The ancient gate groaned open as Riku, Aria, and Kaito stepped into the underground vault beneath Aetherion's oldest temple. The air was thick with dust, magic, and something older—something watching.
Blue crystal torches lit themselves one by one along the curved stone walls. The chamber stretched into darkness, etched with symbols Riku couldn't read but felt in his bones.
"This is where Elyra said the first mirror lies," Kaito said, voice low. "Are you ready for this?"
"No," Riku answered honestly, "but I'm going anyway."
As they reached the center of the chamber, a large pedestal pulsed with silver light. A circular mirror floated above it — not made of glass, but of liquid memory. It rippled like water and shimmered like a starfield.
Aria stepped back. "We can't follow. This trial is yours alone."
Riku looked at the mirror, his reflection flickering. But it wasn't just him. It was a younger version of himself — thinner, unsure, in school uniform — standing next to a boy he barely remembered.
Kaito frowned. "That… that was me."
The mirror expanded suddenly, engulfing Riku in light. He was pulled inward like falling through a dream.
---
Inside the Mirror
He landed in a grassy schoolyard under a gray sky. Uniforms. Buses. Bells ringing.
A younger Riku sat alone on a bench. Forgotten. Ignored.
Across the field, children laughed, some bullying a boy with glasses — the same boy from the reflection. Kaito.
Young Riku just watched, saying nothing.
"Why didn't you help him?" a voice asked from behind.
Riku turned and saw his own mirror-self, slightly older, cloaked in black flame, eyes hollow.
"Because I was afraid," Riku admitted.
"Afraid to be different? Afraid to be hurt?" the dark reflection mocked. "So you stayed silent, even when it mattered."
The memory warped. Now Riku was walking home alone. Rain. Screams. Sirens.
His mother in a hospital bed. His father yelling at doctors. And Riku… standing frozen.
Again, the shadow-self sneered. "You never speak. You never act. You just… endure. Like a coward."
Riku clenched his fists. "I was a kid! I didn't know what to do!"
"You still don't."
The shadow lunged at him, merging with the Arcblade in his hand, turning it pitch black.
---
The Battle Within
A sword of light clashed against a sword of regret. Riku fought his mirrored self in a mindscape of flickering memories — each blow releasing echoes of the past.
"You don't belong in this world!" the shadow hissed.
"I didn't choose this world," Riku growled, striking back. "But I won't run from it either."
The final strike came not from strength — but from acceptance. Riku dropped his sword and stepped into the attack.
The shadow pierced him… but then shattered like glass.
---
Back in the Vault
Riku collapsed forward, gasping for breath. Aria caught him.
Kaito helped steady him. "You okay?"
Riku stood slowly, face pale but clear-eyed. "I remember now. The fear. The silence. But I'm done hiding."
The first mirror faded away, and in its place floated a shard — glowing silver now, no longer dark.
"One down," Riku said, voice steady. "Two more to go."
---
Chapter End.