The door opened again.
This time it was not pride or anger that stepped through. It was a young man with shoulders hunched and eyes that would not rise from the ground. His clothes were plain, his shoes scuffed, and his hands trembled as if still stained by something unseen.
"My name is Thomas Grey," he said in a thin, uneven voice. "I… I think I know why I am here."
Lyra leaned forward slightly, her heart softening. The guilt in his eyes was plain, raw and heavy. She had seen anger, she had seen defiance, but guilt was something that carried its own chains.
Kaelen's voice was calm as always. "You are here to be judged."
Thomas nodded quickly, his fingers twisting together. "I do not want to fight that. I deserve it. I know I do."
Lyra's brows furrowed. "What is it you think you deserve?"
Thomas finally raised his eyes. Tears were already pooling. "I killed someone. I killed my little brother."
Lyra gasped softly. Her hand rose to her mouth. "Your brother?"
Thomas nodded again, his voice breaking. "It was not on purpose. We grew up poor. I worked, I tried to keep him safe. He was younger by three years, always following me, always trusting me. I should have protected him." His body shook. "Instead I gave him the rope that hung him."
The mirror rose behind him, tall and still. Its surface rippled before clearing.
The reflection showed two boys, one tall and one smaller. They laughed together, their faces filled with a light the room itself never carried. Then the scene shifted.
The older boy, Thomas, held a bottle in his hand. His friends crowded around, daring him to drink, daring him to prove he was brave. He laughed, tried to impress them. His younger brother tugged at his arm, begging him to go home.
The mirror shifted again. Thomas shoved the bottle into his brother's hand, laughing, telling him to try. The younger boy shook his head, but the others cheered. Pressure mounted. Finally, the boy drank.
The scene twisted. Hours later, the boy lay still in bed. His lips were blue, his chest no longer rising. Thomas sat on the floor beside him, his face hollow with horror.
Lyra pressed her hand against her heart. "He trusted you."
Thomas's voice cracked. "I know. I know he did. I thought it was nothing. I thought it was just fun. I did not know it would kill him. He looked at me with those eyes, even as he took the sip, like he believed in me. And then he was gone."
Tears ran freely down his cheeks. He gripped the table, shaking. "I never forgave myself. I never wanted to live after that. Every day I woke up and wished I had been the one who drank instead. I begged the world to take me. And now it has."
The mirror flickered once more, showing years of his life afterwards. Thomas walked alone, head low, avoiding friends, avoiding family. He sat in dark rooms, clutching photos, whispering apologies into the silence.
Kaelen studied him carefully. "You carried your guilt."
Thomas's eyes snapped to him. "I carried nothing. My brother carried me, and I dropped him. I do not want forgiveness. I do not deserve light. If there is a pit, if there is fire, throw me into it. At least then I will pay."
Lyra's voice trembled. "Thomas, you were young. You did not know. You have punished yourself more than anyone ever could."
Thomas shook his head. "Punishment is not enough. He is still gone. I do not care what you see in that mirror. I know what I am. I am a murderer."
Kaelen stood silent for a moment. His eyes lingered on the boy in the mirror, the trust in his younger brother's smile. For a heartbeat, his own past flickered in his mind, though he buried it quickly.
Finally, he spoke. "The mirror weighs what is in the heart. It shows the truth that cannot be hidden."
Thomas slammed his hands down on the table. "Then weigh me and cast me down. Do not waste time."
Lyra stepped closer, her eyes wet. "Thomas, your guilt is proof of your humanity. Monsters feel nothing. You feel everything. That is not damnation. That is the seed of light."
Thomas turned to her, broken. "Do you really think he forgives me? Do you really think he would welcome me if I stepped into the light? Or would he turn his back like I turned mine?"
Lyra's tears spilt. "I believe he would forgive. He loved you. Love does not die."
The room was silent except for Thomas's shaking breaths.
Kaelen raised his hand. "Your soul has been weighed."
Thomas shut his eyes tight. He whispered, "Let it end."
The mirror glowed softly. The door of light opened behind him, spilling warmth across the cold room.
Thomas's eyes opened slowly. His lips trembled. "The light?"
Lyra smiled through her tears. "Yes. Go to him."
For the first time since he had entered, Thomas's face broke into something like peace. He turned toward the light. His steps were slow, hesitant, but each one steadied him more. Before the glow took him, he whispered, "Thank you."
Then he was gone. The door closed. The mirror faded. Silence returned.
Lyra wiped her cheeks, her voice unsteady. "That one… that one hurt."
Kaelen lowered his hand. His face was still calm, but inside a shadow stirred. Guilt, he thought. It had a taste he remembered.
From above, Aurelius's voice poured down, heavy as stone.
"Be wary, Kaelen. Guilt is a chain that can fool even the sharpest eye. Do not let pity cloud your hand."
Lyra looked upward, anger burning in her eyes. "It was not pity. It was true."
Aurelius's voice rumbled. "Truth is what I decide it to be. Remember that."
The sound faded, leaving only silence once more.
Kaelen stood still. Lyra watched him, wondering if the chains Aurelius spoke of did not already weigh on him.
The bottles glowed faintly, each one pulsing with its silent echo.
And the door waited.