The massive obsidian doors groaned shut behind them with a hollow boom. Ethan gripped Ava's hand tighter as they stood in the soaring entry hall of Vitreous Academy.
The space seemed to stretch endlessly above them in a dizzying array of arched windows and polished black stone columns. Shafts of fading sunlight slanted in through the glass, casting kaleidoscope patterns across the gleaming floor.
"Welcome to the heart of our order, young Ethan." Headmaster Obsidian's voice echoed through the vast chamber. "Few outside our circle have laid eyes upon Vitreopolis in centuries."
Ava leaned in close to Ethan, whispering "Is this whole place made of obsidian? That's so cool..."
Ethan just gawked in stunned silence as Obsidian continued. "The Obsidian City is a living mirror, a fragment of the immortal realm of Speculum given form in our world. Its foundations were laid by the first human Reflectors eons ago."
The headmaster raised one hand, and the stained glass windows flared to blinding life, no longer mere windows but vivid displays shifting in rapid cycles - a sunrise over violet dunes, a rain shower in a crystalline forest, cities of twisting spires and impossible geometry.
"Each window offers a glimpse into the boundless realm beyond the Veil," Obsidian intoned. "In time, you shall learn to read these portals, and wield them to travel between worlds at will. To walk among skies unseen..."
One window beside them erupted in a blinding flare. Ethan instinctively shielded Ava as the stained glass fragmented outward in a hail of shards.
A lithe figure dropped lightly to the floor amid the debris, rising fluidly to their feet. A woman - no, a girl closer to Ethan's age - with slightly pointed ears and vivid blue hair that shimmered like an oceans' depths.
"Headmaster!" The girl exclaimed, brushing glittering dust from her cloak. "I did not expect you to be receiving visitors..."
Her eyes cut briefly to Ethan, and he felt a strange vertigo, as if peering into a mirror that somehow opened inward endlessly. Then the moment passed as she inclined her head formally.
"Greetings, I am Cerulean. Apprentice Glasswight of the Obsidian Order." Her gaze flickered again to Ethan, this time studying him with unconcealed curiosity. "Who are your...guests?"
"These two are candidates," Obsidian replied flatly. "Or rather, I should say this one is." He nodded once toward Ethan.
"The girl is unnecessary, and will be handed over to the custody Services once our matters are settled."
Ethan bristled at the dismissive reference to Ava. "She's not unnecessary! I'm not letting you take her anywhere."
"Bold words from one who cannot even control his own power, boy." Despite the sharp rebuke, Obsidian remained implacable as granite.
"You will soon learn that Vitreopolis and the Mirror Realm have no need for ignorance or sentiments. Ava, is it? Do not fret, child - you will be looked after until such time as we can locate any living relations of yours."
"But..." Ava's eyes shone with unshed tears as she whirled to face Ethan. "You can't just leave me with strangers! I want to stay with you!"
Ethan felt his heart break at her pleading look. He pulled his sister close in a fierce hug, glaring defiantly over her head at the immovable headmaster.
"We're not getting separated. Whatever comes next, Ava is staying by my side. That's not up for debate."
There was a tense beat of silence. Then Cerulean, the blue-haired girl stepped forward with the faintest of smiles playing across her delicate features.
"Perhaps...a compromise can be struck." She turned to Obsidian with an imploring look. "The girl could remain in the city as part of the candidate's training. A reminder of the emotional bonds they will be required to sever in order to fully embrace the Mirror Realm's power."
Obsidian considered, his expression unreadable. At last, he nodded once. "...Very well. The sister may stay, for the time being. But know this, Ethan Specular: Attachments are a chain that will bind you to human frailty. You will sever them in time, or be too weak to survive the trials ahead."
Ethan felt Ava relax marginally against him, and sent Cerulean a grateful look over her sienna curls. The blue-haired girl responded with another cryptic smile, as if sharing an unspoken secret with him.
Whether her intervention was genuine kindness or something more calculated, only time would tell. Ethan just prayed it wasn't a tether that would ensnare them both in the Obsidian Order's shadowy webs.
"Now then, let us be going," Obsidian pivoted abruptly, ebony robes whirling. "Night falls, and you have much still to bear witness to, Reflector..."
As the small group set off once more into the Academy's winding halls, Ethan cast one last look back through the shattered window. Outside, a dazzling cityscape materialized in the gathering dusk glittering like diamond against a bottomless opaline sky.
Ghostly spires twisted in fractal patterns too perfect and alien to be of this earth. Impossible architectures, composed of angles and geometries that seemed to shift kaleidoscopically before his very eyes.
The Mirror Realm was no simple reflection, he realized. It was an infinite reality unto itself, and to traverse its mysteries could save him...or leave his very soul splintered beyond repair.
With Ava's steadying grip in his own, Ethan stepped forward to begin his education in the ways of Obsidian Citadel and the siren realms beyond. He only hoped his determination would prove stronger than the dark gravity that even now seemed to be tugging on the fragments of his shattered psyche.