When the mirror cracks, the soul inside may bleed out.
Linhai – Abandoned Armory in Ruins
The lanterns shattered like bone china.
Dust billowed into the air as shadows twisted unnaturally across the walls.
Mok froze mid-step, hand trembling on the tea flask. Yue Qingshi dropped low, sliding behind a splintered weapon rack, her veil shimmering faintly with activated lunar qi.
Rael didn't flinch.
He stepped forward into the darkness, scythe in hand.
From the shadows, a figure emerged — cloaked in robes sewn from strips of pale skin, a cracked bone mask covering the lower half of his face.
Crimson glyphs pulsed faintly along the figure's arms. Two more silhouettes flanked him.
They made no sound.
But their intent spoke louder than any words.
> [System Prompt: Mirror Seers Detected]
[Warning: Soul-affliction probability > 70%]
[Current Qi: 47/60 | Condition: Stable]
Rael's eyes narrowed.
> "They're not here to test. They're here to break me."
---
Yue Qingshi – Defensive Analysis
From her cover, Qingshi gauged the opponents.
Three. No visible weapons. But their robes had tight formation threading — defensive enchantments? Or something else?
She summoned a ribbon of Lunar Qi, tying it to her pulse.
Emotion Binding.
> "I'll slow the left and bind the heart of the middle. You take the right," she whispered through their link.
Rael didn't nod. Didn't need to.
He was already moving.
---
Rael – Shadow Step and Strike
His foot slammed the ground with controlled force, launching him forward. The scythe arced like a whisper of moonless death.
The right-most Seer dodged — but barely.
Rael's blade caught the edge of his mask, carving a fracture through bone.
Blood hissed into mist. The Seer hissed like a pierced kettle, then retaliated by unleashing a ripple of soul-stunning energy.
Rael blinked once—
And dropped flat.
The wave passed overhead, turning wall stone to powder.
He rolled forward, inside the Seer's guard, then slammed the blunt end of his scythe into the Seer's knee.
> [Effect: Joint Disruption Successful]
[Enemy Movement Reduced by 52% for 14 seconds]
Then he sliced across the exposed chest.
One down.
---
Mok – Fear and Awakening
Across the hall, Mok screamed.
Not in terror, but in instinct.
One of the Seers had slipped through a shadow fissure and appeared behind the boy, hand outstretched, fingers like claws of glass.
Yue Qingshi turned too late.
Rael was already sprinting.
But he wouldn't make it in time.
And yet—
Mok raised both hands.
A flicker of red Qi — unstable, raw, unfocused — surged around him.
The Seer recoiled, a curse half-formed on its tongue.
Rael slammed his scythe between them, a wide sweep that tore across the floor, cracking tiles.
> [Qi Surge Detected in Disciple: Mok]
[Bloodline Trait: Unawakened – Dormant Potential Noted]
[Soul Reaction Link: 3% Sync Established]
Rael stared at the boy.
"Mok. Later."
The boy, dazed, nodded.
---
Yue Qingshi – Moon Fang Technique
The third Seer, the leader — Vaol — summoned a mirror of blood behind him. Its surface rippled with Rael's reflection.
Qingshi acted fast.
She darted up the broken pillar, landed mid-air on a step of condensed qi, and hurled a crescent moon of energy at the mirror.
> [Technique: Moon Fang – Petal Cut Formation]
[Damage: High | Speed: Extreme | Emotion Binding Layer: Active]
The mirror cracked. Not enough to shatter. But the reflection of Rael flickered.
Vaol hissed. His voice, echoing with two tones, rasped:
> "He's shifting…"
> "His reflection is unstable…"
> "Kill him before it settles!"
He raised his hands—
And from the mirror, a duplicate of Rael stepped out.
---
Rael vs. Reflection
It was… him.
Same height. Same eyes.
But colder.
It moved without hesitation — no breath wasted, no mercy behind the swings.
Scythe met scythe.
Blade sang against blade.
Rael ducked. The Reflection predicted. He twisted. The Reflection mirrored.
But Rael… learned.
Every motion, he adjusted.
Every clash, he read patterns.
He feinted a wide horizontal arc—then pivoted and stabbed backward with the end of the scythe.
The Reflection parried.
That's when Yue's Qi ribbon wrapped around the Reflection's neck.
> [Emotion Lock – Applied: Regret]
[Internal Conflict Detected]
For a moment — just one — the Reflection's eyes shimmered.
Rael whispered, "I don't regret."
And drove the scythe straight through its chest.
> [Mirror Construct: Shattered]
---
Aftermath – Cracked and Breathing
The mirror exploded in a burst of red mist.
The Bone Seers shrieked — or tried to.
Yue Qingshi's final moon-blade silenced the last.
Mok collapsed.
Rael stood still.
Breathing hard.
> [You have slain: Bone Mirror Construct (x1)]
[You have slain: Mirror Seer (x2)]
[You have gained: Mirror Ash | Soul Fragment: Unstable Introspect]
[Temporary Trait Acquired: Dual Perception (Passive – 24 hrs)]
[Warning: Overuse may cause identity dissociation]
Rael exhaled slowly.
His scythe lowered.
Yue sat beside Mok, checking his pulse. She nodded. "He's stable. No damage to the core."
Rael looked down at his hands.
Blood. Again.
Always blood.
---
Later That Night – Shrine Steps
They sat quietly beneath the stars.
Mok slept beside a small fire, curled in borrowed cloth.
Qingshi looked at Rael.
"You okay?"
"No."
"Will you be?"
"Eventually."
She passed him a bottle of bitter rice wine.
"You saw yourself today."
Rael drank.
"Yeah. Didn't like what I saw."
Qingshi leaned her head on his shoulder.
"You're not him."
"You sure?"
"No," she whispered. "But I still choose to believe it."
He didn't move.
But he didn't pull away, either.