Zerrei's scream echoed across the narrow stone street.
Not loud.
Not hollow.
Not monstrous.
But broken.
A terrified, trembling cry that made Lyra's heart seize.
He clung to her hand like it was the last piece of himself he still recognized.
"…Lyra—Lyra—Lyra—"
"I'm here—look at me—!"
But he couldn't.
His eyes were locked on the mimic.
The thing wearing his face.
Copying his mannerisms.
Using his voice like a stolen toy.
Oren lowered his staff.
Arden raised his sword.
But neither moved.
Because Zerrei was collapsing.
"Zerrei—breathe—please—"
He didn't breathe.
Vessels didn't need to breathe—
But he trembled like he was suffocating.
"…Lyra… they… take… Zerrei… they take… all…"
"No. No they won't."
"…but… sounds… like me… looks… like me…
if they become Zerrei… then… who… Zerrei…?"
Her chest clenched painfully.
Oren whispered, pale:
"He's having a cognitive collapse.
Identity destabilization."
Arden cursed loudly.
"English, PLEASE!"
"It means," Oren snapped, "when a vessel sees something that challenges its identity, it destabilizes emotionally and magically—"
"Meaning he's breaking—?"
"Meaning he's breaking."
Lyra immediately wrapped her arms around Zerrei's shoulders, pulling him against her chest.
He collapsed into her.
Shaking.
His glow flickered—dim, bright, dim—like a dying ember.
The mimic stepped forward.
Copying Zerrei's trembling.
Copying Zerrei's fear.
Copying Zerrei's voice exactly:
"…Lyra… help Zerrei…"
Zerrei jolted violently.
"No—NO—NO—!!"
He screamed again—
And the cracks in his body began to glow dangerously bright.
Oren's eyes widened.
"Lyra—get him OUT of that emotional state—now! He'll resonate until he shatters!"
Lyra grabbed both sides of Zerrei's face.
"Zerrei. ZERREI.
Listen to my voice."
He whimpered.
"…Lyra… real Lyra…?"
"Yes. Yes, look at me."
He tried to—
but his vision blurred with panic.
"…Lyra… don't leave… don't leave Zerrei…"
"I'm not leaving. I'm not going anywhere."
She touched her forehead to his.
"You know me. You KNOW me."
His arms wrapped around her waist with desperate force.
"…Lyra… Lyra… Lyra…"
His glow steadied just slightly.
Good.
She whispered:
"What's my mana feel like?"
Zerrei closed his eyes, trembling.
"…warm… soft… golden…"
"…like home…"
Lyra breathed in sharply.
"That's right. And what's that thing feel like?"
He shuddered.
"…cold… empty… red…
like… hunger…"
"Good. Remember that."
Zerrei's glow steadied more.
His fingers curled into her clothes.
"…Zerrei… knows Lyra…
always…"
She hugged him tight.
"Yes. You do."
Arden glared at the mimic.
"Stay back, freak."
The mimic tilted its head—Zerrei's exact head tilt.
Then…
It spoke in Lyra's voice.
"Zerrei… come to me…"
Lyra stiffened.
Zerrei screamed.
"NO—NO—NO—THAT NOT LYRA—THAT NOT—!!"
He panted, curling into Lyra's chest, claws tightening around her shoulders.
"…LYRA DON'T LET GO—DON'T LET GO—!"
"I won't—Zerrei—I won't—"
She held him firmly, one hand over his heart, the other at the back of his head.
His breathing steadied.
Just barely.
Arden spat:
"That thing is DEAD the second I get to it."
The mimic tilted its head the other way.
"…emotion source: Lyra…"
"…target weakness confirmed…"
Lyra narrowed her eyes.
It wasn't mimicking anymore.
It was analyzing.
Oren stepped closer to Lyra.
"I need to test how it copies.
Zerrei—can you listen to my voice?"
Zerrei shook violently.
"…only Lyra… only want… Lyra…"
She stroked his cheek.
"You're safe. You can hear him without following him."
Zerrei nodded weakly.
"…Lyra say… safe…"
"Yes."
Oren nodded once, then said sharply:
"Zerrei.
Raise your right hand."
Zerrei did.
And—
The mimic did.
Exactly the same.
Oren's eyes widened.
"It mimics in real-time.
Within a radius.
And with perfect precision."
Arden swore again.
"So it can copy EVERY MOVE he makes?!"
Oren nodded.
"Unless Zerrei's movement is tied to emotion rather than decision."
Lyra frowned.
"Meaning…?"
Oren pointed at Zerrei.
"When he's scared or sad or overwhelmed, his movements aren't logical.
They're instinctual.
And Vessel Four can't read instinct."
Arden blinked.
"So if we make Zerrei feel, the mimic can't copy him?"
"Yes."
Lyra hugged Zerrei closer.
"…Zerrei… feel… Lyra…"
Lyra's face softened.
"That's right."
But Oren continued sharply:
"However.
There is another problem."
He pointed to the rune on the ground—the whispering one.
"Vessel Four isn't here to fight."
Arden narrowed his eyes.
"Then what is it here to do?"
Oren's tone turned grim.
"It's here to break Zerrei's identity.
To confuse him.
Destabilize him.
Make him question who he is…
until he becomes easy to retrieve."
Lyra's blood turned cold.
Zerrei trembled.
"…no… no no no no no—"
She immediately kissed the top of his head.
"Zerrei. Hear me."
His trembling slowed.
"You are Zerrei."
He looked up at her.
Eyes glassy.
Soft.
Desperate.
"…Zerrei…?"
"Yes."
"You are MY Zerrei."
His glow warmed.
"…Lyra…"
"And you are NOT that thing."
She pointed at the mimic.
Zerrei's eyes hardened.
"…not Zerrei…"
"No."
"…Lyra has… Zerrei…"
"Yes."
He swallowed.
"…then Zerrei… stay with Lyra…
always…"
She smiled gently.
"I'll stay with you too."
The mimic twitched.
Its form shivered.
Cracks appeared along its face—
as if the truth destabilized it.
Oren exhaled.
"Good.
It can't mimic emotional certainty."
Arden raised his sword.
"So can I stab it now?"
The mimic's head snapped toward him.
In Zerrei's voice, it whispered:
"…Lyra… mine…"
Zerrei's eyes widened.
And something inside him—
shifted.
"…no…"
"…LYRA IS MINE…"
His glow burned bright gold.
The mimic's form flickered.
Lyra grabbed Zerrei's shoulders.
"Zerrei—focus—don't let it make you lose yourself—!"
He trembled violently.
"…Lyra… mine… ONLY mine… not fake… not wrong…"
"That's right—look at me, Zerrei, look at me."
He did.
"I know who you are."
His light steadied.
"You are Zerrei."
He nodded slowly.
"…Zerrei… Lyra's Zerrei…"
"Yes."
He leaned his forehead against hers.
"…real… Zerrei…"
"And I'm real Lyra."
His light pulsed softly with relief.
The mimic hissed.
Then—
It lunged.
Straight at Lyra.
Zerrei moved first.
Not because he thought.
Not because he planned.
But because he felt.
"…DON'T TOUCH LYRA—!!"
And for the first time—
His resonance barrier formed around him on purpose.
BOOOOM—
It repelled Vessel Four so hard it cracked a stone wall.
Oren stared.
Arden swore.
Lyra held Zerrei close as he shook with adrenaline.
And Vessel Four—
slowly rose back to its feet.
Crimson light dripping from its cracks.
Studying Zerrei.
Correcting its form.
Trying again.
Lyra whispered:
"Zerrei… run with me."
And he whispered back, trembling:
"…always."