The Mirror That Lied
Cuco stared at the mirror.
His reflection didn't follow him anymore.
It smiled when he didn't.
It blinked when he didn't.
And when he turned away...
It kept facing him.
He stepped back, slow and careful.
Then the reflection moved—not like a person, but like ink slipping through water. Its mark glowed black and gold, and veins of shadow crept up its neck like vines crawling toward the light.
"You feel it too, don't you?" it said, voice low and crawling. "The crack in your soul."
Cuco's breath caught. "You're not me."
The mirror-version tilted its head. "But I will be. I'm just… faster."
It lifted its hand and pressed its palm to the glass.
Cuco's mark burned.
Then—
The mirror shattered from the inside.
Glass exploded outward. Cuco threw up his arms as a force hurled him backward.
When he looked up…
The mirror was gone.
No reflection.
Just the dark of his room—and the window flung open, curtains whipping like wings.
Then—
A voice behind him.
"You're not ready for that."
Cuco spun.
Isabela stood in the corner.
Same girl. Different energy.
Her eyes glowed faint violet, and in her hand she held a curved blade—shimmering like moonlight trapped in metal, forged from broken promises.
"You almost let it in," she said, stepping closer.
"You said I was the gate," Cuco whispered.
"I said it's inside you," she replied. "But that doesn't mean you have to open it."
He stared at her, trembling. "Why are you helping me now?"
She didn't answer right away.
Then softly:
"Because I remember what it feels like… to still believe you can choose."
Suddenly—
CRASH.
The window flew open again. A gust of shadow stormed in, curling like smoke around something solid.
Something snarling.
A new Hollow One.
But this one was different.
It wore a body—a face Cuco knew.
Linux.
Eyes hollow. Jaw unhinged. Hands like blades. His mouth opened—and the sound that came out wasn't human.
Cuco staggered.
Isabela moved first.
She hurled the blade.
It sang through the air and struck the creature in the shoulder, pinning it to the wall.
Cuco stood frozen.
"Move!" she yelled.
He dove behind his desk just as Linux-Hollow writhed, dark smoke pouring from its wound.
Isabela grabbed Cuco's hand, pulled him close.
"Listen. It's not just about fighting them anymore."
The creature roared, tearing the blade loose.
The wall cracked.
Isabela pressed her forehead to Cuco's.
"There's more than one gate," she whispered. "And you're not the only Key left."
She raised her hand.
A symbol flared between them—hovering in the air like fire on glass:
A circle inside a triangle.
Inside a burning eye.
"Find the others," she said. "Before the First Dreamer finds you."
Then she slammed her palm into Cuco's chest—
And the world went white.