The air was colder the next morning. Not from the weather—there was something in the wind, a whisper that clung to Lena's skin like frost. She barely slept, haunted by fragments of memory and shadows in the mirror.
Her sister.
Alive?
The word looped endlessly in her mind, more impossible than anything she'd faced yet. More terrifying than the Watchers, more shattering than Aarav's betrayal.
She slipped out of the house before dawn.
No note. No goodbye.
She didn't need to explain anymore. Not when her entire existence was unwritten.
The Vanished were waiting at the old train yard—Meher, the silver-eyed man, and a boy Lena hadn't seen before. He had short, raven-black hair, eyes as bright as molten gold, and the kind of calm that spoke of buried storms.
"This is Kian," Meher said. "He's one of the Originals."
Lena raised an eyebrow. "Original what?"
"First generation of the Vanished. The ones they failed to erase."
Kian nodded once. "We're going after your sister. Today."
Lena's heart stopped. "You know where she is?"
"We have a lead," Meher said. "But it's not simple. She's in a Watcher compound beneath the city. A place no one's ever escaped from."
"And you want me to go with you?"
"No," Kian said. "We need you to lead."
Lena stared. "Why me?"
"Because your power hasn't stabilized," he said. "And that makes you unpredictable. Even to them."
"Unstable is a compliment," Meher added with a smirk.
Lena gave a humorless laugh.
"Fine," she said. "Let's burn the world, then."
---
Underground – The Compound
The descent was suffocating.
The path through the tunnels was lined with flickering lights and sigils that pulsed faintly with energy. As they approached the Watchers' facility, Lena could feel the air thicken—like the darkness was alive, pressing in from all sides.
The compound itself was carved into the earth like a prison of light and silence. Cameras watched every angle. Guards patrolled with masks—ones that shimmered with glyphs designed to block Vanishing.
"This is suicide," Meher whispered.
"Not if they never see us coming," Lena replied.
She closed her eyes.
And disappeared.
The moment she Vanished, everything around her shifted. Time slowed. Colors dulled. She felt her body stretch across shadows, her heartbeat syncing with silence itself.
She was nothing.
She was everywhere.
Moving through walls like breath.
And then she saw her.
Locked inside a cell of glowing white glass, strapped to a chair with wires digging into her skin.
Her sister.
A little older now—maybe seventeen. Pale, thin, but alive.
Lena appeared in the cell like a whisper. Her sister's eyes widened—recognition blooming like fire.
"Lena…?"
Her voice cracked.
Tears welled in Lena's eyes. "I'm here. I found you."
A scream echoed through the halls.
They'd been spotted.
Kian's voice buzzed through her earpiece. "Get her out. Now."
Lena took a breath.
And shattered the cell with a scream.
---
Above Ground – Escape
Alarms blared. Lights flickered red.
Meher was already fighting—disappearing and reappearing between guards, taking them down with ruthless efficiency. Kian moved like a ghost, every step measured, every blow precise.
But they were outnumbered.
Lena carried her sister, weaving through the chaos, using every ounce of her power to vanish them both between moments.
But her strength was fading.
And then—
A figure appeared at the exit.
Tall. Familiar.
Aarav.
He stood still, eyes wide, gun in hand—but not raised.
Lena froze.
Her heart screamed. Her mind fractured.
He didn't move.
Didn't stop her.
Just watched her pass with her sister in her arms.
Letting her go.
---
Safehouse – Nightfall
Her sister slept on the old mattress, safe at last. Meher tended her quietly while Kian stood at the window, watching the world as if it might end.
"You saved her," Meher said. "Even when the world forgot her."
Lena didn't speak.
She sat in the corner, hands trembling.
Because she hadn't just seen Aarav.
She'd felt him.
Still tethered to her.
Still hers.
And she hated that she still cared.
Kian knelt beside her.
"You okay?"
Lena shook her head. "I don't think I ever will be."
He nodded. "Then be something else."
She looked up at him.
And for the first time, saw someone who didn't look through her.
Not like Aarav.
Not like anyone else ever had.
Kian smiled faintly. "There's a war coming, Lena. But we don't need heroes. We need survivors."
She met his eyes.
And smiled back.
---
Final Scene – Watcher HQ
Aarav stood before the Council.
"You let her escape," one of the elders said.
"She's not the enemy," Aarav replied.
Another Watcher leaned forward. "She just broke into our most secure facility and unleashed a Mirrorborn. That is the enemy."
Aarav's jaw clenched. "You lied to me. About her. About her sister."
"You were never meant to love her," the elder snapped.
"Well, I did," Aarav whispered.
He turned and walked out, leaving silence behind.
But as he passed the glass hallway, a girl stood in the reflection.
Not Lena.
But someone who looked like her.
Smiling cruelly.
Watching him.
The mirror cracked.
---
"The more we become real, the more the world will try to erase us. So let them try. Let them remember our names in screams."
---