The shadows ran.
Thousands of them.
Not a single footstep echoed across the wasteland.
It was as if the darkness itself had come alive.
"My Queen!"
The royal captain unsheathed his sword.
"Form the defensive line!"
Steel rang through the night as hundreds of soldiers rushed into formation. Mages hurried to the front, chanting ancient spells while glowing barriers rose around the camp.
Mirror's eyes remained fixed on the approaching horde.
Something was wrong.
The shadows weren't charging toward the soldiers.
They weren't attacking the horses.
They weren't interested in the camp.
They were all looking at one person.
Myreiya.
"They're coming for me," she whispered.
Mirror stepped forward without hesitation.
"No."
His voice was calm.
"They're coming for us."
Myreiya turned toward him.
There was no fear in his expression.
Only determination.
She searched his face for answers.
Instead, she found something unexpected.
Concern.
Not the concern of a servant protecting his queen.
Something deeper.
More personal.
Before she could speak, the earth trembled violently.
A crack raced across the ground between the army and the shadows.
Dark mist erupted from the opening.
The shadows stopped.
Every single one dropped to one knee.
The battlefield became eerily silent.
Then...
A hand emerged from the darkness beneath the earth.
Pale.
Ancient.
Its fingers gripped the edge of the crack before another hand followed.
Something was climbing out.
The soldiers backed away instinctively.
"What... is that?"
No one answered.
Even the royal mages had fallen silent.
A man stepped onto the battlefield.
He wore torn black robes that looked older than the kingdom itself.
Long white hair fell over his shoulders.
His skin was unnaturally pale.
His golden eyes slowly scanned the battlefield.
Finally...
They stopped on Mirror.
A smile appeared.
"So..."
His voice echoed like distant thunder.
"You survived."
Mirror frowned.
"I don't know you."
The stranger chuckled.
"Of course you don't."
"They took your memories."
Myreiya's grip tightened around her sword.
"Who are you?"
The man slowly turned toward her.
For the first time...
His smile disappeared.
"So this is the girl."
The words carried centuries of disappointment.
"You look exactly like her."
Myreiya's heart skipped.
"Like who?"
The man didn't answer.
Instead, he looked back at Mirror.
"You've made the same mistake again."
Mirror's chest tightened.
"What mistake?"
The stranger pointed toward Myreiya.
"Her."
Before anyone could react, the stranger vanished.
A gust of wind swept across the battlefield.
Mirror's instincts screamed.
He spun around.
Too late.
The stranger stood directly behind Myreiya.
His hand reached toward her neck.
Mirror moved without thinking.
His body reacted before his mind could.
He grabbed Myreiya by the waist and pulled her against him.
The stranger's fingers sliced through empty air.
A shockwave exploded across the battlefield.
The force sent dozens of soldiers crashing to the ground.
Mirror held Myreiya tightly as they rolled across the wet grass.
When they finally stopped...
She found herself lying on top of him.
Their faces were inches apart.
Neither spoke.
Neither noticed the battle around them.
For one impossible moment...
Everything else disappeared.
Mirror could hear only her heartbeat.
Fast.
Steady.
Alive.
Myreiya blinked.
Rain droplets clung to his dark hair.
A small cut above his eyebrow slowly bled.
He had protected her.
Again.
Why?
He was only a servant.
Yet...
No knight in her kingdom had ever thrown himself into danger for her without hesitation.
She slowly lifted her hand.
Before she realized what she was doing...
Her fingers brushed the blood from his forehead.
Mirror froze.
"My Queen..."
She withdrew her hand immediately.
"I..."
For once...
The Queen of Ashes had no words.
The stranger watched the scene with quiet amusement.
"There it is."
His smile returned.
"The beginning."
Mirror stood, instinctively placing himself between Myreiya and the stranger.
"You won't touch her."
The words escaped before he could stop them.
The battlefield fell silent.
Even Myreiya stared at him.
He had never spoken to anyone with such certainty.
The stranger laughed softly.
"Interesting."
He looked toward the sky.
"It seems your heart remembered before your mind."
Mirror's mark suddenly burned.
Not painfully.
Warmly.
As though responding to the stranger's words.
Fragments of another memory flashed through his mind.
A battlefield covered in snow.
A young woman crying.
His own voice.
"As long as I breathe... no one will ever harm you."
The memory vanished.
Mirror staggered.
"What..."
He pressed a hand against his head.
"Who was she?"
The stranger answered quietly.
"You already know."
"No."
"You simply haven't remembered her name."
A deafening roar erupted from the Black Tower.
The massive gates opened another few inches.
Ancient chains shattered one after another.
The sound echoed across the mountains.
The stranger's expression changed.
For the first time...
He looked worried.
"No..."
He looked toward the tower.
"It woke up too early."
The crimson light at the tower's peak exploded across the night sky.
Every shadow on the battlefield immediately bowed toward it.
The stranger slowly lowered his head as well.
Only Mirror and Myreiya remained standing.
A deep voice rolled across the wasteland.
Not loud.
Not angry.
Simply...
Absolute.
"Bring them to me."
The command shook the very air.
The shadows rose together.
Thousands of crimson eyes opened in the darkness.
Then, without warning—
They charged.
Not at the soldiers.
Not at the camp.
Straight toward Mirror and Myreiya.
Mirror instinctively reached for Myreiya's hand.
Their fingers intertwined.
The moment their hands touched—
A blinding silver light erupted around them.
The shadows stopped instantly.
The battlefield froze.
Even the voice inside the Black Tower fell silent.
For one impossible heartbeat...
Time itself seemed to stand still.
And deep beneath the earth...
An ancient seal cracked.
Someone laughed.
Not with joy.
But with anticipation.
"The Second Seal..."
"...has finally begun to break."