Rin Tohsaka explained everything with a smile that did not belong on a human face.
It was the kind of smile adults wore when they were about to say something that would permanently ruin a child's understanding of the world—and felt justified doing so.
"Class Cards," Rin said, pacing Illya's bedroom as if it were a lecture hall instead of a pastel-colored sanctuary of stuffed animals and posters. Her heels clicked sharply against the floor, each step measured. Controlled. "Seven of them. Each one contains the spirit of a Heroic Servant."
Illya sat on her bed, knees drawn to her chest, fingers digging into the hem of her nightshirt. Ruby hovered at her shoulder, spinning lazily, gem glittering with smug pride.
"…Heroic what?" Illya asked weakly.
Rin stopped pacing and turned, pointing a finger like she was calling on a student who had clearly not done the reading.
"Heroes. Legends. People who shouldn't exist anymore," Rin said. "Pulled from another system. Another ritual. Another world. Not meant to be here."
Ruby tilted itself midair. "Technically stolen," it chimed brightly. "Very rude of them, honestly."
Rin shot the Kaleidostick a glare sharp enough to cut glass. "You were assigned to me."
"And yet," Ruby sang, spinning once, "fate chose Illya!"
Illya squeaked. "Please don't use words like fate so casually!"
Rin exhaled slowly and rubbed her temples, as if warding off a migraine that had Illya's face.
"Regardless," Rin continued, voice flattening into professionalism, "the Archer Card has already been secured. The remaining six are still loose. If left alone, they will eventually manifest."
She paused deliberately.
"Violently."
Illya's throat tightened.
"…So," she asked, barely above a whisper, "what happens to me?"
Rin looked at her fully then. Not as a nuisance. Not as a tool.
As an answer.
"You help me collect them."
The room fell silent.
Even Ruby stopped spinning.
Illya opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Her heart raced. Her mind screamed. Every instinct she had—every normal, reasonable instinct—rose up in rebellion.
Then she said, very clearly, "I refuse."
Ruby flashed.
The gem at its center pulsed violently.
A sharp spark leapt outward.
Illya gasped as her body locked up completely, muscles seizing, breath catching painfully in her chest.
"CONTRACT OBLIGATION ACCEPTED!" Ruby declared cheerfully.
"That's not accepting!" Illya cried, eyes watering.
"That's semantics!"
Rin turned away, already reaching for the door, clearly finished with the discussion.
"Get some sleep," she said. "Tomorrow's a school day."
⸻
At school the next morning, Illya's forehead met her desk with a soft, defeated thump.
Sleep deprivation was cruel.
Magical girl initiation was worse.
Her classmates' chatter blurred into noise. Numbers on the board meant nothing. Her pen traced meaningless shapes in her notebook as her thoughts replayed mirrors, light, pain, and words like Heroic Servant that refused to sound real.
She barely noticed when a note slid into her locker later that day.
Pink paper.
Neatly folded.
Her heart skipped.
"…A love letter?"
Her hands trembled as she unfolded it.
Meet me at midnight.
Do not be late.
—R. T.
Her soul left her body.
⸻
Midnight arrived far too quickly.
Illya stood alone in the park, breath puffing out in small white clouds, jacket far too thin for the cold. The swings creaked softly in the wind. Streetlights flickered.
Every shadow looked like something waiting to move.
Rin stepped out of the darkness like she belonged there.
"You came," she said.
"I didn't have a choice!" Illya snapped.
"Good," Rin replied without shame. "Transform."
"…Here?!"
Rin gestured toward a nearby public restroom. "Bathroom's over there."
⸻
The world shattered into glass.
Ruby's magic tore reality sideways, mirrors unfolding into mirrors, reflections multiplying endlessly. The city twisted, emptied, silenced.
The Mirror World.
Illya's boots hit the pavement.
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
The air felt heavy—compressed, as though something immense were pressing down on it.
Something moved.
A silhouette stepped forward.
Tall.
Armored.
Female.
A presence that crushed the space around it simply by existing.
"Rider," Rin muttered.
She hurled lightning.
It struck.
And did nothing.
Rider advanced.
Each step echoed like a verdict.
Illya screamed and fired.
Light tore through the street, exploding against Rider's chest.
It hit.
Rider staggered.
But did not fall.
"Again!" Ruby urged.
Illya fired again—harder, louder, desperate.
Still not enough.
Rider raised her arm.
Mana surged.
The world screamed—
And then—
A spear of crimson light split the sky.
Time froze.
Rider's body shattered like glass.
The card fell.
Silence reclaimed the Mirror World.
A girl stood where Rider had been.
Black uniform.
Blue hair.
Eyes calm.
Cold.
Watching.
Illya stared, frozen.
"…Who are you?"
The girl did not answer.
She turned.
And vanished.
The card drifted gently into Illya's hands.
⸻
Later, long after explanations ended, Illya finally slept.
In the quiet house, her twin brother sat alone at the table.
The air still felt wrong.
Not dangerous.
Familiar.
Like something brushing against a sealed door inside his chest.
A girl with a spear.
A fallen Rider.
A battlefield he could almost see.
His hand clenched unconsciously.
"…Not yet," he murmured, to no one.
Outside—
The mirror cracked.