The trees were changing.
Not in shape. In feeling.
Kael didn't notice it at first—just a faint difference in how the shadows fell, how the breeze moved, how even his footsteps seemed to land differently. But the deeper he walked, the more the silence pressed against him like a held breath. The branches overhead curled like claws now, not reaching toward light but recoiling from it. Moss no longer grew green but sickly white. Some of it pulsed faintly when disturbed, like flesh instead of plant.
He hadn't heard the System's voice in over thirty minutes.
Which was saying something—because ever since he'd woken up on that mountain, it hadn't shut up.
Kael stopped at the crest of a hill, breathing heavily. The incline hadn't been steep, but his body felt heavier than usual. He looked at his hands. They didn't tremble. Not from fear, at least. But something in his limbs buzzed with… tension.
A familiar one.
Fire wanted out.
He rolled his shoulders and glanced skyward. The light was dim. Distant. Filtered through smoke or fog or both. He couldn't tell if it was dawn or dusk—or if the sky had simply decided to stop keeping track.
Still no System.
"…You there?" he asked aloud.
Nothing.
He swallowed.
"System. Are you online?"
A few seconds passed.
Then—
[System Response Delayed.]
Active Sync: unstable. Personality interface loop: fractured.
Rebuilding… rebuilding… rebuilding…
…Warning: neural drift detected.
Kael winced. "What the hell does that mean?"
It means your thoughts are no longer matching your projected emotional trajectory.
The voice was quieter now. Not robotic. Not warm either. Just… dulled. Like something running at half power.
Kael crossed his arms. "So you're saying I'm… what? Off-script?"
You were not given a script. Merely a path. One you are deviating from.
His jaw tightened.
"I never agreed to your path."
You did. Before you woke.
Kael froze.
"What does that mean?" he said, voice low. "Before I woke? Before the Ashspine? You're saying I made some kind of deal?"
The System paused. That in itself was new.
Memory access restricted. Sync not yet complete.
Kael clenched his fists. "Right. Of course."
He resumed walking.
The trees thickened into a thicket of dead roots and tangled branches. Some rose from the ground like ribs. Others curled down from the canopy like veins. A narrow trail, barely a person wide, cut through the underbrush.
Kael followed it without thinking.
The silence around him wasn't just quiet—it was intelligent. Like the woods were watching. Like the world knew something he didn't.
He kept thinking about the mirror.
Shadow Kael.
The flame in his bones felt different now. Not just hot. Not just powerful. Responsive. Mirrorfire, the System had called it. A reflection of intent. Of emotion. Of what he might become.
It terrified him.
Because in that moment—when he'd looked into the mirror and seen the crown hanging behind his reflection's head like a halo—he hadn't felt fear.
He'd felt…
Recognition.
He shook his head violently. No. Not now.
But still, the thought echoed:
What if that was the real me?
A rustling sound broke his spiral.
Kael froze.
Up ahead, a clearing. In the center: a shallow pool of water reflecting the dim light from the clouds above. Steam rose from it in thin tendrils. Around it, stones had been placed in a spiral pattern—each etched with symbols too old to read.
He approached slowly.
The water wasn't clear. It shimmered, like oil. The closer he got, the stronger the pressure in his skull became—like something ancient was humming under the surface.
[Anomaly Detected.]
Memory Echo proximity: 200 meters. Emotional resonance: Moderate.
Recalibration advised. Grounding protocols offline.
Kael crouched beside the pool.
"System," he murmured. "Why did I see him in the mirror?"
You saw a manifestation of your suppressed instinct. A Shadow.
He frowned. "That's not really an answer."
It is not a comfortable one.
Kael reached out, letting his fingers hover just above the surface of the water.
"You didn't warn me about him. You didn't say there was… a version of me like that."
You weren't ready.
He laughed—quietly, bitterly. "Still not."
Your readiness does not change the truth of what you carry.
"Was he… real?" Kael asked. "Is Shadow Kael just a construct? Or is he one of them? One of the incarnations?"
A long pause.
Then:
No. Shadow Kael is what's left when all seven walk away. He is not your past. He is your future—if you lose the rest.
Kael stared into the pool.
His reflection rippled. No fire. No crown. Just him. Tired. Dirty. Alive.
"Have I lost them already?" he asked.
Not yet.
The wind stirred.
For a moment, Kael thought he heard someone else's breath in his ear. He turned quickly, but the woods were empty.
He stood.
"Where's the next memory echo?"
Red Sky. You've already found the path.
Kael looked around.
To the right of the pool, a narrow pass between two cliff walls beckoned. The stone was blackened, but not naturally. As if fire had once carved it.
He headed toward it.
"System," he said as he walked. "Do you think I'm a good person?"
Another pause.
That depends. Do you want to be?
He stopped walking.
His chest rose slowly. Then fell.
"...I don't know."
Then keep walking. Eventually, you'll become someone worth answering.
Kael didn't reply.
He just kept moving.
And behind him, the pool's surface shimmered once more—until the reflection it held was no longer his.
It was burning.