Elira backed away slowly as the cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows. His presence was suffocating — like cold air wrapping around her lungs, making it hard to breathe.
Then the hood fell.
And she saw his face.
Pale, sharp, almost ageless. Eyes glowing red with flecks of gold, lips curled in a half-smile that didn't reach his eyes. His black hair flowed like smoke, and the skin around his temples shimmered with faint runes, almost like tattoos carved by magic itself.
"You…" she whispered. "You're Malveric right. Elric told me about you, your betrayel and appearance."
He gave a dramatic bow, his voice smooth like velvet soaked in poison.
"At last, the Mirrorbound speaks my name."
"You… you're the one corrupting Kael. You're the reason the prince—"
"Elric," he cut in. "The boy with a crown too big for his head. He doesn't deserve the power he was born into."
Elira swallowed hard. "You betrayed the royal family. You turned their dragon into a monster—why? What did they ever do to you?"
Malveric's smile widened.
"What all kings do when they feel threatened — they banished me. Cast me out like a stray hound. I was once their closest scholar. Their advisor. Their friend. I even raised Kael alongside Lysandra."
"Then why—"
"Because I learned the truth," he said, voice suddenly colder. "About the mirror. About you. About what lies between realms. And I realized… the throne isn't where power belongs. The mirror is."
Elira's pulse raced.
"You… knew about me before I even got here."
Malveric stepped closer.
"You are more than just a girl who stumbled through glass, Elira. You were meant to arrive. The mirror doesn't choose at random. It chooses potential."
"Potential for what?"
His eyes glowed brighter.
"Greatness. Power. To shape worlds. To rule them."
He extended his hand.
"Help me kill the Crowned Prince. And I will teach you everything. You'll never be weak again. You'll never be confused, locked away, forgotten. You'll command fire and shadow — and your name will echo across time."
Elira's lips parted in disbelief.
"You want me to murder Elric?"
Malveric's grin deepened.
"He is the only thread left holding this cursed kingdom together. Cut him out of the tapestry — and it's yours to weave anew."
Elira took a step back, heart pounding, voice shaking.
"You're insane."
Malveric tilted his head.
"Maybe. But I'm not wrong."
She turned toward the mirror again, where Elric's image still flickered — now bleeding, barely standing, yet still fighting with fire in his eyes.
"You don't understand him," she said.
"And you don't understand yourself, Elira," Malveric said softly. "Not yet. But soon... you will."
The shadows around him rippled like waves of ink.
"Make your choice. Because the mirror won't stay open forever."
And with that, he vanished into smoke, leaving Elira alone…
With a choice.