The forest grew silent.
Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Lianna stepped deeper into the heart of the woods, where silver mist hung heavy, glowing faintly like starlight caught between branches. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears, loud enough to drown out her fear. The moonlight spilled through the trees, illuminating a narrow path made of obsidian stones — the path of forgotten souls.
Every step she took made the air colder. The further she went, the more the shadows around her began to move — whispering in voices that weren't quite human.
"Amara…"
She froze. The name brushed past her like a ghost.
"Who's there?"
The mist thickened, taking shape — long, slender figures emerging from the dark. They looked like people carved from smoke, their faces flickering in and out of sight.
"Who walks the path of the condemned?" one voice hissed. "Who dares to seek the Mirror that remembers?"
Lianna steadied her breath. "I am Lianna Vale. I've come for the Immortal King."
The shadow tilted its head, studying her. "The King of Blood and Fire? His debt cannot be undone."
"I'm not here to undo it," she said, gripping her pendant tightly. "I'm here to pay it."
The forest fell utterly quiet. The shadows murmured to one another, a language older than time. Then, one by one, they parted, revealing a clearing ahead — vast and hollow, where moonlight touched a single structure: a mirror, tall and ancient, framed in crystal and bone.
Its surface wasn't reflective — it pulsed like water, rippling with every beat of her heart.
She stepped closer, and her reflection shifted.
It wasn't Lianna staring back — it was Amara.
Golden eyes. A white veil. The same pendant glowing brighter at her throat.
Lianna's breath hitched. "No… no, that's not me…"
But the reflection smiled sadly.
"You are me. You always have been."
A thousand memories flickered — temples bathed in blood, vows whispered under dying stars, Kairen's hand reaching for hers as fire consumed them both.
She stumbled back, clutching her head. "Stop it! I don't want to remember this!"
The voice within the mirror softened. "You can't change what you are. But you can choose what to become."
Her tears burned. "Then tell me how to save him!"
The mirror's light dimmed, and a shape began to form within it — Kairen, pale and broken, his crimson eyes closed, shadows crawling up his arms like living chains.
"He's fading," she whispered.
The reflection of Amara stepped closer to the glass. "To bring him back, you must give what you once took."
"What I took?"
"The soul-bond. You broke it once before to save him. Now you must restore it. But know this — when you do, one of you will cease to exist."
Lianna froze. "What do you mean?"
Amara's reflection looked almost human now, her voice trembling like wind against glass. "A mortal heart cannot carry two souls. The Mirror will choose which one remains."
Lianna's throat tightened. "Then it will take me. It has to take me."
The reflection didn't smile this time. "It doesn't work that way. You don't get to decide who dies for love."
Suddenly, the ground beneath her shook violently. The air shimmered, and a dark fissure opened near the mirror. From it poured smoke — black, sentient, crawling across the ground like spilled ink.
A voice boomed from the rift — deep, hollow, ancient.
"You should not have come here, child of the cursed flame."
Lianna stumbled back, covering her ears as the sound filled her head. "Who—who are you?"
"I am the Keeper of What Was Lost. The guardian of the Mirror. You bring with you a soul that has defied death. Twice."
The smoke rose higher, forming the outline of a man — faceless, cloaked in chains of light.
"I don't care what you are!" Lianna shouted over the roar. "I won't leave without him!"
The Keeper's laugh was like thunder. "Then you are as foolish as she was."
He raised a hand, and the air shattered. Invisible force slammed into Lianna, throwing her across the clearing. She hit the ground hard, pain exploding through her ribs. The pendant at her neck blazed, releasing a burst of golden light that deflected the next strike.
She gasped, realizing something — the light wasn't coming from her. It was coming from within.
A second heartbeat pulsed beneath her skin — steady, strong, ancient.
"Amara…" she whispered, trembling.
The voice inside her replied faintly. "Then let me fight for once. Let me protect what we both love."
Her hands began to glow, veins of gold spreading up her arms. The air around her crackled with raw power, ancient and divine.
The Keeper hesitated, his form flickering. "Impossible… You are not supposed to exist anymore."
Lianna — no, Amara — rose to her feet, eyes blazing gold and blue. "Neither are you."
And with that, she struck.
Light collided with shadow, ripping through the clearing as the Mirror screamed.
The battle for fate had begun.
---
The explosion of light tore through the clearing like a second dawn. The forest shuddered as centuries-old trees bowed under the force of the energy that burst from the Mirror's heart.
Lianna — or perhaps Amara — stood in the eye of the storm, her cloak in tatters, her hair whipping around her face. Golden light poured from her veins, searing the air with every movement. The Keeper loomed above her, an immortal shadow bound by chains of starlight, his faceless form trembling beneath her power.
