[Dawn – Forest Clearing]
Birds didn't sing here.
The forest was too quiet—like the trees were holding their breath.
Elira's blade stayed close to her hand.
Naia's lightning sparked without command.
The Violet girl walked behind them, her steps always soundless.
And Coker…
Coker felt it.
Something wrong.
Something watching.
"Anyone else feel like we're walking into a trap?" he asked.
"Yes," all three said at once.
Coker blinked. "Wow. That's comforting."
They reached a clearing littered with shattered glass.
But there was no reflection.
No light.
Only the air, humming.
Then a whisper.
"Cokerrrrr…"
He turned fast.
And froze.
Staring back at him, just a few steps away—
Was himself.
Same eyes. Same face. Same broken grin.
Except this version had no pupils.
And his red mark bled like an open wound.
Naia gasped. "Behind us—!"
They turned.
More figures stepped into the clearing.
A second Naia.
A second Elira.
Even a Violet Girl with glowing violet cracks across her face.
Each one twisted, broken… wrong.
And from the shadows stepped the real monster.
The Mirror Man.
Draped in black silk. Face covered in glass shards. A body like fog stitched into shape.
He clapped slowly.
"Vessels," he hissed. "Three stars in the same sky. How lucky I am to watch you break."
Elira raised her blade. "Illusions?"
"Reflections," Mirror Man replied. "But they bleed like you."
He snapped his fingers.
SLASH.
Coker's copy lunged at him, blades of red energy forming in its fists.
Coker blocked on instinct—
And felt a real sting.
"That thing hit me!"
Naia dodged her own double, who fought like a storm gone rabid.
Violet Girl was already mid-air, clashing with her cracked counterpart—her eyes now glowing bright violet in fury.
Coker fought hard, but it was like punching a twisted version of his own fears.
The copy laughed like he did.
Moved like he did.
But whispered things he never said aloud:
"You're not the chosen one. You're just a replacement."
"Kael failed. So will you."
"You'll burn them all."
He screamed, punching the copy back into a tree.
"Shut UP!"
Naia yelled across the battlefield, "Don't listen to them! They're reading your fears!"
Coker panted, wiping blood from his lip.
"Easy for you to say—yours isn't talking smack!"
Naia flipped, kicked her double into the dirt, and growled, "Mine tried."
Elira fought with surgical calm, slicing through her reflection with precise counters—but even she was sweating now.
"They're learning," she said.
Violet Girl—still nameless—was the first to finish hers.
She held her cracked double by the throat.
It hissed, "You don't even know who you are."
She whispered back:
"But I know who I'm not."
SNAP.
The copy shattered into violet mist.
Coker charged his copy, pushing past the noise, the fear, the guilt.
He didn't care who Kael was.
He didn't care what the mark meant.
He only cared that his friends were still standing.
With a roar, he landed a glowing punch into the copy's chest—
The mark on his hand burning brighter than ever.
BOOM!
The reflection exploded in light.
Mirror Man hissed, stepping back.
"No no no… you're not ready yet."
Naia and Violet flanked him.
Coker raised his hand. "Your mirror tricks are done."
But Mirror Man just smiled.
"You broke your own illusions. How clever."
He looked at Coker, his face warping.
"But what happens when you see the real one?"
And then—
He twisted into Kael.
Coker's jaw clenched.
Naia gasped.
The demon's eyes gleamed.
"Still think you're not him?"
A pulse of black energy shot out from the trees.
It hit Mirror Man square in the chest—
SHRAKK!
And launched him across the clearing.
The demon slammed into a tree and vanished in a burst of smoke and shards.
Everyone turned.
Standing there, calm and silent—
Was Kairo.
The Fourth Vessel.
He looked at them, mark flickering on his skin.
"You're not ready," he said. "But I'll give you time."
Then he turned to leave.
Coker stepped forward. "Wait! Why did you help us?"
Kairo paused.
"Because he was lying.
And you're not Kael."
He looked at Violet Girl.
"And neither was your mother."