The roar of the crowd shook the stadium as banners rippled in the air. The World Running Championship had begun, and the world's eyes were on the track. Akihiro Tsukihara stood in his lane, expression unreadable, while cheers thundered around him.
Sola Hoshikawa stretched beside him, golden eyes gleaming, her aura radiant as always. The announcer's voice boomed, hyping the race, but Akihiro barely listened. His gaze drifted to one competitor he hadn't seen before — a girl with flawless movements, tall and poised, her presence commanding. Something about her unsettled him.
The whistle blew.
Akihiro exploded forward, his strides fluid and impossible to match. Gasps echoed from the stands as he surged ahead, but the mysterious girl stayed by his side, step for step, her pace unnatural.
He turned his head slightly, and his heart stopped.
Her eyes — violet-gold. The same eyes that had haunted him through mirrors.
The stadium blurred away. He felt the chill in his chest, the suffocating aura he knew too well. A whisper threaded through his mind, seductive and mocking:
"Did you think mirrors could hold me forever? I made myself a vessel… so I could meet you properly."
His rhythm faltered, just for a heartbeat, but he pushed forward, finishing the race with the roar of the crowd behind him. None of it mattered. Not the cheers, not the victory — only her.
When the noise settled, the girl walked toward him, weaving through the others like the stadium itself bent around her.
Sola narrowed her eyes in suspicion. From the stands, Ayame's hands tightened on the railing, while Yueqin's luminous eyes followed every step, her expression grim.
The stranger stopped in front of Akihiro. Up close, her beauty was unreal, almost inhuman. Her lips curved into a faint smile.
"You can't escape me, Akihiro Tsukihara. Even here, your soul calls to mine."
She leaned in and brushed a cold kiss against his cheek. His body stiffened, breath catching in his throat, as fear and something unnamable churned within him.
Then, with sudden strength, she seized his wrist and pulled him toward the reflective glass wall of the arena. His back hit hard, the surface rippling violently like liquid light.
She leaned close, lips at his ear, her voice dripping with both love and threat:
"The glass is mine… and soon, so will your heart. Whether in love or in fear… it makes no difference to me."
And with that, she pushed him backward.
The glass swallowed him whole.
The stadium erupted in chaos, but Yueqin saw it all clearly — Cai Lin's vessel dragging Akihiro into the Mirror World. Ayame gasped in horror, gripping the rail as her brother vanished, while Sola's golden eyes widened, frozen in disbelief.
When the glass stilled, the vessel girl remained, her faint smile sharper than any blade. She had claimed him.