, shaking. Mira's bond was cut, but Mira's body still leaned toward Lina like it remembered warmth. Mira's eyes were wet and lost. Seren looked like she was holding her breath on purpose. Reyon's hands were tight fists. He kept glancing at the door like he was searching for a way that wasn't there.
The stone stand wrote another line, slow and neat, like it was giving instructions.
CHOOSE.
The Quill dipped toward Kai, like a bird deciding where to land. Jax's head turned toward Kai, and the deep voice spoke through him.
"Choose," it said again, soft and sure.
Kai did not answer. He lifted his hand and squeezed Lina's wrist once, then pressed her palm to his chest again. Thump. Thump. Real.
Kai looked at Lina's eyes. He did not use big words. He did not explain. He only mouthed something with no sound.
Stay real.
Lina nodded hard. Tears sat in her eyes but did not fall.
The stand wrote another line.
TIME.
A thin silver line appeared under the word, like a bar filling up.
Kai's jaw tightened. He looked at the names. Mira. Lina. One saved. One taken. He looked like he wanted to break the whole room in half.
Then Kai did something that surprised Lina.
He stepped closer to Mira.
Mira flinched at first, confused, like she didn't know if Kai was safe or not. Kai held his hands open so Mira could see he was not grabbing. He touched Mira's shoulder gently, just one steady touch, like an anchor.
Mira's breathing slowed a little.
Kai then turned to Lina and did the same thing. He touched Lina's cheek with his fingertips, very gentle. The touch was warm and real. Lina leaned into it without thinking.
The Quill twitched.
The stand wrote at once.
TOUCH DETECTED.
Kai's eyes narrowed. He understood it too. The room was watching their touch. It wanted to turn it into a hook.
The deep voice in Jax spoke again.
"Give me the name," it said.
Lina's throat tightened. The strange name inside her mouth rose again, like it wanted to jump out. Lina pressed her lips together so hard they hurt.
Kai's hand moved fast and covered Lina's mouth again for one second. Not rough. Just firm. Just safe.
Then he let go and stepped forward, away from Lina.
Lina's eyes widened. No. Don't go closer.
Kai looked back at her once. His eyes were dark, and there was something in them Lina did not want to see. A decision.
Kai turned to the Quill.
He walked right up to it.
Reyon shook his head fast, terrified. Seren's eyes went wide. Mira grabbed Lina's sleeve like she could stop time.
The Quill floated in front of Kai's face, calm as a judge. Jax's mouth curved into that hungry smile again.
The stand wrote:
OFFER: TRUE NAME FOR TETHER RETURN.
Kai lifted his chin. He did not speak the true name. He did not repeat any phrase. He did not bargain.
Kai reached out and grabbed the Quill.
The moment his fingers closed around it, the whole chamber screamed without sound. The silver lines on the walls flashed. The stand's letters went wild.
UNAUTHORIZED TOUCH.TRANSFER BEGIN.
Kai's Oathbreaker mark flared under his skin like fire in black metal. Kai's face tightened in pain, but he did not let go.
Lina felt her own chest tighten like the room grabbed her too. The name inside her mouth pulled hard, like it was being dragged toward the Quill through her.
Kai looked at Lina, eyes fierce, and finally he spoke. Just three words, low and clear.
"Say my name."
Lina's breath broke. She forced her voice out once, shaking. "Kai Rhen."
Kai nodded like the sound hit him like a rope. "Stay real," he said.
"I'm here," Lina whispered.
The chamber hummed, hungry, but Kai used the moment anyway. He pressed the Quill into his own palm like he was pushing the trap into himself instead of Lina.
The stand wrote one symbol, huge.
🪞
Mirror death. Replacement.
Lina's blood turned cold.
The silver bar under TIME slammed to full.
The rule answered itself.
ONE SAVED.ONE TAKEN.
The wall of names flickered.
Mira Sun 🧵 changed.
The 🧵 symbol cracked, then faded, like a knot being untied.
Mira gasped and stared at Lina like lightning hit her mind. Her face changed fast. The blank fear cleared. The love-memory rushed back.
"Lina," Mira whispered, and this time her voice sounded like her again. "Lina, I— I remember."
Lina almost collapsed from relief. She grabbed Mira's hand hard, shaking.
But Lina's relief lasted only one breath.
Because the Quill was still in Kai's hand, and the 🪞 symbol was still burning on the stand like a stamp.
The chamber split open behind Kai. Not a normal door. A mirror door. The air inside it was black and shiny, like night that could reflect.
Kai's shadowsteel rose like a shield, but it didn't matter. The mirror door pulled on him like gravity.
Kai looked back at Lina. His face softened for one tiny second, like he wanted to say a hundred things and could say none.
Kai spoke one last line, very low. "Don't look in the mirror."
Then the mirror door yanked him back.
Kai vanished into the black shine like he fell through glass.
Lina's scream stayed stuck in her throat. She couldn't let it out. She couldn't feed the room. She only shook and reached, but her hands grabbed empty air.
The Quill floated free again, calm as ever. It returned to the stand, like it finished its work.
The stone stand wrote a final note in silver.
TAKEN: KAI RHEN.
Lina's eyes went wide.
It wrote his normal name, not his true name. But it still felt like a nail in the world.
Then the chamber door opened on its own with a quiet click, like nothing happened. Like Kai being stolen was just part of school rules.
Reyon grabbed Lina's arm and pulled gently. Seren guided Mira. Jax stood still, empty, as if the Quill already left him behind like trash. His body slumped to the floor.
They stumbled out into the corridor.
The moment they stepped out, the whole academy shook. A deep thump rolled under the floor, like a giant heart waking up under stone.
The Founder's Atlas floated into the air nearby, pages flipping fast.
Then it did something Lina had never seen before.
It wrote a list by itself. Names. Symbols. Numbers.
A countdown.
Lina stared in horror.
Kai Rhen 🪞 — 7Mira Sun 🧵 — 6Lina Veris 🖋️ — 7
Seren's eyes filled with tears. "Seven days," Seren whispered, voice breaking. "It's starting."
Mira grabbed Lina tight. Reyon looked like he couldn't breathe.
And at the end of the hall, someone stepped out of the shadows.
Kai.
Same uniform. Same face.
But his smile was wrong. Too smooth. Too calm.
He looked at Lina like he was looking through her, not at her.
And in Lina's stolen voice, he said softly, like a greeting.
"Hi, Lina."
Lina's whole body went cold.
Because Kai never called her "Lina" like that.
Not in that tone.
Not with that smile.
Not after being taken.
~End of Book 1~
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
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