Chapter 7 - ch7:The Shadow in the Alley

The alley smelled of rain and ash. Liora moved silently behind Kael, her boots leaving no mark on the wet stones. Every instinct screamed danger."Stay close," Kael whispered. "It can mimic what you fear most."The shadow surged forward suddenly, a blur of black glass fragments forming a shape too human to be natural. It mirrored her own face — her childhood face, terrified and alone."Do not run," the whisper urged. See it. Know it.Liora forced herself to stare. The mirrored shadow snarled and lunged, and she felt a pull in her chest — the same pull she had felt years ago when she had first sealed her Sight."You control it!" Kael shouted, stepping forward. "Own it!"She clenched her fists, and the shadow froze mid-air. Her vision fractured into kaleidoscope fragments, and through the shards, she saw every fear, every lost memory. And for the first time, she embraced it instead of fleeing.A burst of light erupted from her hands. The shadow shrieked, then shattered into tiny glass shards that dissolved into the night.Breathless, Liora looked at Kael. "I… I did it?""Yes," he said, but his tone was grave. "But they will not stop. Not yet. That was only the beginning."The whisper hummed, almost triumphant: You remember. You fight. You will see them all.And somewhere, in the city below, something stirred — larger, older, hungrier than anything Liora had faced before