The camp fell silent.
No one dared breathe.
The rain had stopped.
Only the distant rumble of thunder remained.
Every soldier stared toward the Forbidden Wastelands.
Hundreds of shadowy figures stood motionless beneath the Black Tower.
None carried weapons.
None moved.
Yet their presence alone made every heartbeat heavier.
"My... My Queen..."
A young knight dropped to one knee.
"What are your orders?"
Myreiya's silver eyes never left the figures.
"Hold your positions."
No one argued.
Her voice was calm.
But inside...
Her instincts screamed.
Something was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
Mirror couldn't move.
The crowned figure among the shadows...
It was staring directly at him.
Not at Myreiya.
Not at the soldiers.
At him.
The mark beneath his shirt pulsed again.
Pain raced through his veins.
The voice returned.
"They have found you."
Mirror whispered under his breath.
"Who are they?"
No answer.
Instead—
Another voice echoed across the battlefield.
It did not come from the mark.
It came from the crowned figure itself.
Its lips never moved.
Yet everyone heard it.
"Welcome home..."
The soldiers looked around in panic.
"Who said that?"
"What is happening?"
Several knights drew their swords.
Their hands trembled.
Then—
One of the shadow figures took a step forward.
Another followed.
Then another.
Hundreds began walking.
Not running.
Walking.
Slowly.
Patiently.
As though they already knew the battle was over.
"Archers!"
The captain shouted.
"Ready!"
Thousands of arrows were drawn.
The strings tightened.
"Fire!"
A black storm of arrows filled the sky.
The camp watched.
The arrows struck.
Every single shadow.
Not one reacted.
The arrows simply...
Passed through them.
Like smoke.
The soldiers froze.
One whispered,
"Ghosts..."
Another shook his head.
"No...
Something worse."
Myreiya stepped forward.
"Everyone stay behind me."
"My Queen, it's too dangerous!"
"I gave an order."
Silence.
She walked toward the approaching shadows.
Her black cloak danced behind her.
Mirror watched.
His heart pounded.
Something deep inside him screamed.
Don't let her go.
He ignored it.
Another step.
She continued walking.
Only twenty meters now separated her from the crowned figure.
It finally stopped.
The shadows behind it stopped as well.
The world became impossibly quiet.
Then...
The figure bowed.
Every shadow bowed with it.
The entire army knelt before Myreiya.
The soldiers gasped.
No one understood.
Not even Myreiya.
The crowned figure finally spoke.
Its voice sounded like countless people speaking together.
"We greet the Queen of Ashes."
Myreiya's eyes narrowed.
"I don't know you."
The figure tilted its head.
"No."
"You forgot."
Mirror suddenly felt dizzy.
The mark exploded with pain.
Images flooded his mind.
A throne.
A battlefield.
A crying child.
A woman placing a crown upon his head.
Then...
Myreiya.
Standing beside him.
Smiling.
Not as enemies.
Not as queen and servant.
As equals.
The vision disappeared.
Mirror stumbled backward.
"No..."
He pressed his hand against his chest.
None of it made sense.
None of it could be real.
"My Queen!"
Mirror shouted.
His voice echoed across the battlefield.
Myreiya turned.
For the first time...
He ignored protocol.
"Step away from them!"
She hesitated.
Only for a second.
The crowned figure smiled beneath its broken crown.
"Interesting."
Its crimson eyes shifted toward Mirror.
"You still protect her."
Mirror froze.
The figure continued.
"Even after everything."
Myreiya looked between them.
Confused.
"Mirror..."
"Do you know this creature?"
Silence.
Mirror couldn't answer.
Because...
He didn't know.
Yet somehow...
His heart did.
The wind changed.
Dark clouds circled above the Black Tower.
Lightning struck its highest peak.
The earth trembled.
A massive crack appeared beneath everyone's feet.
The ground split open.
Soldiers screamed.
Several disappeared into the darkness below.
Chaos erupted.
Mirror ran.
Without thinking.
Without hesitation.
Toward Myreiya.
The earth beneath her shattered.
She slipped.
For the first time since becoming queen—
Fear crossed her face.
She was falling.
Mirror reached her.
Their hands met.
His fingers wrapped tightly around hers.
For one terrifying moment—
Time stopped.
She looked up.
He looked down.
Rainwater dripped from their hands.
Neither spoke.
Neither needed to.
Mirror pulled with all his strength.
Finally—
She climbed back onto solid ground.
They collapsed together.
Closer than ever before.
Myreiya realized...
His arm was wrapped around her waist.
His face was only inches from hers.
She could hear his heartbeat.
Fast.
Uneven.
Real.
Mirror looked into her silver eyes.
He forgot the kingdom.
Forgot the tower.
Forgot the voices.
There was only her.
"My Queen..."
His voice barely escaped.
Before either moved—
The crowned figure laughed.
A slow...
Satisfied...
Laugh.
"Excellent."
Both looked toward it.
"It begins exactly as history remembers."
The smile beneath the broken crown widened.
"The King has chosen the Queen."
Silence.
Mirror's blood turned to ice.
Myreiya's heartbeat stopped.
Neither understood those words.
But somewhere deep inside their souls...
Something ancient did.
And inside the Black Tower—
A second sealed door unlocked.
A roar echoed across the wastelands.
Not human.
Not beast.
Something far older.
Something that had waited a thousand years...
For Mirror and Myreiya to meet again.
End of Chapter 19