"You cannot win," he thundered. "You are a memory — a flicker of what once was!"
Amara's eyes glowed brighter. "Then remember me."
She raised her hands, and a ring of ancient sigils ignited beneath her feet. They pulsed like a heartbeat — her heartbeat — connecting her soul to the Mirror. The symbols rose into the air, spinning faster and faster until the entire clearing pulsed with divine light.
From far beyond, in a forgotten chamber where Alaric kept vigil beside Kairen's body, the Immortal King's chest convulsed. His breath hitched sharply — eyes flashing open, crimson and wild.
He gasped. "Lianna…"
Alaric shot up. "Stay down! You're not strong enough to—"
But Kairen was already gone, his body dissolving into smoke and flame, pulled across the realms like a thread being yanked taut.
Back in the Shadow Realm, Amara faltered — the light around her flickered as the Keeper's voice thundered again.
"You would defy the gods for him once more?"
She bared her teeth. "No. I defy fate."
The Keeper spread his arms, and chains of darkness erupted from his chest, snaking through the air toward her. They struck her midair, wrapping around her wrists and throat, pulling tight until she could barely breathe.
"Submit, child of fire. The Mirror is not meant for you."
Amara struggled, every breath tearing her apart. Her mortal body was breaking under the divine strain. Blood trickled from her nose, but her gaze burned fierce and unyielding.
"I'm not asking for its permission," she spat.
Her pendant — the same one she'd carried since birth — cracked, releasing a blinding surge of golden fire that blasted through the chains. The Mirror pulsed violently, its surface rippling like a storm-tossed sea.
Then, with a roar that echoed through every world, Kairen appeared.
He landed on one knee beside her, smoke and embers still clinging to his form. His crimson eyes locked on her immediately. "Liana."
She exhaled in relief — her body shaking. "You shouldn't have come."
He reached for her hand. "You knew I would."
The Keeper's laughter rumbled through the ground. "Two souls. One destiny. How poetic — and how foolish."
Dark energy rose around him, spreading like a tide. "If the Mirror cannot choose, then I will."
He thrust his arm forward, and a torrent of black fire erupted toward them. Kairen pulled Lianna into his arms, conjuring a crimson barrier — flames spiraling upward to deflect the blast. But the impact sent them both sprawling across the ground.
Kairen coughed blood, his body smoking from the backlash. "You… shouldn't have followed me here."
Lianna smiled weakly. "You say that every time we die together."
He froze, his breath catching. "You remember."
Tears glistened in her eyes. "Not everything. Just enough to hate that we never learn."
Kairen touched her cheek gently. "Maybe this time, we can."
Before she could answer, the Mirror's surface cracked — spiderwebs of light racing across its glass. The Keeper recoiled, his form wavering. "No! You cannot—"
But it was too late. The Mirror had awakened fully.
A voice echoed through the clearing — ancient and soft, like the sound of time itself.
"Two hearts bound by flame. One must burn so the other may live."
Lianna clutched Kairen's hand. "No. There has to be another way."
The Mirror's glow deepened. "There never is."
Kairen turned to her, his eyes fierce but calm. "Then let it take me."
She shook her head furiously. "No! Not again! I won't lose you again!"
He smiled faintly — the same bittersweet curve of his lips that haunted every one of her dreams. "You were never meant to save me, Lianna. You were meant to free me."
And before she could stop him, he pressed his palm to the cracked surface of the Mirror. The world screamed. Light and darkness exploded outward, blinding, consuming everything.
"KAIREN!"
The force threw her back, and she hit the ground hard, gasping for air. When she looked up — he was gone. The Mirror had gone still, its surface smooth and clear again.
Only her reflection stared back.
Only Amara.
She reached out, trembling. "No…"
The reflection smiled gently, placing a hand against the glass from the other side. "This is how it always ends."
Lianna's tears fell freely. "Then let it end differently."
She stood, pressing her own hand against the Mirror. "I won't let you take him. Not this time."
The glass shimmered — and cracked again.
From deep within, a faint whisper reached her.
Kairen: "You still owe me one dance."
Her heart broke open — light pouring from every wound.
The forest around her dissolved, and the Mirror shattered completely, swallowing her in blinding brilliance.
When the light faded, she was gone.
Only silence remained.
Only the echo of two names — whispered together.
---
❓️❓️❓️❓️❓️
If love keeps crossing time — even when fate destroys everything it touches —
is it still a blessing… or the most beautiful curse ever written?