"There are reflections that show more than light—they reveal the pieces of you you were never meant to meet."
For a heartbeat, time stood still.
The dripping water stopped midair, the faint glow of the cavern froze, and all Aiden could hear was the sound of his own racing pulse.
Two men. One face.
But only one of them breathed.
The second Elias—the one cloaked in crimson—watched with eyes that glowed faintly gold. His presence twisted the air, like gravity itself bent toward him.
The real Elias stepped forward, sword drawn, his expression unreadable. "You shouldn't exist."
A cold smile curved on his twin's lips. "And yet I do. Isn't that what you told her, back then?"
Aiden's throat went dry. "Who… who are you?"
"I am what he buried," the double said softly, his voice echoing through the cavern. "The part that remembers everything he wants to forget."
Elias's knuckles whitened on the hilt of his sword. "You're not me. You're what the Order made from what they stole."
The twin laughed, low and sharp. "Isn't that convenient? To blame them for your sins."
He took a step closer, and for a moment, Aiden could see it—faint shimmering threads connecting them, stretching between both Elias figures like strands of living light. One pulsed dark blue, the other blood red.
"What are you talking about?" Aiden asked, voice trembling.
The twin's gaze shifted to him, and suddenly the cavern felt smaller. "You already know, don't you? The dreams. The memories. You've seen the truth buried beneath his promises."
Aiden shook his head, backing away. "No. I don't—"
"He killed her," the twin said quietly. "He killed Ariselle. And when her soul refused to fade, he begged the Order to bring her back. But she came back wrong."
Elias's jaw clenched. "Enough."
The twin ignored him. "They tried to destroy her soul again. But the curse took root instead. Her essence was reborn in the next vessel—your vessel."
Aiden's mind spun. No. That couldn't be true.
But the pendant against his chest pulsed as if in answer, and for the briefest moment, he saw Ariselle's face overlapping his reflection in the water.
Elias took a slow step forward. "You twist truth into poison. That's what they made you for."
The twin's grin faded. "If I'm a monster, it's because you left me in the dark too long."
The air between them shimmered. A pulse of energy shot out, shaking the walls.
Aiden stumbled backward as stones rained from the ceiling. "Stop! Both of you—"
Neither man listened.
The twin's aura flared red, Elias's blue, two forces colliding like thunder and lightning. The cavern floor cracked open, exposing molten veins of light beneath.
Elias shouted over the roar, "Aiden! Get back!"
But Aiden didn't move. He couldn't. He was frozen by the pull between them—two halves of the same man, both bound to his fate.
In the chaos, a voice—soft, female, ancient—whispered from within him.
"Choose carefully, my heart. One will save you. One will end you."
---
The café felt quieter after the stranger left. Aiden's fingers still trembled, his pulse racing from the fragments of energy that had flashed through the room. The lights had flickered when Elias stepped forward to face the man in the gray coat, and for a moment, time itself seemed to hesitate.
Aiden looked at the cracked window, the reflection of his pale face trembling in the glass. He could still hear the man's last words echoing in his head.
"You're not supposed to be here, Vale."
It wasn't just a threat. It was recognition.
When he turned to Elias, the older man's expression was unreadable. Calm, controlled, too controlled. "We should go," Elias said simply. "This place isn't safe anymore."
They walked outside. The city air was sharp with winter and the scent of wet asphalt. Aiden tried to speak, but the words caught in his throat. He didn't know if he wanted answers—or if he was terrified of what they would mean.
"Who was he?" Aiden finally asked, his voice small. "He knew my name."
Elias didn't respond right away. His gaze lingered on the night sky, where the clouds looked like smoke covering stars that didn't dare to shine. "Someone who remembers things better left forgotten."
"That doesn't answer anything."
Elias stopped walking. "You want the truth? Fine. That man wasn't looking for you, Aiden. He was looking for me."
Aiden frowned. "Then why—"
"Because," Elias cut in, his eyes turning to meet his, "in this life, our names changed. But our curse did not."
For a second, the world tilted. The sound of the city faded, replaced by something deep and resonant—a low hum beneath his skin. It was the same feeling he'd had in dreams of a burning battlefield, the same ache in his chest when he saw Elias the first time.
"You mean… you remember it too?" Aiden asked softly.
Elias's jaw tightened. "I remember everything."
The silence that followed felt heavier than the night. Aiden didn't move, didn't breathe. He could feel the truth pressing against his ribs, demanding to be accepted.
"So who was I?" he whispered.
Elias's hand reached out slowly, fingertips grazing Aiden's cheek as if afraid he might vanish. "You were Ariselle of Eryndor," he said, voice low and reverent. "The woman who defied the gods for love."
Aiden's chest clenched. The name hit him like thunder. Images flashed—blood, moonlight, his own hand holding a blade as she fell, a crown of fire around a ruined throne. He stumbled back, shaking his head.
"No," he said weakly. "That's not possible. I'm not her. I can't be."
"You've already felt it," Elias murmured. "Every time you dream, every time you wake with your heart racing. That's her memory living inside you."
The streetlight above them flickered. The wind picked up, tugging at Aiden's coat. "Then what does that make you?" he asked.
Elias's lips curved faintly, but there was no joy in the smile. "The man who failed to save you."
Something inside Aiden cracked. The world swayed again, a dizzy blur of past and present merging until he couldn't tell which one was real. He pressed a hand to his chest as heat built beneath his skin. Light began to leak from his fingertips, faint and white-blue, like the beginning of dawn.
Elias's voice softened. "You can't fight it anymore. The seal is breaking."
"What seal?"
"Your soul's boundary," Elias said. "It's what's kept your power asleep all this time. But when he attacked earlier, it cracked. You're waking up faster than expected."
Aiden's knees weakened. He clutched at Elias's sleeve to stay upright. "What happens when it breaks completely?"
Elias hesitated. "You'll remember everything. And once you do…" His eyes darkened. "The world won't be able to contain you."
Aiden shivered. The light from his hand faded, leaving behind a faint ache in his palm. He looked at Elias, searching for reassurance, but there was none. Only that quiet, tragic tenderness that both comforted and terrified him.
"Why didn't you tell me before?" he whispered.
"Because I was afraid," Elias said simply. "Afraid that once you remembered, you'd hate me again."
The confession landed heavy. There was no defense against the rawness in his tone. Aiden wanted to say something, anything—but before he could, a sudden burst of static filled the air. The streetlights along the entire block flickered out.
A voice, distorted but familiar, whispered from the darkness.
"Found you."
The air split open with a blinding flash.
And then everything went white.
Cliffhanger Ending:
When the light faded, Aiden was gone—and Elias stood alone beneath a silent, shattered sky.
---