The moon hung high as Lena stepped deeper into the temple ruins, her every footstep echoing into silence. The Vanished watched her—not with hostility, but expectation. Like she was a prophecy wearing skin.
"You still haven't said what this is," she said, eyeing the silver-eyed man. "What do you do?"
"We reclaim the forgotten," he answered. "We rescue the erased. We are those the world tried to unmake. And we do not beg for belonging—we take it."
Behind him, Meher stepped forward, her expression calmer than Lena had ever seen it. "This isn't about war, Lena. It's about choice. You've been invisible your whole life, haven't you? Even before your power awakened?"
Lena flinched.
"You tried so hard to be seen," Meher continued. "But no one looked. And when someone finally did…" Her eyes darkened. "They lied."
Lena's chest twisted.
Aarav.
She didn't even know what part of him had been real anymore.
"I don't want revenge," Lena whispered. "I just want the truth."
The silver-eyed man nodded. "Then it begins with this."
He reached into his coat and drew out a dagger—sleek, black, shimmering like ink under moonlight. "This is the Blade of Mirrors. It reflects your soul when it first awakens. If you're ready… cut your palm. Let it show us you."
Lena hesitated, then stepped forward and took it.
The dagger hummed in her hand.
She gritted her teeth—and sliced.
Blood welled up, rich and red.
Then it changed.
The moment it hit the blade, her blood shimmered into a swirling black mist—tendrils of shadow curling upward. The air trembled. The others stepped back as the mist formed shapes—blurry at first, then clear.
A girl.
Lena.
Standing alone in a school hallway.
Surrounded by people who never looked.
Then—another Lena. One who stood in the shadows, watching herself suffer.
Two selves.
One invisible.
One awake.
The vision shattered.
The mist vanished.
The silver-eyed man looked pleased. "You are a Mirrorborn. You walk between perception and truth."
"What does that mean?" Lena asked quietly.
"It means," Meher said, "you're more than Vanished. You're the one who will unravel the Watchers."
Lena blinked. "What?"
Meher nodded. "You think they're guardians, but they're jailers. They don't protect the world from us—they protect themselves from what we could become."
"And Aarav?" Lena's voice trembled.
"He was trained to kill you the moment you crossed a line. They only sent him because your power frightened them."
Lena's throat tightened.
She remembered his smile. His touch. The kiss.
A lie. Or… worse—half-truth.
"Then why didn't he kill me?" she asked.
"Maybe he loved you," Meher said. "But that makes it worse, doesn't it? Because he still lied."
Lena's fists clenched.
She looked down at her palm. The cut was gone.
Healed. Like the dagger had never touched her.
But something had changed.
She wasn't just a girl anymore.
She was a storm wrapped in silence.
---
The Next Morning – At School
Lena walked through the hallways with her hood up. Her eyes scanned everything. Every whisper. Every look.
And then she saw him.
Aarav.
Standing at her locker, waiting.
When their eyes met, he looked… broken.
"Lena," he said.
She didn't stop.
He followed.
"Please, just talk to me—"
She turned sharply, pinning him with her gaze. "Was it real?"
Aarav didn't hesitate. "Yes."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"I was afraid," he said. "Afraid you'd run. Afraid you'd never look at me the same. And… afraid you'd become one of them."
She took a step closer. "And if I already have?"
He swallowed. "Then I'll protect you. Even if it means protecting you from yourself."
Lena stared at him.
For a moment, her heart cracked.
Then she turned and walked away.
---
Later That Night – The Vanished Hideout
Meher showed her a wall lined with photographs—old ones, worn at the edges. Dozens of children. Teens. All of them with strange eyes, strange smiles.
"These are the lost," she said. "The ones the Watchers took. Not everyone gets to awaken like you. Some are… silenced forever."
Lena reached out and touched one photo.
A girl who looked too familiar.
"Who's this?"
Meher hesitated. "That's your sister."
Lena froze.
"My sister died in a car crash," she whispered.
"No," Meher said. "She Vanished. Just like you. But they took her before she could awaken. Before she could fight."
The world tilted.
Lena stepped back. "You're lying."
"I'm not. She's alive. We're going to find her."
Lena's voice was raw. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Because they erased her from the world. From your memory. But you're waking up now, Lena. And the more you remember, the more dangerous you become."
---
Final Scene – Alone in Her Room
Lena sat in front of the mirror.
She stared at herself—really stared.
Then she reached up and touched her face. Her skin shimmered.
For a moment, another version of herself stared back—eyes glowing silver, like the man from the temple.
Stronger. Colder.
But not unfamiliar.
The mirror cracked.
And Lena smiled.
---
"Truth isn't light. It's a blade. And once it cuts, you're never whole again."
---