---
It started with a bell.
Not one rung by hand—but shattered by force.
The northern gate of Aerenthal exploded inward in a storm of smoke and iron. Screams erupted as shadows poured through the breach—cloaked figures bearing the Eclipse sigil, faces masked in bone.
"Ambush," Seris spat, already drawing twin knives. "They waited until the guard rotated."
Riven was already moving.
---
By the time he reached the city center, flames licked the sky, curling along rooftops like serpents. Arrows flew from balconies. Steel clanged in alleys.
Kael appeared beside him, eyes wide. "They came for you."
"No," Riven said, eyes narrowing. "They came for Lyra's message."
---
From the smoke emerged a man clad in obsidian armor, blade curved like a crescent moon. His cloak shimmered—not with shadow, but reflections.
A Mirror Knight of the Eclipse Order.
Riven stopped cold.
He'd heard of them—duelists trained to mimic and distort their enemy's movements, using mirror Seals to anticipate attacks and counter them before they happened.
The man bowed mockingly.
"Riven Caelthorn. The Ashborn."
His voice echoed—not just in the air, but inside Riven's mind.
"Let me show you how fragile your flame truly is."
---
Riven lunged first, Ashrend flashing in a clean arc of flame.
The Mirror Knight didn't dodge.
He mirrored.
A sword of identical weight and form met Riven's blow perfectly—angle for angle, step for step.
They clashed again.
And again.
Each strike came back to Riven like a reflection.
A test.
A warning.
Kael stepped forward—but Riven raised a hand.
"No. Let me."
He activated the Seal of Sand.
Time slowed.
His foot pivoted early, blade feinted left—he struck toward the Knight's ribs.
But the Knight blurred—and matched him anyway.
Not just mimicry.
Prediction.
---
> "He's reading you," Veyron whispered. "Your patterns. Your emotions."
"Then I'll give him chaos."
Riven stepped back, letting go of rhythm.
He activated Echo—and sent a false version of his last move again, letting the mirrored version fall into a loop.
He ducked low, slid beneath the parry—and slashed across the Knight's thigh.
Blood. Real.
The Knight growled.
"You learn fast."
"I've had good teachers."
---
Around them, the battle raged.
Kael fought two Eclipse scouts alone, blade dripping, one arm already cut.
On the balcony above, Seris was surrounded by smoke-dancers—spellcasters with trailing ink magic—but still holding ground.
And then—
> Riven saw her.
A white-haired girl in red robes.
Watching.
Lyra.
No weapon. No command.
Just eyes.
Eyes that screamed "Do not fall."
---
The Knight roared, slamming his blade into the ground.
Shards of mirror exploded from the earth, surrounding Riven.
Each shard reflected a different version of him.
One broken.
One enraged.
One alone.
The Knight entered the mirrors—and suddenly there were four of him, all moving in sync.
> "A full Mirror Seal," Veyron said grimly. "He's split his consciousness."
> "So will I."
Riven slammed his palm to the ground.
Seal of Flame. Echo. Sand.
He chained them.
Three afterimages split from his body—two dashing wide, one feinting from above.
He attacked all four Knights in tandem.
Steel screeched.
One mirror shattered.
Then another.
He caught the real one as the Knight hesitated half a breath too long.
Ashrend pierced his shoulder.
Fire roared through the wound.
---
The Mirror Knight fell to one knee.
Breathing ragged.
"You… are not what they promised," he whispered.
Riven raised his blade.
"I'm what they feared."
One clean strike.
And it was over.
---
Kael rushed to his side, blood on his arm, eyes wild.
"You good?"
"Fine."
Seris limped over next, flanked by two guards.
"We've held the city. Barely."
Riven's eyes searched the rooftops.
But Lyra was gone.
---
Later that night, Kael sat beside a candle in a ruined corridor.
He held a wooden carving in his palm.
A bird.
Its wings cracked.
Its tail chipped.
---
> Flashback begins.
Rain. A broken roof. Lyra spinning barefoot in the storm.
Kael laughing softly. "You'll catch fever."
"I'll catch the clouds!"
A tiny cottage. Two children alone.
A final moment of peace.
> Flashback ends.
---
He closed his hand around the carving.
"I'll save you," he whispered.
"No matter what you've become."
---